Our
first climb - Das Schilthorn
Only a few hundred meters up the mountain, unused to the high altitude
air, I needed to take many breaks. The vistas in the Alps are so
breathtaking that they are hardly believable! It seems fake, like
it must be a painting.
At the
top of das Schilthorn
You can easily guess the altitude of a mountain because there are
three distinct climates as the altitude rises; the lower hills are
green & grassy, the mid-range mountains are brown with sparse
evergreen trees, and the highest peaks are covered in snow.
View
from das Schilthorn: Der Eiger, der Mönch, and die Jungfrau
These are the highest peaks in the Swiss Alps, and das Schilthorn
is an ideal mountain to climb for this vista. Jennifer and her husband
have climbed der Mönch. They are clearly nuts.
Touristorama!
Exhausted, we didn't have to climb back down the mountain. Thankfully
there was a cable car to take us back down the steep slope. However,
we missed the first one by one minute, and by serendipity
we discovered a room with an elaborate music and slide show (circa
1970s!) aptly named "Touristorama!" We learned that the
James Bond Film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was
filmed at das Schilthorn in 1969!
What
a view!
Halfway up das Stockhorn a mountain lake appears... it reminds me
of the set of The Lord of the Rings!
Where
the Alps begin.
From the top of das Stockhorn, you can see where the Swiss Alps
mountain range begins. Way down below is the town of Spiez and the
Thunersee.
Climb
#3 - Die Oeschinensee
Farm animals
roam freely in Switzerland (unlike the US, Swiss animal
welfare laws extend also to farm animals) so it is common to find
cows, sheep, and goats remarkably high on the mountain! The sound
of cowbells FILLS the air... it always sounds like you are surrounded
by beautiful windchimes!
The
peaks rise vertically directly from this mountain lake. The view
is breathtaking! Its hard to fully appreciate the true scale of
this vista from a photo.
The
clouds roll in.
Just minutes after we arrived to this midpoint on the mountain,
the clouds swept in, engulfing us and our view. The air was nearly
freezing and the clouds were very damp!
Mountain
Spring
We took a more direct path back down the mountain, since there was
no cablecar on this less "touristy" destination. It was
cold, damp and worth it! (I look like a kindergartner bundled up
to catch the bus!)
