Europe – David Kotz

Grindelwald – redux

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!

Street party in Grindelwald, with the Alps looming in the background.

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.

Grindelwald – Schwarzwaldalp

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!

A community wrestling competition at Gross Scheidegg.

Grindelwald – Männlichen

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!

The Eiger’s north face looms over the pleasant meadows and shops around Kleine Scheidegg.

Grindelwald – Jungfraujoch

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.

People stream out across the snowfield from Jungfraujoch (on the rocky pinnacle).

Grindelwald – Faulhorn

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.

The Faulhorn traverse offers amazing views of the Alps from meadows filled with wildflowers.

Grindelwald – Berghaus Bäregg

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.

View from Berghaus Bäregg, toward the Ischmeer glacier; the trail continues level across the green slope at left and around the corner.

Grindelwald: Bussalp to Waldspitz

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!

Descending through a verdant valley, with alpine peaks looming ahead.

Grindelwald

Home base for a week of alpine hiking!

My first visit to Grindelwald was in fall 2019, after an incredible overnight stay at the alpine hut perched on the summit of Faulhorn mountain, with sunset views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. It was so stunning that I brought my family back there in December, to see it in winter – and then again in June 2020, to hike from there up to Kleine Scheidegg in the shadow of the Eiger. Each visit to Grindelwald was magical, surrounded as it is by the stunning beauty of the Alpine peaks and pastoral meadows. So, despite its intense tourism (after all, I am hardly the first person to notice Grindelwald!) I decided Grindelwald would be an excellent base for a week of hiking with college friends. We rented a house on Vrbo, and settled in on Monday evening for a week-long stay.

View of the Eiger’s north face, from the bedroom balcony of our rental house.

In subsequent posts I will highlight each of our daily hikes, then wrap-up with a few photos of Grindelwald itself.

Northern Lights

Two brilliant nights, above the Arctic Circle.

As noted in the prior post, we spent four nights in Saariselkä, near the northern tip of Finland. We stayed at the “Northern Lights Village,” which we all hoped was eponymously named! Guests are housed in individual little cabins, called “aurora cabins,” which have glass across half their roof, and a special in-room tablet computer that rings a gentle alarm whenever the Northern Lights are visible. We were all hopeful to see the aurora borealis, at least once. We did! Read on, and check out the photo gallery!

Lapland

Northern Finland – Sami culture, reindeer, dogsleds, and more.

After our day in Helsinki (Finland) and our day in Tallinn (Estonia), we hopped on a Finnair flight to the northern tip of Finland – specifically, to the tiny town of Saariselkä, where one can downhill ski at the northern-most lift-skiing resort in the world, cross-country ski on an extensive trail network, explore reindeer farms, experience dogsledding, and more. We stayed four nights at the “Northern Lights Village,” a delightful resort in the middle of all these delightful opportunities. Read on, and check out the photo gallery for more!