“Here you can frolic and hike high above
the stress and clouds of the real world”
-Rick Steves
the stress and clouds of the real world”
-Rick Steves
- Männlichen - Kleine Scheidegg Hike
- Kleine Scheidig - Wengen Hike
- Group Dinner at Hotel Restaurant Oberland in Lauterbrunnen
Good Morning!
Breakfast at the hotel first of course, then down the hill from the hotel to the Männlichen gondola! Once at the top, we will check out the Royal Walk, then hike on over to Kleine Scheidegg to enjoy views of the Eiger mountain and other alpine nature.
Royal Walk
The Royal Walk to Männlichen Gipfel, gains about 350 feet of elevation to 7,687 when standing in the crown-shaped view-point. From here, when looking at the gondola station, you are rewarded with views of the Eiger (Ogre), Mönch (Monk), and Jungfrau (Maiden) mountain peaks!
Lunch time
We stopped at the Rick Steves recommended Restaurant Grindelwaldblick, which includes a cute mountain lookout for nice views.
Here, we finally got some fondue!
Here, we finally got some fondue!
We weren't ready to take the train from Kleine Scheidegg back to Wengen, so we decided to walk down the hill towards Wengen, not exactly intending to go all the way to Wengen, but we did that anyway. About ten-minutes in, it started to rain! (cue the raincoats!).
It was fun again to travel down paths where we encountered cows, flowers, and all different terrains of a mountainside. However, we had a few moments of thunder and a couple flashes of lightning...we do NOT recommend hiking in those conditions.
It was fun again to travel down paths where we encountered cows, flowers, and all different terrains of a mountainside. However, we had a few moments of thunder and a couple flashes of lightning...we do NOT recommend hiking in those conditions.
As if a some lightning wasn't nerve-wracking enough, we had just gotten back into Wengen when this electrical fence lined path was the efficient way back to the hotel....luckily neither of us sustained shocks from lightning nor electric fencing.
Today's Swiss Alpine flowers
All of the flowers were show-stoppers on this sun-filled morning in the mountains; lots of vibrant royal purples and lemony yellows popped along the trail and beyond.
Group Dinner at Restaurant Hotel Oberland
Axel arranged a group dinner at Restaurant Hotel Oberland down in Lauterbrunnen for those who wanted to participate. On the menu was fresh green salad, Lauterbrunnen pork sausage with Rösti (made of Swiss potato) and Swiss ice cream for dessert.
Back to Wengen
Here we anticipated a leisurely evening maybe exploring Wengen or just continue to enjoy our balcony. However that was about to change...
Having some time before the event started, we walked further into town and heard the call of small bells, which lead us to this flock of sheep in an abundant pasture near Wengen Church - "Kirche Wengen"; snails also were out on the town enjoying the raindrops from the cloudy, rainy afternoon.
Today's "Wow" Moment
We were lucky to be able to enjoy this Swiss culture event featuring the massive cow bells being rung through town; a memorable experience! |
I've seen countless pictures of this area (Kleine Sheidegg) including this lodging, and it was surreal to explore it firsthand; plus, wildflowers amongst the Eiger, Monch, and Junfrau mountain peaks was picture-perfect - Ashli |