Tag: Switzerland

Helen and David’s last day in Grindelwald was fast approaching, so we went to First. Grindelwald First is a place, at the top of a gondola, on the other side of the valley to Kleine Scheidegg. The gondola is a few years old, small and completely inaccessible to wheelchairs. Fortunately, it was a warm sunny day so we left David and Diane at a restaurant. Again.

At the top of the gondola, at the First restaurant, is a cliff walkway. Helen tried suggesting that, because she had already done one of these, that there was not need to do another. We did it anyhow. You should do something scary at least once a day. Then we got on with some skiing. Late season ski conditions can often be a bit uncertain. Today, despite being overcast, the weather was warm. The snow was soft and sticky. The visibility was poor. We made the best of it. A long, meandering run took us back to David and Diane. It was fun but hard work.

Later, we all went out for our first and last evening meal in Grindelwald. The pizza was good. Helen and Diane shared a particularly large vanilla ice cream drizzled with hot chocolate sauce.

Next day dawned overcast, grey and miserable. Helen and Dave set off for home. P&O Ferries had just incited industrial action cancelling all their ferries and this did cause Helen and David to have a mini adventure. After a day and a night in the Black Forest they drove north to spend an extra night in a comfortable hotel on the banks of the northern Rhine. Finally, via a DFDS ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle, they made it home.

We set off to Germany to find a consultant that could check out Diane’s hip.

Switzerland turned orange. Not just Switzerland, much of Europe was tinted for a while as dust from the Sahara filled the air. This is not unusual. It happens every year or two. However, it does look very strange. Left a layer of orange snow on the mountains and orange dust on Helen’s car. We drove down to Interlaken. As the name suggests, this is the town between two lakes – Brienz to the east and Thun to the west. We pottered around for a while. Interlaken is a tourist town but on this particular day nothing very much appeared to be happening. We had a pleasant time and then headed back via the car wash so as to remove the thick layer of Sahara from the car. A few days earlier, David had mentioned that he was missing one of his favourite dishes – sausage, mash and beans. So when I spotted some Heinz baked beans in an Interlaken shop I thought I would attempt a fusion of Yorkshire, Swiss and vegan cuisine. With the baked beans we had rösti and tofu bratwurst. Rösti is a traditional Swiss way of roasting grated potatoes. Bratwurst is a type of sausage popular in Germany and Switzerland.  I have no doubt that many would argue that something made from tofu could not be a proper sausage – it did however all turn out to be very tasty.

Next day we tackled the Jungfraujoch. This is a railway station on the saddle between the Jungfrau and Mönch mountains at 3,454m. Tunnels connect to the Top of Europe building, an ice palace dug into the glacier and, via an elevator, the Sphinx astronomical observatory. First part of the journey was the now familiar train up to Kleine Scheidegg. From there we travelled on the Jungfrau Railway, the highest railway in Europe. The track climbs 1,393m in just over 9km through a steep tunnel inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains. The tunnel was dug just over a hundred years ago, took 16 years and remains an engineering masterpiece. On the way up, the train stops at some observations windows where you can look out from the north face of the Eiger.

From the underground train station we made our way to the Top of Europe building where an elevator took us to a small café. After ascending some 2,400m we were ready for a coffee. Refreshed, we managed to avoid the souvenir shop and headed for the observation platform just underneath the Sphinx Observatory.

The mountain scenery here is awesome and we were not disappointed. There was still a little Saharan dust from the day before in the air. This reduced visibility but also gave a slightly surreal and very atmospheric tinge to the views. We felt like we were in a very unusual and vaguely other-worldly place. We could see down several deep, distant valleys and also across the Aletsch Glacier which, at 23km, is the largest glacier in the Alps. As if to emphasise the height of our viewpoint, a helicopter flew past underneath us.

After the best part of an hour, the cold was eventually starting to penetrate. We retreated inside and installed ourselves in the restaurant for lunch. Service was a bit slow but with incredible views through the windows we did not really care. We drank champagne. It seemed appropriate. There was also salad and pasta. By the time coffee was done we were warm again. We were also quite relaxed and so did not think twice about heading off to the ice palace with both wheelchairs.

The palace is a series of tunnels carved into the glacier. The floor is ice. Flat, smooth ice that we could skate along while pushing the wheelchairs. Along the way are alcoves with assorted ice sculptures. At the end of the ice tunnels we emerged on a short snowy ramp leading to another view point. David surprised everyone by walking up here. We did not linger though. The weather was coming in cold and windy. Also, we were running out of time for the last train down.

The last down train was a bit chaotic. Not only were there some dawdling tourists, like us, but also quite a few staff and a fair bit of luggage. It took quite an effort to pack everyone in. Helen and I  found seats for Diane and David then had to fold the wheelchairs up and get them out of the way. Eventually, we found ourselves squashed into a corner by the doors and behind crates. The ticket inspector was the last person in through the doors. She looked at how cramped things were and then asked us if we wanted to sit next to the driver at the very front of the train. Oh yes. We rode down the Eiger looking out of the front of the train chatting with the driver about his job. Very cool end to the day.

This time we left Diane and David on the balcony of the hotel room. It is a magnificent balcony that looks out across the Grindelwald valley and up to the north face of the Eiger. You can keep an eye on three ski slopes and the sledging run. We made sure there was an adequate supply of red wine, beer and snacks. They also had the binoculars and the camera. Helen and I took the new, high speed, Eiger Express gondola and in just twenty minutes or so we were high in the mountains up on the ski slopes. Another trip to Wengen was followed by skiing all the way back to Grindelwald. We stopped at the top of the final run to wave to David and Diane. With unaided eyes we could just about make out the hotel but had no idea if they could see us. We just stood there for a few minutes waving like idiots. But they did see us. Diane even took some photos.

Next day we all went for a drive around Lake Thun (Thunersee). Down in the valley the weather was warm and sunny if a bit hazy. We stopped at several places along the far shore. Helen and David were particularly taken by the pollarded plane trees dotted along the shore. Here and in France, roadside trees are commonly heavily pruned to control how they grow. In particular they tend to develop knobbly lumps at the branch ends. Because of this they bore a striking resemblance to the Whomping Willow of Harry Potter fame. Cent was also quite interested but possibly for other reasons. For lunch we found a perfect hotel balcony. Here we were served beer and snacks while looking out over the lake and a small arboretum of Whomping Willows.

Back to the skiing. Using the Eiger Express we could get to Eiger Gletcher railway station. Above the station is an excellent small restaurant with seating on the balcony. From here, at 2,320m, you can look up at the slowly shrinking Eiger Glacier and down at the ski slopes. Once again, Diane and David had a full-service arrangement while Helen and I went to ski. At this altitude the sun can be intense. By the time we got back, Diane and David were possibly a little sun-bronzed but had managed to keep themselves hydrated by drinking beer judiciously.

Here are a couple of videos of Helen skiing. I took one of Helen skiing on her own. The other, filmed by Diane, shows Helen following me off the start of the run down from Eiger Gletcher.  

This part of the Bernese Oberland has strong cultural connections to Britain. After visiting Wengen, where the Brits invented skiing and Lauterbrunnen that lent inspiration to ‘The Lord of the Rings’, we set off to visit another cultural reference near the town of Meiringen. All of us piled into Helen’s car, four adults, two wheelchairs and a large German Shepherd. We drove out to the Reichenbach Falls, famous for something that never actually happened. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book, “The Final Problem”, his legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes falls to his death after an altercation with his greatest foe, the criminal Professor Moriarty. Of course this is just a novel and never happened. Furthermore, in a subsequent novel we discover Sherlock did not die but actually used the incident as an excuse to skulk off to Tibet and Japan. So, even in the Holmes fantasy world, he never died there. None the less, the notoriety has rubbed off and made the Reichenbach Falls world famous.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, the falls were closed for the winter. There is small mountain railway that takes visitors up from the valley. But only in the summer. We looked at a small plaque and the wall. This was a bit of an anti-climax so by way of compensation we wandered into town in search of lunch. What we actually found was the man himself. Or at least, a bronze statue of him. Created by John Doubleday in 1988, this is the world’s first statue of Sherlock Holmes. The same year a statue appeared in Karuizawa (Japan). In 1991 the first statue in Britain was erected at Conan-Doyle’s birthplace in Edinburgh and in 1999, another Doubleday statue was installed outside Baker Street tube station – they failed to find a site actually on Baker Street. In 2007, a statue of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson was erected in Moscow near the British embassy. What would the great detective make of current events there? Meanwhile, back in Meiringen, we examined the statue very carefully. Purportedly there are clues to all of the Holmes novels embedded in the statue. We failed to find any but Helen did seem to enjoy sitting on his knee.

After an excellent lunch we drove round the far side of the Brienzersee lake just as the sun set.

Another day and another British cultural reference. This time we headed back in to the mountains and up to the summit of the Schilthorn, 2,970m. From Lauterbrunnen, we rode up a cable car and  then a small mountain railway to the isolated Alpine village of Mürren. From the train station it was a short taxi ride in a 4×4 pickup with wheel chains to another cable car that took us up to Birg at 2,677m. Here we found a nice sunny platform where David and Diane had coffee. Meanwhile, Helen and I explored the “Thrill Walk” – a thin walkway clinging perilously to the cliffs high. This features a glass floor and a kind of crawling net that hangs out over an immense drop. Helen was very brave.

Finally, from Birg, we took another cable car and arrived at the top of the Schilthorn. The views up here are truly spectacular. It is one of the highest places around and over 200 peaks are visible. The view is so good that in 1969 the world’s first revolving restaurant, called Piz Gloria, was built here. Part of the funding came from the James Bond movie production team who were working on the film of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. The name Piz Gloria came from Flemmings novel and it features prominently in the film as the villainous Blofeld’s mountain top hide-away.

George Lazenby played Bond in this film. He was rubbish and fortunately this was the only time he played Bond. All that business with kilts just makes me cringe. Despite this, the restaurant proudly broadcasts its Bond connection. There are life sized Lazenby cut-outs, little “007” notices everywhere and a Bond inspired menu. Double 0 pasta anyone? In the Bond themed toilet a sound track of movie clips occasionally declares “Oh James!” while you are trying to concentrate.

Despite all the Bond nonsense, this is one of the genuinely amazingly places to be in the world. The scenery is breath-taking and constantly changing. Especially if you sit in the rotating restaurant. It is wonderful – you can enjoy a bite to eat in warmth and comfort while the whole of the Swiss Alps rotates for  your pleasure and convenience. We had lunch but first we had champagne. We invested in a bottle of Bollinger – “the champagne of James Bond”. It was delicious and completely appropriate but note that I pointedly used the word ‘invested’. This is not wine for casually quaffing. The food was very good despite being called “Bond… this” and “James… that”. After some 007 coffee (I kid you not), we wandered around outside absorbing the views and breathing the pure alpine air. Helen found a stuffed Ibex that she took quite a liking to. We almost missed the last cable car down. Not sure what would happen then – would they let us stay?

Diane had just broken her hip and we were supposed to be meeting Helen, my baby sister, and her husband, David, for a skiing trip. This excursion had been difficult to arrange. Very nearly happened in January but was scuppered by the Covid outbreak. Now it was in doubt again but we decided to press on anyhow. At Brixen hospital, Diane’s hip had been pinned back together. Hopefully she will recover without any lasting problems but for the next few weeks she cannot put any weight on her leg. Climbing into the cab of Baloo is quite impossible and using the crawl-though would require far more agility than is possible just now. So Diane had to stay in the living compartment, using the bench seat and facing backwards.

We agreed to meet Helen and David at the Unicat workshop. Arriving a couple of days early we had time to install a seatbelt in the rear so that Diane would be safe (thank you Daniel). We also collected a wheelchair to help her get around (thank you Claudia and Rainer). It was great to meet Helen and David although it was clear that David’s condition was progressing. He has Motor Neurone Disease. This is a rare, degenerative condition that affects the brain and nerves. He is gradually losing the use of his muscles, can no longer lift his arms and needs a wheelchair.

After a gentle, two day drive we arrived at the pretty Swiss village of Grindelwald. Here we had booked Baloo onto a campsite and also found a nearby hotel for Helen and David. Next day we all went out in Helen’s car – four people and two wheelchairs. It all worked quite well. We found a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch and looked at some glaciers. We were encouraged by this and so set our sights to the mountains for the following day.

The Swiss trains turned out to be very accommodating when it came to wheelchairs. On our first venture, we went up to the Kleine Scheidegg mountain pass at 2,061m. Nestled under the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks this celebrated alpine pass is a focal point for the mountain railway and chairlift systems. The railway people were very helpful. So much so that we felt empowered to continue down to the mountain village of Wengen on the far side of the pass. One story has it that alpine skiing was invented here, by the British. Winter holiday makers requested use of the train system effectively turning them into the first ski lifts. The British downhill championships of 1921 featured a “straight down” race and the worlds first slalom, where skiers had to negotiate trees as they raced.

While we were waiting at Wengen train station to head back, there were a few tantalising views of the Lauterbrunnen valley. JRR Tolkien drew inspiration from this valley in his depiction of Rivendell. The Wengernalp Railway, from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald via Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg, is the world’s longest continuous rack and pinion railway. Trains going downhill take longer than those going up. This is because it is a single track system. The downhill train arrives at the mid-point passing place slightly before the uphill train so that the uphill train never has to stop.

Next day Helen had her first ski lesson. We all went back up to Kleine Scheidegg. David and Diane had to help up with carrying the skis. It would have been handy if the wheelchairs could be fitted with a ski rack. We then abandoned the pair of them at the train station for a couple of hours. This was not all bad. They had a table outside the restaurant , in the sunshine, with waiter service and a spectacular view of the north face of the Eiger. Helen’s first lesson, with a professional instructor, went well and she arrived back beaming from ear to ear. Her background as a long time fell runner probably helps – she has good balance, strong legs and no fear at all about going downhill very fast. By the time Helen and I returned to the others they had not only taken coffee but also lunch and several beers. We mutually agreed the day had been a success and headed back down to Grindelwald.

We crossed the Julier pass. Drove round St Moritz. Nearly went to Italy but then realized that were not far from Samnaun. This is the little duty free enclave where we spent two months last year. Back then, Switzerland was one of the few European countries where campsites were open. Now, travelling is a bit easier and more ski resorts are open. One reason to visit Samnaun was to see what it was like in full swing with the links to Ischgl in Austria open. Another reason was cheap diesel.

Arriving in Samnaun we not only went to the familiar campsite but also the same pitch we had last year. Other than that, things were very different. Far more people for a start and a steady stream of skiers coming down the valley from Austria, drinking beer and then carrying on down to the cable car. Last year, the morning cable car catered for about ten people. My first trip up it was packed. Best part of a hundred people on two decks. Ischgl almost caused me culture shock. The pristine, quiet and peaceful mountains were now packed with people and ski slopes. The pistes were wide, steep and dense with high speed skiers. The lifts are big, brash and fast. Restaurants and bars were heaving. There is an intensity and frenetic pace to this sort of ski resort that actually makes me a bit uncomfortable. Somehow I think the mountains should be a bit more peaceful and relaxing. The rather apt catch phrase that Ischgl has adopted is “Relax. If you can…”.

Two days of cross border skiing was ample to satisfy my curiosity and we were about to leave. Then the snow came. The forecast showed a big dump of snow in this area of the Alps and not so much elsewhere. Exciting news especially since, after almost becoming a local the previous year, I now knew many of the good places to ski in fresh snow. We sat it out. Three days of continuous snow. Well over half a meter. Finally the clouds passed and the morning arrived, clear and fresh. Along with many others, I headed for the hills and had a fantastic few hours making fresh tracks in the soft, virgin snow. The local knowledge really helped. A couple of times I skied a new line and then, within a handful of minutes, it had been repeated by a score of others. Such was the density of skiers, that by lunchtime, pretty much all the good areas had been skied out. Once the all the fresh snow has been churned up into uneven mush, it becomes much harder and far less pleasant to ski. The next day I explored the Ischgl side. There is clearly much off-piste skiing there but it was all skied out. A strong wind during the night had blown much of the fresh snow of exposed ridges so they were looking bare already.

The next day we actually, really, definitely set off for Italy.

It took half a day at the Unicat workshop to find the problem with the generator. Then about two minutes to fix the loose wire that was the cause of all the trouble. With that sorted we set off for Northern Italy.

Two days later we were crossing the Julier pass. Heading south towards St Moritz. We stopped at the little village of Bivio at 1800m. There are a couple of drag lifts here and a small camping area for motorhomes. We had passed the place several times previously. Many of the mountain roads in Switzerland are closed in the winter so the total number of routes though the country is quite limited. The road on the Julier pass is often snow covered and requires care but a gang of people with a range of snow clearing machines manage to keep it open most of the time.

The drag lift opposite the camp area is only open at the weekend. It was Friday afternoon. Every time we had passed here, I thought it would be a great place to ski for a couple of days. This seemed like too much of a good opportunity so, despite the slightly dodgy looking weather, we parked up.

Next day the weather was truly terrible. Misty, cold, snowing and windy. We took a walk down to the village and found some goats in a shed.

Sunday dawned very cold but clear. The entire ski area consists of just three drag lifts. They are very long. Each one takes about ten minutes. At the top of the highest lift you are way above the valley with wide open vistas of the surrounding mountains. This area is very popular for ski mountaineering. Small groups of people were working their way up the slopes in every direction I looked. A sunny Sunday and fresh snow was an irresistible lure. The skiers fit self-adhesive climbing skins to their skis, walk up a mountain, remove the skins and then ski down making elegant patterns in the virgin snow. By the evening, just about every slope and couloir I could see was covered in wiggly ski tracks. I confined myself to areas accessible from the ski lifts but still had a great day. Lots of space, not many people and some fantastic views. Diane has never liked drag lifts so she was happy to walk with Cent and take a few photographs.

 Next day we carried on towards Italy.