To Männlichen
The plan was to do some semi-serious hiking today. We started at Mürren, on the far side of the valley in the picture. We took a train and then a cable car (the straight light-colored line on the right side of the photo) down to Lauterbrunnen . We then took another train to Wengen and boarded the cable car to Männlichen, a truly impressive 5,000 foot, 70% gradient climb to the top of the mountain. The picture was taken at the top station.
We hiked up to a nearby peak—7,500 feet high—following Rick Steve's instructions for what he calls his "favorite easy Alpine hike." Still we were huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top. It was embarrassing to see much older folks, a few dressed as if for a walk to church, negotiating the trail easily.
The view from the peak was a 360 degree view of mountains and valleys. We could see Interlaken in the distance, and way across the valley could make out our hotel.
The ninety-minute walk from the peak down to Kleine Scheidegg was gorgeious. Ahead you could see the famous trio of mountain peaks, Eiger, Mönch and Jungrfrau.
Notice on the signpost below the yellow "Kleine Scheidegg" arrow is another labeling it the "Panoramaweg" (Panorama Trail). It sure was.
Looking down, the green valley opened into the distance.
The buildings in the distance are the tourist town Kleine Scheidegg (a German friend burst out laughing when we told her we were planning to hike there. She said the name means "little vagina.")
But anyway...notice how many people are on the trail. Most Americans would consider this a pretty serious hike, yet the trail was filled with people of all ages, from young parents with infants in carriers (or strollers!) to plenty of folks in the 70+ age range.
We continued walking all the way back to Wengen, where the cable car had started. In all we descended about 3300 feet, the last half being pretty steep and hard on the knees. We were tired and hungry when we finally got back to the Hotel Alpina. Dinner on our balcony was a take-away vegetarian pizza that cost about $25 and was small but tasty. We loved it.
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