Thursday 7th: going up Schilthorn, walking along some ridges and a valley

[ I took lots of pictures today. 319. There were really great views. So there are a few pictures in this entry as well, but lots of good ones are left out. Here are all pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/110144623598348247797/20110407?authkey=Gv1sRgCKbow9LBz-SIyAE#  ]

I woke up and ate two bowls of muesli. Best breakfast I've had in a while. After being exhausted in Zurich after Paris I decided that I should be eating a little better. I had a great view when I woke up this morning. Thee room at the hostel is really good.

I think I took this while still lying in bed. Great view.

 
I was keen to go for a walk and see some of the sights. There seem to be two main large mountains that you can go up: Schilthorn, and Jungfrau. Schilthorn is 2970m, Jungfrau is 4158m. By crazy ambition, the Swiss have built combinations of train and cablecar so that you can reach the very top of Schilthorn without any actual climbing, and can reach a lookout at 3454m a little below the Jungfrau summit. To get to the top of Jungfrau was apparently going to cost about 150 Francs! (the conversion rate seems to be roughly about 1:1 for Franc to Australian dollar). For Schilthorn it would be 55 Francs. Also, the lady at reception told me that Schilthorn has a full 360 degree view around it, because you're actually at the summit, and that the view is very good. Jungfrau has some crazy stuff dug into the mountain underneath the summit such as an ice sculpture gallery-thing, and you can view a glacier. But 150 francs is out of my range. Schilthorn sounds good.


I first took a cable car up a few hundred metres from Lauterbrunnen. It was very exciting. First cable car I've been in, probably.

Then I could have taken a train along the side of the top of this valley to the town Murren. But I decided it would be a pleasant walk instead. It was.

From higher up out of the valley I get a really great view of the mountains!

It was a very bright sunny day. A little too sunny actually... but it was good!

I drank some of this water. It was good.

Mountain views everywhere. I was amazed, and so a lot of pictures were taken.

I got to Murren! This town is at 1600m or so. (Lauterbrunnen is at 795) So this is now the highest I've been! And I should be going higher. This area, or this town, was where they did the first slalom skiing. There was a statue saying something about it. ... I think this house/hotel/thing looks pretty cool.

dudu tennis.

Yes, I own Switzerland now.

Murren is where you can take the next cable car to Birg, and then the rest of the way to Schilthorn. So I did that.

This was quite scary! Birg is at about 2800m. There was a piece of writing saying that to build this section of cable car was a big technical challenge.

Looking from Birg to Schilthorn.

I thought I was at the top, but not quite. Still two terrifying escalators to go up!

They have a Top Shop here! Wow, they are everywhere.

I got to the top and the views were fairly amazing. But I was also feeling a bit dizzy. Either from the sun, or from this 'altitude sickness' thing. It can occur anywhere above 2400m according to Wikipedia.

This is featured in the James Bond film 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I think it is the headquarters of some kind of evil villain. James Bond flies into this area on a helicopter, where I'm now standing. There are clips on Youtube, and it is indeed this very place! I will have to watch the film someday. I'm not a James Bond enthusiast.

 I took some videos to better display the views. The views was really great. 360 degrees views, as the lady said. These next few videos show the nice view. I was feeling tired, so I felt it was easier to just make a movie of it.

Lots of paragliders around the place.

 Inside the building from before, they have a revolving restaurant. I had a quick look inside but didn't bother to look at the menu. Probably very expensive. But it's a cool concept. One day I will have money.

I was still feeling a bit dizzy, and I planned to walk along some more mountains before getting home so I needed to go back down.

Nice outdoor eating back at Birg. People ski from this mountain! They also ski from Schilthorn. It's quite crazy. I've noticed that if people are doing skiing, then one of the main things they like to talk about is the colour rating of the section they plan to ski. The word "black run" comes up with great frequency as a statement of pride. "You should see the black runs I go on!" Also, amongst people who do gliding, the word "cumulus", as in the cloud type, is mentioned in every other sentence.

I got back down to Murren. I planned to walk further along the side of the mountain. Next town was Gimmelwald I think. I took some paths in the general direction. I got the feeling that I was heading higher than I should. Then I saw a sign that pointed off to the side saying the Gimmelwald is that way. There was no path where the sign pointed. I walked a little further along and there was a sign to 'wanderweg' (which, as I type this on my last night in Lauterbrunnen, have realised means 'walking trail', or 'wandering way'. But I didn't know that at the time) and drawn in by hand underneath was 'gimmelwald'. The sign seemed to point across a field. It didn't look like a path at all. But it eventually turned into one.

Some deer.

I made it down to Gimmelwald. It has lots of nice farms there.

Angry cows, or 'bulls' probably.

I went out of Gimmelwald, down the valley a little way.

I came to a bridge and this sign. But I couldn't just turn back. Plus, I think I'd seen the top of the mountains above this region from higher up and it looked reasonable.

This is where the avalanches will come from.

I was wondering whether there was another path to go instead of the one where I will die from avalanche. But the other side of the river just led to this thing which diverts the river through pipes for some way. There were a few security cameras looking at me. So, I had to go by the path that is at risk of avalanche.

Oh no, snow! The Dunlop Volley shoes are not built for this.

A little way further I came to this sign. So I have to watch out for avalanches and falling stones. I will most probably be fine.

This is where the rocks will be falling from.

A little way further I came to this bridge that has been partially destroyed by falling rocks! I took the previous warning a little more seriously now.

I crossed the bridge. Hooray!

I walked down this gully thing toward the main valley. There were some really nice waterfalls coming down there here, but I don't think they came out very well in the pictures. The light was becoming a bit low.

Almost down in the valley. The cliffs are very impressive looking.

Water from the waterfall is going under the ice. strange.

There are lots of nice chairs through the valley where you can sit and enjoy the view.

I'm very tired. A little after this I finally got back.

When I got back I was very tired. I somehow managed to cook some pasta for myself. It was quite enjoyable. In this hostel I met two nice American people. They are from Philadelphia. One of them believes quite a few conspiracy theories while his friend thinks that he is a little crazy for this.