Sunday Aug. 7: Dodging the Rain

Look at those clouds!  But we only have a couple of days left here in the Jungfrau region.

Undeterred, we pack our rain gear and make a plan for minimal walking, kind of a day of rest.  

Rain while we're on the gondola.

Muddy ground while we search for the geo cache that we opted not to look for the day before.

Love the cushy moss and wiry plants.

Another geo cache beckons, and so we traipse through the cow pies and mud, just a little further.

Rain's cleared away.

We take a break and eat the roll we bought at the bakery this morning in Wengen.

Then we're on the rails to another geo cache, leaving from Grindlewald and requesting a stop in Lutschental.  It looks so different when it's not raining!  We walked through here days ago, in the rain.

After finding the cache after a short walk across a meadow and highway, we return to Lutschental and press the button to request that the next train stop.

We dodge the rain by riding the train, and when we stop in Interlaken Ost Jim snaps photos of the variety of old and new cars.

We walk around the park in Interlaken, and consider taking a ride on a tram that goes up the mountain, but when the rain begins again and the wait is 45 minutes, we decide to go on home.

After sharing an $8 ice cream cone.  To revive us.

The efficient relic RR that took us up to Schynige Platte the other day is waiting in the Wildersville station and poses for a photo from our train's window as we rumble by toward Lauterbrunnen and Wengen.  We're home in time for dinner.

Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011: Phingstegg Walk

After tramming and cable-carring to Grindelwald we catch the bus to Ober Gletcher. 

This bus stop is basically a big parking lot at the hotel Wetterhorn, up the valley from Grindelwald.  Various trails head off into the mountains and valley, including our trail to Pfingstegg.

Forest smells and sounds lovely.

 I took this photo with a rock for a tripod--took a couple of tries to get the timing thingie to behave (or was that me hitting the 'off' button?).  Right after this photo we met a nice couple from Yokohama, Japan.

 Views of Schynige Platte across the valley.  Hey--it looks clear over there today!

 We got dripped on in the tunnel through the mountain; water runs off the rocks all along this part of the route, making its way to the river below.

 Love the big rock.

 At our destination, the tram at Phingstegg.  Most people take the tram up and walk down.  We take it down--much easier on the feet than walking down.  I'll walk uphill any day.  Well, unless it's like a climb resembling a stairmaster on high.

The guy in the tractor behind me is the pooper scooper.  They actually have people shoveling the cow sh--  off the trail and onto the meadow in some high-travel areas.

 Tempting...but not for us today.

 The restaurant at the top of the Phingstegg tram.  What a view!  What food prices!

 Our reward, back in Grindelwald: a satisfying visit to the chocolate shop.

 Jim's holding that yummy for me while I snap the photo.  But I'll let him have a bite.

 We push the button for the 'on demand' stop on the train, for our next walk (which we soon realize is a hike). 

It is so fun to find the geocaches.

 Our favorite picnic stop so far.  This is the meal we had planned to eat on Schynigge Platte.  Keeps well, we found.  Yummy!

 Yes, that's a bottle of wine I'm about to take a swig from.

Our picnic view.

 Hunk o'chocolate, from that chocolate shop earlier.

 This is shortly into the 'hike' portion of this walk.  Again, the lure of another geocache keeps me going.

 And of course, the scenery.  

The most powerful motivator is the energy of the mountains.

 But hey, are we there yet?

 Look where we were earlier today--on the side of that mountain.

 Destination--the mid-point station of the gondola.  The other geocache is up the hill about 200 yards.  Really, out of the ballpark for today.

 I've wanted to see these cows get milked in the mountain-top barns.

 Out-of-the-barn milking.

 Our tram awaits.  The Swiss make this all so easy.  Well, the walking might be effortful at times, but the support services are awesome.

 And back in time for dinner.