Leaving Murren heading to Geneva for our next adventure

This morning we pack up after breakfast and get everything arranged in our suitcases so we can leave them outside our door at the chalet, go hiking, and then return to haul them off to the train station.  It seems rather strange to just leave your bags sitting out on a step, but after all we are in Murren, and we are the last house in town.  Anyone passing by would be walking either downhill to Gimmelwald looking at the mountains or uphill from Gimmelwald in which case they would be looking down at their feet as it is a steep walk.  The bags are fine.  

Today's hike we are hiking the North Face trail. This is a favorite hike in an area. The hike starts with a funicular up from Murren to Allmendhubel  and then you follow the signs for the North Face trail. Hmmmm we did not start there.  We were pretty sure we saw some signs for the North Face trail yesterday on our way up to Schilthorn.  After 30 minutes of hiking we were less than pretty sure we saw a sign, at 40 minutes we were wavering down to sort of sure we saw a North Face sign.  At 45 minutes when when we arrived at the sheep crossing location from yesterday we found a North Face sign!  Yeah!  Here we also meet a couple hiking up to Schilthorn.  They live in Interlaken and were up for a lung cleansing hike for their Sunday Entertainment.  They were a delightful couple and talked about so many different subjects from food to politics of Switzerland and the U.S.  I was rather sorry we did not have more time to chat, but we did chat for about twenty minutes.  People we have met so far on our trip seem so knowledgeable and speak multiple languages.

The North Face hike goes past several beautiful farms in the valleys framed with spectacular snow capped peaks the whole way. You wind through the views of several mountains "north faces" and along the way read historical facts on when the mountains were first climbed.  There are several great views of Murren and the opportunity to experience a stop at the little farm houses along the way for a cup of tea or piece of pie. 

This is a pretty easy hike and one that fits well into the whole Sound of Music "The Hills Are Alive" song.  We did stop for some pictures and did our best to make Julie Andrews proud.

As we worked our way around this hike, we found ourselves experiencing lots of different pasture gates.  Some just wooded with a circle of rope tossed over the top and a few metal ones that were a bit like a puzzle.  We would look at the opening possibilities and try different solutions until we found the magical solution.  I had read a few blog entries on this hike and found one where the lady just crawled through the gate as she was unable to figure out the special opening trick.  When I saw the picture she posted of the gate, I knew exactly which gate it was. A tricky one for sure!

We returned to our Murren Chalet to find our bags safe and sound, picked them up and headed off to the train station.  Our goal was to get to the train station before 12:36.  The BLM trains system shuts down for a lunch break at 12:36 for one hour.  Our return time gave us twenty minutes to get our bags pulled up the paths and over to the train station on the other side of Murren.  By the time we wheeled into the train station we are dripping wet and have six minutes to spare.  

Today is the second day of train travel on our Swiss train pass.  We purchased a Swiss transfer ticket so really it is like you use it for two days.  The way into Switzerland and the way out of Switzerland.  We also purchased a half price ticket which allowed us to ride all of those other trains for half price.  After today we are done with the train pass.  

We have the whole train thing down to a system now.  If the U.S. could operate train travel like the Swiss, it would really change travel around the U.S.!  I don't think I have mentioned this yet, but sometime during every train ride a ticket inspector or conductor comes through the cabin and looks at everyone's ticket and gives it a little paper punch.  Since we were using a Swiss Transfer Ticket /Half-fair Combi ticket this meant for every train or cable ride, we had to show all of our paper work.  I learned to keep all of the papers handy, they like to look at all of it, every time.  

At one of our train transfers we had a pretty good distance to transfer from one train to the next.  Basically we have to jump off the train at our arrival platform, find a ramp to go down under the station, and then come back up to the correct departure platform.  The trains run on tight arrival and departure schedule.  In this transfer we had six minutes, that means six Swiss minutes.  Swiss accuracy is very precise!  For your best chance at achieving a successful train change one must be standing with your bag, and close to a door.  When the door opens, move! If you stop to be polite to let ladies or elderly pass, you will only be left behind.  It reminded me of the kids standing in line at school.  With kids, there is never a line, just a pack of kids squirming and wiggling to be next.

At one stop we had a particularly long distance to make our transfer.  We jump off the train, head down the ramp, walk from the second platform to the seventh platform, go up the ramp moving as fast as one can pull a 40 pound luggage bag, and jump into the first open door.  Whoom, doors close, the train starts moving.  Nice, looks like first class...  A few other Americans had slipped through the other door just before the train started to move. The ticket conductor starts with first class and of course none of us are holding first class tickets.  Swiss train ticket inspectors do not like this mingling of first and second class... so the whole lot of us are curtly asked to find second class seating...  Well, that seems silly to me, no one else is using those seats, but we apologize for the mistake.  Now all of us silly Americans have to go from train car to train car as it is moving to locate new second class seats.  Doing this is not impossible, but it makes for an interesting moment or two while stepping across that connecting piece to the next car.  You can see the ground zipping by.....  Well, it does not require crawling on your hands and knees, but it does require some attention to detail.

It took us about three hours to travel from Murren to the Geneva train station.  The train station and airport are connected, so we scoped out where we will meet our REI  group the next day.  We are then off to locate a shuttle to our hotel for the evening.  We found the hotel shuttle does not run on Swiss accuracy.  The every fifteen minute shuttle was thirteen minutes late.  The driver must need a new watch!  

We are in Geneva on a Sunday night... There is nothing open, so we have to order in pizza, but can't order until after 7 pm.  When we go to the lobby to pick up the pizza, the delivery man has a motorcycle helmet.  The Pizza delivery man drives a scooter!  This hits my funny bone.  

Hiked 5 miles.  We should get bonus points for running our luggage up the hill in Murren and making the train on time!

Learned Swiss do not like people riding in first class unless you paid for first class, not all Swiss are on time, people like to eat late, and pizza can be delivered on a scooter.  

At Last a NorthFace Trail Sign!

How about that for a king size sled!

A little dormitory restaurant in the middle of a meadow

Lift top bar and step through, or like I read in someone blog...get down and crawl through. lol

walk up and over

pie anyone?  See the cow bells?

These are this farmers show bells

Dr. Seuss flowers

One last look

Hiking up the Shilthorn, A James Bond Adventure

Water available in spigots.  Safe to drink and spring fed

Downtown Murren

Man out hand cutting his hay field...

This was a very large winter barn for the cows

sheep crossing the trail, they all have bells on.

WOW

This might be the only flat section of the whole hike...I was enjoying it so much I had to take a picture!

On the Birg deck 

One of the very few alpine lakes we saw

Trail marking up to the Shilthorn at the top

Steps chiseled into the rock

Ridge walk...

Nice sign

final steps to the top

Where we have been

Where we are going

James Bond saves the day

Kathi getting the mission call from M16

I'm taking the bobsled down the run, I am watching a movie and sitting in the bobsled. acting it out.

Please put the sound track from any of the James Bond movies into the sound track of your mind because today we are going to hike to the Schilthorn.  In 1968, the 007 movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was filmed at the top of the mountain, in the yet to be finished revolving restaurant. The building at the top of the Schilthorn was partially finished when the movie studio discovered it and the surrounding mountains were a perfect fit for the next James Bond movie.  The movie company swung a deal to finish the new building so it would fit with the design of the movie. When shooting for the movie was completed, they restored the building back to what it was originally going to be.  Sounds like a great deal for the area!

Many of the outdoor scenes were shot in the surrounding area of Murren.  Local people of the area were employed by the movie company to be skiers or extras in the movie.  The movie brought much excitement to the quiet area as well as an infusion of money and a revival of a bobsled run that had closed down

We started hiking at 8:08, made some really good time as we followed the signs to Schilthorn right out of town, and then the signs changed to some Wanderweg trail.  What?  We hiked back to the last sign, and checked our bearings and found we were on what we thought was the correct trail.  We retraced our steps, and while heading back we ran into a lovely lady and her dog who spoke English and reassured us we were on the right track.  (OK, the lady spoke English, I suspect the dog understood only German…)

There are three ways to the top, one steep shorter 7 mile hike, another route, which is the one we took, that was steep but stretched out to 7.85 miles, or just take the cable car up to the top of the mountain.  The hike we chose has lots and lots of up and then even more up.  This hike gains 4,300 feet of elevation over some 7.85 miles.

The hike to Schilthorn, direct from Murren is slightly less than the route we took, but we decided to take a side trip to Birg.  Birg is a cable car transfer station for people headed to the top of Schilthorn.  (A cable car from Mürren can be taken to Birg, which is the midway change before the Schilthorn cable car. This cable airway is the longest and was the most technically challenging airway to be built.) Birg has a skyline thrill of its own.  They have built this extended arm reaching out over the cliff with grated metal squares and glass so you can look straight down.  The grated system also allows for all of the wind to rush up at you.  Very freaky...hang on to your hat, as the updraft is significant.  The two outer corners are made of extreme plexiglass and for those who want to walk on air can venture out to stand there.  The whole time we were on this platform I witnessed one brave sole go for an air walk, a little girl around 9 or 10.  Her mother said something in a different language and she headed directly off the air walk.  Kathi ventured out onto the deck to shoot some pictures, but I don't recall if she walked over the clear part.  I know I didn't.

Out on this platform we were asked by some Asians to join a lady in her photo shoot.  The guy shooting the pictures had two very large cameras hanging around his neck and a third in his hands.  It seems very strange to be asked for a picture with someone you don't know.  I will keep that in mind when I see an important person with whom I might want a picture. 

We left Birg to hike the last up section.  If the first two thirds of this trail were steep, then the last third is just as steep and exposed.  The Swiss in their efficiency of engineering and building have made this a very efficient trail.  Every step having a purpose of getting you to the top with the least amount of steps taken.  This is the hike I have chosen to dedicate to a fellow teacher who had her third hip surgery in two years.  I am totally breathless thinking about having three difficult surgeries in such a small amount of time...  or maybe Im breathless as this trail is steep! The trail is well marked as it winds its way up the head wall.  Most of the time we stepped up and over the boulders, a few spots have steps chiseled into the rock and a cable handrail drilled into the sidewall. Well Kelly this one is for you!  I like the name of the mountain, it is an upward physical challenge, and full of mystery and adventure.

The last section features a ridge walk.  The ridge walk does have an installed cable looped through poles to hang onto as you negotiate the three-foot wide ridge.  At the half waypoint the cable loses it’s purchase on top of the ridge. The cable is in fact far off to the left and would require a person of my height to take a few steps in the air!  These are tiny details one does not notice when standing at the far side.  Just to add a bit more suspense to the story, did I forget to mention that the wind was blowing hard enough to flap clothes around? 

I see Kathi is just finishing her ridge walk by the time I get to this spot.  I have a hiker pretty close behind me, and judging by Kathi's facial expression, this ridge walk does not seem to look like this was a challenge...  for her.  So I put both hiking sticks into my right hand and take ahold of the cable with my left hand.  The ridge is about three feet wide but sort of hump back leaving the outsides of the ridge lower than the middle.  At the half waypoint I begin to notice the cable is really not in the middle of the ridge, it is progressively leading me to some serious steps of air.  So I stopped and stood with my clothes flapping and evaluated my choices.  I could just let go of the cable and walk forward trusting my ability to balance.  The wind was pretty nasty at this point, so I went to my next option. I was quite certain I needed to let go of the cable but what to do....  So I backed up a few steps and got down on my hands and knees and crawled across the skinny spot.  As I was getting back to my feet Kathi yells back at me inquiring what I was doing.  Well, besides praying, I was trying to keep moving forward, while staying alive!  Perhaps the fellow behind me was taking notes on what to do or maybe not do when passing this point.  Getting back up to my feet after my five feet of crawling, was nothing short of a concentration of exact movements.  Trust me I was thinking through every movement before I did it, and while I was doing it. When I finished my ridge walk, Kathi was standing there waiting for me and wanted to know if I was talking pictures while I was down on my knees.  Nope, I’m sorry no pictures of this event?  Some before shots, but that's all.  I asked how she got through that area and she reminded me her arms are longer...well yes, longer arms would have been helpful.

About 50 feet from where we will actually step on the building site of the Schilthorn there is a very funny sign reminding people not to hike in high heels.  This shows the good humor of the Swiss, or it shows the poor judgement of past hikers who made poor choices and the Swiss felt they needed to post a sign.

The hike up today was 7.85 miles which we covered in 5 hours.

The Schilthorn Mountain sits at the beginning of the Alps and you have an amazing 360-degree view of famous peaks along the range.  The building is called Piz Gloria, which was the mountaintop hideout of the villain in the James Bond movie.  It has a full 360-degree viewing deck with photos and helpful information detailing which mountain peaks you are able to see from the various views. On a good day one can see the Black Forest in Germany and all the way down to Mount Blanc.  Our view today was partly cloudy and very hazy, so no Black Forest or Mount Blanc, but certainly many other peaks to look at. 

We went inside to walk through the gift shop and were mistaken for Swiss.  The lady in the souvenir shop thought we were locals.  Yeah, we love to not look like tourists.  She started off with a big long paragraph in German, we said sorry we did not understand and asked if she spoke English. Yes, she was fluent in English.  She talked to us about the hike up, and said the hike down was very steep, better to  hike it up, and even better to take the cable car down.  No need to wreck your knees.

We did not buy anything but enjoyed the hiking chat.  We walked downstairs to spend time touring the 007 Bond Museum.  We had fun playing the different interactive features they had including riding in a bobsled and going for a helicopter ride.  We also watched some of the movie clips they shot at the site.

Our trip today included a stop at the revolving restaurant and seeing the plaque of the winter Inferno race results from Schilthorn down to Murren.  Our Host, Albert, won the event two times and his daughter won it four times.  We talked about this race yesterday with Kitty and Albert, but today we are standing at the top. It seems like it must be for ski crazy people, because this mountain is pretty steep!

After shooting some photos we decide to take the cable car down to Murren.  At half price it was still $48 Swiss francs for the two of us, but it definitely saved our knees.  We walked into our flat, changed our boots and walked downhill one mile losing 900 feet of elevation to visit the town of Gimmelwald.  It is a very authentic farming town.  We walked through it and found this barn right in the center of town with all of their Alpbuzug bells hanging on a rail outside their barn.

In September the farming communities celebrate the returning of the cows to their villages as they make their way down the mountains after having spent the summer months up on the alpine pastures. The villagers get ready to greet them by dressing in traditional costumes and preparing a celebration. You can hear the cows’ bells ringing from afar as the herd makes the descent adorned with beautiful flowers and their special ceremonial bells.

We returned home to pack and get ready for the next leg of our adventure.  What a great experience we had in Murren.  Tonight the stove worked great, perfect veggies and perfect potatoes.  We have not seen a microwave yet. 

9.85 miles hiked today.

Hmmm learned about Alpburzug’s, hiked and crawled on my hands and knees, Enjoyed a special moment with James Bond, walked the famous town of Gimmelwald (according to Rick Steves).  Saw a no hiking sign we have never seen before.  A very enjoyable day!  Returned to our flat to pack up and get ready for the next adventure.

Top Of Europe

This morning we woke up to totally blue skies. The clouds that were hanging in the mountains the last couple of days, finally cleared. Since it is such a gorgeous day, we decide to make the trip up to Jungfrau, Top of Europe.  We have to get ready quickly as we are hoping to catch the 8:06 train out of Murren. We leave the chalet at 7:35, which gives us enough time to walk to the train station, purchase tickets, and board the train.

After walking for about three minutes, Kathi asks if I put the milk in the fridge. I couldn't remember so we hightailed it back to the chalet and Kathi ran back with the key. Good thing she did as the milk was still sitting on the kitchen table.  We head back out and get to the train station to buy our tickets.  After buying the tickets, Kathi then asked if I turned the burner off on the stove after cleaning up this morning. Neither of us could remember....guess we will find out when we get back at the end of the day. 

Our train adventure today is similar to yesterdays as we will go to Kleine Scheidegg.  When we get to Kleine Scheidegg, we will switch trains and get on the one to Jungfrau. The ride to Jungfrau takes 50 minutes with 7 km of the 9.3 km of the track running through the mountains. In 1893 Adolfo Guyer Zetler penciled a sketch to blast a tunnel through the Eiger and Monch mountains to construct a cogwheel railway to the Jungfrau summit. Construction began in 1896 with 100 Italian laborers. In February 1912 they finally broke through to the final station on Jungfrau and opened the railway in August after 16 years of construction. The cost to build was 16 million francs which is twice as much as what was estimated.

Getting on the train in Kleine Scheidegg with the hordes of people all trying to get on was a bit of a challenge. We were lucky to get a seat as it was standing room only when the doors closed. The train made a couple of stops along the way. This offered some sight-seeing options to skirt off the train, down a short tunnel to a glassed window overlooking Kleine Scheidegg or some glaciers. It also allows time for the downward train to pass the upward train. These sight-seeing stops might also mean if you leave your seat, someone will take your seat so weigh carefully your decision to get off the train.

We arrive at Jungfrau right on schedule at 10:22. We are at 11,333 feet. The first activity was to get on the speed elevator to the top of the Sphinx to take some photos and then we started our tour. We learned about the history of drilling and the design of the train railway. We then went outside to a sea of glaciers surrounded by mountain peaks. As we walked a little further out, there was an outdoor play area that included a zip line, snow tubing, skiing, and sledging all for a fee. There was also a maintained trail across the glacier that led up to Monchsjochhuette. We decide to hike up the trail which took us 45 minutes and we were then at 3,650 meters, which is just over 12,000 feet. It is very important to stay on the marked path on the glacier, as open crevasses are very visible.

As we were hiking to the top, there were frequent helicopter tours flying through the area and some landed on the glacier. We also saw several people climbing on the backside of Monch Mountain as we approached the hut. The hut provides sleeping accommodations for people planning to do some climbing. Here we chatted with a French couple in very purposeful sign language. They did not speak English and we did not speak French.  Topics we discussed were rugby, racquetball, and climbing as we exchanged photo taking opportunities....all in good fun. We had lunch and then hiked back down to the winter play area.

In the flatter section of the glacier by the play area, a 5-lane running track was set up. As we got closer to it, we could hear the announcer introducing the various Olympic athletes who were in attendance. Included in the group was Asafa Powell a gold medalist sprinter from Jamaica and several other Swiss athletes. We stood and watched some running events with the athletes and area children. We were also able to listen to about 30 seconds of some alphorn playing. We were hoping to hear more alphorn playing and see less running.

We then went back inside to the Ice Palace and had a great time viewing all of the ice carvings.  The palace’s ice sculptures include vaulted rooms, birds, animals, a few very skinny passages and at times a whimsical stuffed animal sealed in the ice. 

The floors and walls are complete ice. We had fun slip, sliding through the tunnels with some tunnels wider and others very skinny. There were also various carved ice sculptures to view.

We finished the tour by heading to the Lindt Swiss Chocolate Heaven, the highest chocolate store in the world. We purchased some chocolates and enjoyed a couple of samples.

We then headed down to the train and caught the three o'clock standing room only train. We scored two jump seats in the conductor’s end of the train. We had a private room and were the last two people to have our tickets punched. On our exit we each received a Lindt chocolate.

In Kleine Scheidegg we made a quick train change down to Lauterbrunnen and then headed back up to Murren for a bit of shopping. We found nothing to purchase. 

The evening was spent having some dinner, doing a little wash, and spending time with Albert and Kitty our hosts. They offered us a very large excellent German Weiss beer, it was slightly warm, but very full and rich with flavor.  As we each enjoyed our beer, Albert and Kitty told us a story about the famous Inferno ski race which is the pride of Mürren's history.  The amateur racers plunge from the start house up on top of Shilthorn Mountain and then ski all the way down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. After the first steep pitch, the course swoops and jags down the mountain, alternating between more steep pitches and flat traverses with a few short uphill sections.  The course descends almost 6,500 vertical feet over 9 and a quarter miles. In comparison, the longest downhill on the men’s World Cup circuit is 2.78 miles.

on the train ride up you can start to glimpse the buildings up in the saddle of the two mountains.  All of the white you see are glaciers.

At the first train stop, Kathi jumped out to take this picture of Kleine Schiedegg below  I saved the seats

Second stop I hopped out to take pictures of Glaciers, Kathi saved the seat.

At the top we are 11,000 feet above sea level and we are in the basement of the building

Tunnels are the hallways

Ariel view of the building we are in.  Called the Sphinx 

Huge Glacier with large crevasses.  Can you see the two little people walking on the glacier.

Walking out to the winter play land.  Stay on the safe path!

People roping up to walk on the glacier off of the safe area.

Another little building high above us

Walking up the marked path on the glacier to the climbing hut.

It is pretty warm and VERY bright!

You can see the people walking up the path we just finished, this helps provide some scale!  This glacier is HUGE

Hiking hut sitting on the back side of Monch mountain.  People use this hut before climbing Eiger.

Back inside, this is wooden carving of a guy sitting on the bench.  Kathi stops for a picture.

Italians were hired to dig out the train tunnel.

One of the medium size tunnels in the ice cave.

This tunnel was skinner an at one point we had to crouch down as it was about four feet tall.

Polar bears of ice

Picture perfect

Chocolate store at the top!!!  Nice!

We score a private room with the conductor of the train for a ride down the mountain!  You can't make this stuff up!!!

Albert won the race twice in 1968-69 and their daughter won the race four times in the 1980's. They also have a large personalized plaque honoring Albert’s 50 years of participation in the Inferno.  Here is a link if you would like to read a bit more about this year’s race.  http://welove2ski.com/how-to-ski/murren-inferno

As we were sitting and talking, Albert was looking out at the remnants of the last sun shining on the north face of the mountains. Albert said this beautiful moment called for an alphorn recital.  He went down and retrieved a long horn measuring around 8 to 10 feet and played us a private concert.  Such a beautiful lonesome tune. His second tune was a bit more upbeat and more in line with festival music.  Albert is a very busy alphorn player in the area and is very well known and respected.  The following link has a video clip of him playing if you would like to watch and listen.  He is not playing an alphorn, but some other type of traditional horn.  After clicking on the link, you will want to select the second video clip which is a photo of a man standing outside holding a horn.  http://www.jungfrauzeitung.ch/artikel/112165/

After the concert we moved back upstairs to the porch area where Albert has a spotting scope.  Here, Albert placed the scope on some chamoix that were grazing across the valley on the steep walls of the north face of the mountain.  Chamoix are goat like animals and like to stay away from people.  He also showed us we could see the train entrance into the tunnel over on Eiger.  This is where the train that goes up to Jungfrau disappears into the mountain. 

It has been a long day, filled with wonder, amazing sights and sounds.  Off to bed with a smile.

Not sure of the mileage we hiked as we walked around inside of the glacier and then walked up to the upper hut.  We'll just call this an off day.