Koraku-en garden, Naoshima island, and Benesse House Museum.
This morning we docked in Uno, toured Koraku-en garden, “one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan”, and this afternoon we went ashore in Zodiac boats to visit two modern-art museums on the tiny island of Naoshima. Read on!
Himeji Castle, Koko-En garden, and lunch on shore before boarding our ship, the National Geographic Resolution.
Today we joined our expedition group, toured sights near Kobe, and boarded our ship – the National Geographic Resolution. Read on!
The start of our next adventure.
We’re embarking today on the National Geographic Resolution, an arctic-class cruise ship identical to the ship (the Endurance) we sailed to South Georgia in March 2023. On this trip, Coastal Japan: Imperial Dynasties and Modern Culture, run by National Geographic on a ship managed by Lindblad Expeditions, Pam and I and my parents will be cruising along the southern coasts of Japan, and make a brief stop in South Korea, exploring many of the natural and cultural highlights of this beautiful region of the world. More to come, and you can be sure I’ll bring back lots of photographs!
An amazing week in Grindelwald!
What a week! My friends and I rented a house in Grindelwald (Switzerland) and spent the week hiking in the heart of the Swiss Alps. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, with six sunny hikes:
We spent very little time in town – an aprés-hike visit to a pastry shop, a brief tour of the gift shops – but we did enjoy an excellent fondue meal at Hirschen, and the many sights, sounds, and tastes of the Wednesday-evening street festival. More photos in the gallery!
Postscript: unfortunately, about 15 days after we left Grindelwald, a massive storm blew through the region and caused terrible flooding. The village of Brienz was devastated, and both Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen were cut off for several days. I feel horrible for the people and businesses affected.
A gentle hike from Gross Scheidegg down to Schwarzwaldalp.
On our final day in Grindelwald, we chose a milder hike. It began with a bus ride up the steep and winding road to a mountain pass, Gross Scheidegg – the taller (eastern) counterpart to Kleine Scheidegg on the western side of Grindelwald. Here we stumbled into a local community festival, which appeared to be an amateur wrestling contest! We stopped to watch for a while, then ambled up the road and along the trail to take us down the other side of the pass. Our goal was the tiny village of Schwarzwaldalp, which we understood to be the site of a historic, water-powered sawmill. Read on!
An afternoon jaunt to a promontory overlooking Grindelwald.
Our fourth day in Grindelwald allowed for a second hike. (In the morning, most of us took the train up to Jungfraujoch, where three of us walked through the sunshine across the snowfields to a hut for tea and cakes.) On return to Kleine Scheidegg, we met up with others in our group for lunch at a cheerful little berghaus nearby. We then struck out along the ridgeline, with the Eiger’s north face dominating the landscape behind us. Read on!
A morning visit to the highest train station in Europe – and a stroll across the snowfields at 12,000′.
On our fourth day in Grindelwald we took two hikes. We spent the morning visiting Jungfraujoch, which (despite its intensely touristy nature) is an incredible place to visit. It is the highest train station in Europe, serving a structure that perches on a pinnacle at 3571m (11,716′) above sea level, adjacent to the snowfields surrounding the 4000m Alpine mountains of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. In this post I share a few impressions – and a gallery of photos of our walk across the snowfield to the hut at Mönchsjochütte, on an astonishingly gorgeous day.
Hiking a classic alpine route, on a gorgeous day.
On the third day of our week in Grindelwald we decided to hike one of the most classic routes in the area, from Schynige Platte to First – although in the opposite direction. My hike there in 2019 was one of the most moving hikes I’ve ever experienced, as the Alps emerged out of an undercast sky like so many islands in an endless sea. Today, I was thrilled to share it with friends!
Today, we hiked from First (reached by gondola from downtown Grindelwald) to Schynige Platte (reached by a historic cog railway that climbs into the mountains from a valley close to Interlochen). The weather was perfect, so we were treated to a day full of stunning vistas as we hiked the high country above Grindelwald, over the pointy peak of Faulhorn (with lunch at its summit hotel!), along the rocky ridgeline, through alpine meadows brimming with wildflowers, across a couple of stubborn snowfields, and past another hut at Männdlenen (with a stop for apfel strudel, of course!). Read on, and check out the gallery.
Stunning views from our walk toward some glaciers above Grindelwald.
For the second hike of our week-long visit to Grindelwald, we chose the opposite side of the valley, a deep canyon formed by the Ischmeer Glacier, whose remnants cling to the high slopes of 4000-meter peaks like Schreckhorn, Finsteraarhorn, and Feischerhorn. Our primary goal was the Berghaus Bäregg – literally, mountain house at bear corner – which we rightly anticipated would provide a sunny lunch spot with spectacular views of the glacier. Our stretch goal was to continue onward to Schreckhornhütte, another hut far upslope at elevation 2,527m. Although we turned around when we reached 6,000’ (1829m) we enjoyed the sunny meadows strewn with wildflowers; views of glaciers and snowfields spawning massive waterfalls and cascades; and challenging sections of trail where it clung to the cliffside or crossed massive washouts. And, a hearty lunch at the Berghaus! Read on, and check out the gallery.
Our first hike above Grindelwald brought us out of the clouds and into spectacular scenery.
Our first hike out of Grindelwald was a relatively low-altitude stroll across the high terrain above town, from the end of the bus line at Bussalp to the end of another bus line at Waldspitz. The sky was cloudy as the bus wound up the steep and twisty road from Grindelwald, past the holiday homes and into the farm country high above town. Still, the clouds looked like they were struggling to hold form as the daylight grew stronger, so we headed up the trail in high spirits. Soon we were following a narrow track that meandered among the cows, across streams, and through meadows strewn with wildflowers. The clouds began to dissipate and the incredible peaks of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peeked out from across the valley. Read on, and check out the photos!
David Kotz 