Europe Travel Diary 1987 45

Europe 1987

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan 2018

Today’s weather was fine after a cloudy start. We decided that I would do a solo (i.e. not very child-friendly = a bit unsafe) walk to Pfingstegg while Di looked after children and went to shops. I left the zimmer at about 9:00am, and it was not long before the sky had totally cleared of clouds revealing a brilliant blue sky and fine weather – it was splendid, especially with all the new snow on the peaks surrounding Grindelwald.

In order to get to Pfingstegg, I had to take a short cable car ride from the south-east end of town up to the station beside the Eiger Ultra Trail. Having reached the top of the cable car trip, I took the trail towards the south, following the eastern side of the deep valley of the Lütschine River, which is the river flowing from the meltwater of the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher (Lower Grindelwald Glacier).

The views along the walk were exceptional, somewhat like walking through a living, breathing, three-dimensional version of the best illustrated book on glacial geomorphology that you wish had been written. Behind me were views across the valley to the town of Grindelwald, nestled into the valley and surrounding snow-capped hills. To my right and below me was the moraine-covered lower reach of the crevasse-surfaced glacier. Ahead of me was a view that filled my gaze of the massive glacier making its way down the steep slope from the cirque and snowfields of the higher altitudes. Immediately beside the trail, on its upper side away from the valley below, were lovely examples of glacial striations, parallel scratches on the smoothed rocks formed when moving ice dragged small stones against the rocks. The fresh air was some of the sweetest I have ever inhaled.

I terminated my walk when I reached a small wooden building housing a café, realising that it was time to return to the zimmer for lunch and afternoon activities with the family. Meanwhile, while I was experiencing something akin to a vision of heaven on my mountain walk, Di was somewhat enviously (of me) washing and shopping, returning to the zimmer at a little after midday to prepare lunch.

We enjoyed lunch together on the balcony of our zimmer, surrounded by the beautiful scenery and listening to my stories of Pfingstegg.

Following lunch, we made the most of the beautiful weather by driving through Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg, where we caught a series of three cable cars to Birg (at an altitude of 2,670 metres). There was quite a bit of snow on the ground at Birg, so a natural playground presented itself to Liesl and Phillip, who made the most of it.

After the time spent playing in the snow, we took one cable car downslope to Mürren, a beautiful clifftop village with no cars. We had a glorious walk through the village, enjoying the scenery and atmosphere with its timber houses and large supplies of timber for winter heating underneath. We enjoyed an afternoon tea in Mürren (and bought some bells for the house), and then took the remaining cable cars back to Stechelberg at about 6:00pm.

It was a fabulous day, finished off by dinner on the balcony of the zimmer while Tim slept in the car.