Wengen! Day 4
After all that walking and taking gondola after gondola ride, I arrived Wengen fairly late with fading daylight. All I could do is to check-in, take a shower, write about the day and fall asleep. Most of Wengen and beyond as an experience happened today. I was thinking if I start with the picture of my hotel or the famed north wall of Eiger; well I choose the wall any day of the week and twice on Sundays!
I have been watching Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau for a couple of days now from various angles, but today the plan is to get up close and personal with Eiger.
I must talk about Eiger
I was 12 or 13 years old when I read I chose to Climb by Chris Bonington. That was the first book related to mountaineering that I had read at that time. It had a profound impact on me and triggered my life in traveling in the mountains for the rest of my life. Perhaps it helped trigger me to choose geology as well.
Anyways, the book describes Bonington’s ascent of North wall of Eiger in 1962. It also covered a bit of history on Eiger itself.
So today when I took a cable car from Wengen to Männlichen, and as after a 10 min ride I gained a lot of elevation, I managed to see the North Wall, Eiger Nordwand, The Mordwand or the Murder wall… all these different names for the same thing for the first time in my life.
Unfortunately at the time, the north wall was in the shadow. Also today was a little bit of a hazy day. But I will take it!
Back in Bonington’s day mountaineer was described as heroics (it is not done like that today) and Chris described Eiger as a symbol of fear and prestige, which I guess it still is to some extent. He presents the Eiger Nordwand as a testing ground of character. For Bonington’s generation, it was more than a mountain face, it was the face that separated “ordinary alpinists” from elite climbers.
As I was walking to the Männlichen top along a trail called Royal walk (don’t ask me why it is called such!) I was thinking more about the the book and those strange features I read there:
- Hinterstoisser Traverse
- Waterfall Chimney
- The White Spider
These are all cool names of features at the north wall. I could make all of it by location. The face was almost completely ice free though.
Anyways, I digress from Bonington, but here is the Royal walk train to the summit of Männlichen. It is a very popular trail and a very nice viewing platform above. People can get a spectacular view of the Lauterbrunnen valley from there.
Swiss Cows
Yes there is a herd of them here. They are grazing and pooping everywhere and their cow bells are the most common sound around here.
The other thing that I saw that was quite picturesque was a couple collecting the cow dung with their dog. Both seem to work at the farm there. I I was walking pass them they worked barefoot in the grass with two shovel clearing up and collecting the cow dung.
Later as I was having lunch at the cafe at the cable car station they came it and had lunch there too.
After all that walking I was ready for a big lunch. In the menu it said:
Käseschnitte Männlichen, (mit Wein) Schinken und Spiegelei Slice of bread topped with wine, ham, melted cheese and a fried egg.
The beer was ordinary, especially when compared to yesterday! But I was thirsty and it got the job done. The location mattered in this case!
After lunch I took another cable car down to Grindelwald and then another one up to Eigergletscher. A lot to write about that trip if I find time later but it is really late and my fingers are getting tired so I will stop here.
Yep! That’s Grindelwald!
This makes me want to be on holiday and travelling again... admittedly, everything makes me feel like that!
Yes we all need holidays. Since you live in an island (a very big one!) you have to get outside for sure :)
How very sound of music.
Your photos are awesome. The Eiger is so famous - I love a good climbing story though I'd never do it myself, especially these days. It's always fascinating to go to a landscape that one has read so much about. It hits different in real life.
Thank you. I am having a great time here.
Funny to see such a modern looking couple shoveling cow dung :)
I thought about that exact thing. But everything in Switzerland these days are modern, times are such. But some tasks remain old.
Beautiful pictures again, thank you so much for sharing those. Cows are awesome. Especially with those bells. Almost as cool as squirrels, but nothing really is as cool as squirrels.
The dish reminded me of what we call "Strammer Max" in the north. It's the same without the cheese, and the first dish my brother ever "cooked" for me and my mom after having participated in a cooking class when he was 10. I can't remember if it was good, but then again, it's bread, ham and a fried egg, not much to do wrong, and in that era, I ate everything and way too much of it all.
Got a lot of rain last night, it could be the end of good views on this trip.
That would be a real shame. But who knows, maybe that was just the big rain needed and now it's sunshine again!
If you like I chose to climb, have you read Into Thin Air? It's one of my favorite books and also about climbing (Everest).
That view of the Lauterbrunnen valley is spectacular!
Your lunch looks like a Croque Madame in a skillet :-)
Yes I have read Into thin Air multiple times, it's a great book. Now there is also a good movie based on the book. I don’t think one should pay a guide to drag them to the top of Everest. Only proper climbers should do that. But these days that is not a popular opinion. It is also a source of revenue for a lot of people.
Imagine that view being the backdrop to your work day. Barefoot outdoors. Even shoveling shit would be an incredible job in Switzerland
Yes. Not saying that it is not hard work but over their the job makes it look cool!
Swiss cows and bells - it's so colorful!
Reading your posts makes me want to see Switzerland even more!
I recently visited the middle part of Turkey. There are large herds of cows here and also 500 sheep jingling their bells. You can read about it in my post: Kemer - Rize - Kemer. 3000 km :)
Thank you for a visit and a comment. Swiss cows are everywhere in the countryside and you hear them first before you see them. That sound carries a long way.
What's the wooden structure at the bottom of the slope in that one photo? Did you watch the Clint Eastwood movie in honor of your ascent up Eiger?
You mean the long linear feature at the base of the slope? That's is the Jungfrou railway line which goes to "top of Europe". I won't have time to do it this trip, it's very popular among tourists.
Ah no, I was talking about the structure in this photo:
I remember they used to play the Eiger Sanction in the middle of the day on Saturdays. It used to be one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films.
Ahh this one. These metal grills are there to prevent rock falling on the trail between.
Ah, okay, that makes sense! Such a good movie!
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natural beauty at its best, cows look so beautiful and the couple collecting the golden treasure lol maybe its for their farms I think so. I have been to Scotland and I really like the greenery there, it looks somewhat same like that, took me to flashback now I have to look back my old pictures of Scotland lol Thanks for sharing
Yes, it is similarly green except the tall mountains.
Adoro los viajes a las montañas, la escalada, el aire puro. Fantásticas imágenes 🍃
Beautiful views and nature always gives the best and never makes dissapointed 😍
WOW WOW WOW! That's such an incredible view up there! I'm so jealous!
The names.. I wonder who came up with that! They must have a good naming sense! 😂
It was a long time ago but you can look ago Eiger Directtissima.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/japanese-direttissima_what-ingredients-do-you-need-to-climb-a-mountain-60s-style/45157418
Japan has a lot of history with Swiss Alps and Eiger in particular.
https://www.theglacier.ch/grindellodge/grindelwaldjapan/
woah! 🤯 straight line is so incredible!! i’m so moved!
Nice one - in my youth i was aiming for this famous Wengen downhill "Lauberhornabfahrt" - wanted at least to run some metres - as one of the top downhills every season that requires a lot of skiing skills though and not everyone allowed to use the race track as well.
Been up there and the view was impressing but also told myself "get back to the skills you have or not" - sad that time we had no smartphones with cam. The organizers would have anyway stopped me use the track.
Great area there - enjoy your Switzerland (which I see you do!) - to me one of the most beautiful areas in Europe.
I am loving it here, now at Saas Fee
Life is well balanced here.
Wow, Saas Fee - the original valley of dream slopes in Winter, maybe too warm now during summer though.
Sure you are covererd but if you need a stay I cyn recommend a smaller hotel:"Etoile & Alpenperle Residences" - not sure it still exists though.
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It's a wonderful view, a very high mountain, I want to climb there, it would be nice to listen to the breeze of the wind, the cows are so sweet, it's a wonderful village, I enjoyed browsing your page . @azircon