Day 4: Wengen (hiking to Baregg)

Day 4: Wengen

Weather:

-         30s and snowing when transferring trains in Kleine Scheidegg

-         mid 40s and serious wind chill in Baregg (so felt like 20s)

-         50s

o   clear,

o   in mist,

o   drizzle,

o rain (maybe ¼” to 3/8”) while hiking and walking in Grindelwald and Wengen

QOTD:

Well, my heart's in the highlands, wherever I roam
That's where I'll be when I get called home
The wind it whispers to the buck-eyed trees of rhyme
Well, my heart's in the highlands, I can only get there one step at a time.

Stats:

-         Left hotel at 8:30am and arrived back at hotel at 5pm

-         Hiked for 2 hours 45 minutes

-     Walked between 1-2 miles in getting to and from transfer points

-         Walked over 18,000 steps total

-    Saw a lot of Japanese tourists and a fair number from Muslim countries (women wearing burqas)

Transportation: All included as part of our regional 6 day pass, total of around 4 hours

-         Tram (cable up the mountain)

-         3 gondola rides

-         2 train rides, with a transfer on three trains

Note stylish purple ear muff

No, we did not take a toboggan ride

Food:  Breakfast (included), lunch ($57), mid-afternoon sweets (treated), dinner (to be split up later)

-         Frosted shredded wheat

-         Yogurt

-         Toast with jam, 2 slices of white bread, part of a baguette roll

-         Trail mix (cool berry from Berkeley Bowl)

-         Fancy hash browns

-         Nespresso decaf, decaf cappuccino

-         Two smoked sausages

-         Shared small draft beer

-         Shared slice of apple tart (“apple pie”)

-         Shared scoop of vanilla ice cream

-         Amuse bouche of soft boiled egg with parmesan foam

-         Fillet of fish over an excellent version of sauerkraut

-         Filet Mignon and mashed potatoes with cooked radishes

-         Mini chocolate molten cake

-         Sauvignon blanc and a taste of local and excellent pinot noir

Our lunch spot, right around noon

What it looked like at 10am?

B, co-organizer, enjoying a brewski at the lunch hut in Baregg

Hot chocolate: hot steamed milk with mix-it-yourself packet

Apple pie = Apple tart

Towns:

-         Wengen

-         Grund

-         Gindelwald

-         Baregg (for lunch)

-         Pfingstegg

-         Kleine Scheidegg

Clothes THB wore while out during day: Not all worn at once, though tempted when weather got really cold and wet)!

-         Climbing pants, semi-water resistant

-         Lightweight jacket, water resistant

-         Poncho

-         North Face polartec vest

-         Hiking socks

-         Waterproof walking shoes (not high tops)

-         Hiking hat (with flap to protect neck from sunburn)

-         “Neck warmer” in a great shade of purple, used to keep ears warm

-         Long sleeve all weather turtleneck style shirt

-         Along and not worn: extra pair of socks, bandanna

 

Before the weather turned south

Vistas:

Hiking: A few more shots of our group on the trail (both on the way up to the hut). The uphill hike was mostly in mist ("in the cloud"?), took around 1 1/2 hours. The downhill portion was much faster, a bit over an hour, and mostly in light rain and much better visibility (almost bright, the flowers looked more vivid on the way down).

Oddities:

Yes, the cows do wear bells, we heard them from the gondola

The sign says: while reading this sign, start running if you also see rocks falling on you

THB captures a beach pick-up regular

Flowers: Feels like just a bit after absolute prime time, still a ton of wildflowers