Today dawned and it had snowed overnight - no, not here, but lower on the mountains than before, and there were heavy clouds. By the time we had finished breakfast, we decided Schilthorn was definitely not on - the live feed just showed cloud. Looking for an alternative, we decided to head toward Grindelwald, on the other side of the valley. This was the third town that Errol had considered as our base for our Alps stay. Emma suggested that we could go on from there up to First, and hike on to Bachalpsee, the alpine lake.
Grindelwald is a much bigger town than Murren, and had superb views of the surrounding mountains. There were quite a few shops, restaurants and hotels, it was a busy little town but with cars unlike Murren. With the sun out, it was beautiful, temperatures not bad at all. We only passed through at this stage, as we headed for the gondola.
Onto the gondola for the twenty five minute ride up to First (pronounced Fearst - 2168m). The scenery was spectacular. It started rising over the town of Grindelwald, then over the hills with their chalets and cattle (you hear the bells before you see the cows!), ever rising toward the mountains. We were a little worried - it was very warm in the gondola, and we hadn't brought hats, only beanies, and had left the sunscreen at the hotel.
Excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken through the window of the gondola.
As we neared First, we reached snow for the first time - not thick, but a reasonable spread over the ground and roofs. With the sun out, the view of the mountains was amazing, though the temperature was certainly cooler. We took some photos from the deck of the restaurant, then decided to have lunch before we ventured out for the walk. Outdoor dining was not an option - snow on furniture (see photo), but it was cosy inside. There happened to be another Aussie couple at the next table, and it was nice to talk about home things for a while. But, in no time, the clouds came over, and we were looking outside to a wall of white.
We decided to have a go at the hike to the lake anyway, and see how we went. It was supposed to be about an hour each way. So, it was scarf, beanies and gloves on, and we ventured out. There was the same light covering of snow all the way, some steep sections (both up and down) but not for too long, and quite a few other hikers out on the path. We passed several small streams racing downhill over rocks, some alpine cows (again, you hear the bells first) and pretty wild flowers. All the time, watching the clouds swirl around, breaking up temporarily in places to give glimpses of the mountains above.
The lake was small, but pretty. Apparently in good weather the reflections are beautiful. We had a few small flakes of snow while there, and on the walk back. It was cold.
Then we had the return trip to do. We had a stroll past the shops in Grindlewald. The chill in the air remained all the way back to Murren.
One of the enjoyable things about being away is that you chat with other travellers too, sharing experiences. Around here, we keep bumping into them elsewhere. One couple who are staying at the same accommodation as us we ran into 3 separate times today. Yet I can walk around the local shopping centre at home and not run into anyone I know!
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