2 hours from Copenhagen and I'm in Zurich on Thursday
On the train to Bern and then to Interlaken
Having fun on the 2 hour train ride (think about this it takes longer to get to Columbia MO from KC than to get to Interlaken from Zurich)
Passing the first of the two lakes - Lake Thun. I picked the wrong side of the train for a view
The canal in Interlaken, that goes - you guessed it, between the lakes
notice the water color. Like in Alaska, glacier water.
they had banners all over town with the pics of the previous winners on them
looking towards lake Briene
Looking towards lake Thun
Taking the cable car up to Harder Kulm on the north side of the lakes
up we go
at the top - 700m above Interlaken. When I heard 700m I thought - oh shit I have to run up 2.5 times this far on Sunday
stunning - even with the clouds
This is Harder Kulm
About to go for a short run
stopping every 3 minutes to take a picture
awesome single track along the ridge
cool cabin
with a bed of hay to sleep on
that is only 700m - now imagine going up 1829m
love the water color
opps - trail switchbacking up and I was suppose to be resting
yes...only 700m, okay maybe 750-800 here
Lake Brienze
another of many self portraits
looking north from the top of the ridge into the typical Swiss mountain villages
nice expensive cup of coffee and piece of cake after my run
Lake Thun with rain clouds
rainbow!!!!
again
down we go
through the tunnel
you can see how steep the railway is if you look close, but it really does not do it justice
you can see the Harder Kulm at the top of the ridge (that is 700m)
my room in the hostel - 6 beds, lots of German spoken.
downtown Interlaken where you can shop or pass by on the way to the train
Downtown Lauterbrunnen where the marathon course runs before climbing significantly. Here is the halfway point and you have only climbed 300m of the 1829m (6000 ft)
The first climb of the race went along that ridge for a while and then hit 26 switchbacks climbing about 500m in under 3 km
waterfalls everywhere - reminded me of Yosemite a little.
This is Trummelback falls where the water from the melting glaciers of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau all come.
Up to see all the chutes
amazing slot canyons all over the region remind me of Zion NP
Sweet
So loud, so much water
they had a lot of the inside lit so idiots like me could take pictures
This was a good trip for friday, not much walking and it was overcast/raining most of the day
water
looking out from halfway up the falls
looking back towards Lauterbrunner
This panoramic did not work out so well
Looking further into the valley
Further in
Further in. Kayaks, river rafting, cliff jumping, paragliding, sky diving, canyoning, and anything else you could want to do is available here.
beautiful even when overcast
I was trying to get a picture of the base jumpers
we would run on the path and turn around right at the falls - about 23 km into the race and still before the real climbing began
Race day - yes I've finished...finally
Read my recap on my running blog - mjrunning.wordpress.com soon to be up
The place the race ended is Kleine Scheidegg that lies at along a ridge seperating the Lauterbrunnen valley (Glacier formed) from the one in Grindelwald (river/lake formed). At 6700 ft - about 5000 feet above Interlaken.
The mountain range (all about 13,000 ft)
looking down into Grindelwald
back up at Eiger on the left, Monch shrouded in clouds. Also you can see the finish and line of runners on the ridge were they mercifully give you a downhill finish
from where we came
my sportstick was not travel size - chafing everywhere
Breithorn mountain only 12,400
helicopter tours would have been cool
back to Grindelwald (I took a nap in a field at the top of the mountain)
a couple bands were playing - it was good fun
can't get enough of the mountains
the race went along a ridge at the far end of this valley
I'm looking a little less tired and more happy
time to explore - hi cows
better picture of the finish area
better picture of the town of Grindelwald with Mt Schreckhorn on the right (I think)
my nap spot
clouds in and out of the area all day
finally Jungfrau peaking above the clouds
yeah mountain wildflowers
if you go down that valley and turn right that is where the race came from and where Lauterbrunnen is
reflecting pool
looking back up at Kleine Scheidegg
All the cows have massive cow bells on - making a ringing noise that echos throughout the valley at constantly
Japanese man taking a photo of a sign - although to be fair I would probably take a picture of a Japanese sign because they are funny also
in the town of Grindelwald now
This is where I had a beer - good view
Nice Weissbier as well.
the train ride back to Interlaken
Sunday morning - super clear. Had to leave of 2, but that was plenty of time to get another trip into the mountains in.
pic of the hostel
in the train - in case you thought that cigarettes were a no go, but pipes were fine.
Took the Cog Railroad up to Schynige Platte. Meet with stunning views.
They have an alpine botanical garden up here that would have been fun to explore more if I had the time
Looking east along the ridge - to the left is Lake Brienezer and to the right would be the Grindelwald valley
down into Grindelwald - much different shape than the other valley
the big 3 peaks of Eiger - Monch and Jungfrau, with Lauterbrunnen valley to the right
such a perfect day
now looking down into Interlaken and lake Thun - 1967m up, 1400m from the valley floor. So I ran about 400m higher more elevation gain than pictured here.
Awesome
lake Brienzer
Lake Thun and Interlaken
First pic of 270 degree photo
second pic
self portrait before the run down to Interlaken
not a bad spot to enjoy a meal - if I had more than 4 swiss francs left
looking into Lauterbrunnen again
so nice
once below the tree line - met with some great trail
that was also very steep
my quads were roaring - but I only ate it once
back in Interlaken - that ridge is where I ran from. Made sure to get 6000 ft of decent to go with my 6,000 of climbing the day before
My camera was pretty much dead - but I got one picture of Bern from the train with the Alps in the background. Looks like a cool city.
