Grindelwald First

June 7th  Morning

According to the information in the guidebook, one of the few places where the glaciers have penetrated deeply into the valley is in Grindelwald.  The best overview to see them is from Grindelwald First, a popular excursion destination that can be reached by an amazing gondola ride leaving from Grindelwald, and it's only about a ten minute walk from our hotel. 

This morning's view from our hotel.  It's been sunny every day.

The entrance to Grindewald First

 The most popular attractions at Grindelwald First are the idyllic Lake Bachalpsee, theme trails such as the Flower Trail and the Marmot Nature Trail, as well as the high alpine trail to the Faulhorn summit.  Also, there is a zipline called First Flyer that is 800 meters long, 50 meters above the ground, and goes at speeds of up to 80km per hour (50 mph).   

On June 7th, most of the trails and zipline were closed because of the snow.   We were told that there hasn't been this much snow in 50 years.   The trails and zipline would open on June 8th. 

Our gondola

 We left at 10 AM, as soon as it opened.  The ride to the top was about 30 minutes and had two places to get off for other hikes.

 Many of the photos were taken through the glass of the gondola, so they aren't very good.  But, it's difficult to convey what we saw in photographs anyway.  You have to go there to see for yourself.

I love all the cute Alpine houses.  Most of them are given names as well as dates of construction.

Lots of cows in the valley.  And they all have cowbells.  You know when they're coming.

Beautiful views from the gondola

In addition to photos being taken from gondola, the lighting was full sun, so you can't get great photos without a lot of manipulation of the aperture, etc.  No time for that.

One of the dairy farmers working outside

Cows lining up politely waiting their turn for a drink.

There are two stops along the way to the top.  This one, called Bort, has a restaurant and playground for children.

Riding into Bort

Leaving Bort behind

We saw many dozen waterfalls along the way.

You can't imagine how beautiful everything there really is.  Just breathtaking.

Farmer taking his cow for a walk

The second stop-Can't remember its name.

Getting closer to the top

We arrived at the restaurant at the top of Grindelwald First

Not that crowded compared to Jungfraujoch.

Panoramic views

Lots of Parasailing

On the way back down

Since the trail to Lake Bachalpsee would open tomorrow, June 8th, we would return for the hike.    This was morning.  Then we had to decide what to do in the afternoon.