Re: Backways and gems_Andermatt area_Switzerland
THE GLORY DAY!! Rosenlaui - Schwarzwaldalp - Grindelwald - Roof of Europe - Grindelwald -> Rosenlaui
GREAT-WEATHER only day!!
This is one of the most expensive...AND MOST EXHILARATING...days in the Alps you'll ever have.
Bang-for-Buck it's a bargain because it's a day you'll never forget. It's a once-off.
And to get the most out of it, get hustling
EARLY. Meaning, keep the camera handy on that early morning hop across the Furka/ Grimsel or Susten from where ever you stayed the night...a sunrise over the main ridge of the Alps could be on the cards and that's one hell of a start...to one hell of a day!!
Just off the usual Andermatt North-Loop is another one of those hidden gems, something virtually unknown.
Climbing a few hairpins from the Innertkirchen/ Aare Gorge Eastern End, there's a turnoff to Rosenlaui, as you're cresting the hill.
http://goo.gl/maps/C2Xf7
Personally, I rather like the tight, narrow stuff winding its way through the landscape. There's a road just like that, meeting up with the main road, climbing the first, steeper rise.
It turns off route6 at a small, standalone bakery (I think) with a bus-stop out front. The "Schwendi" is a cute, lil' single-laner (all sealed). Just to add some extra "colour".
http://goo.gl/maps/murc9
The Schwarzwaldalpe sits more in the bottom of a scenic, wide bowl than in a valley....all of it framed by the scraggy peaks, it's just about unreal.
That's where the bike-ride is over! More on some stuff around here later, there's a world-reknown wood-carver up here with fantastic pieces on show, a "water-saw" which is a marvel of 1800s engineering, lots of lakes, streams, small restaurants and huts to read some stuff, planting the bum on one of their timber decks, enjoying the sun and views.
IF you've stayed at one of the places in the Rosenlaui (which sort of covers the whole "bowl") and
are aware that with a phone call to the Schwarzwaldalpe Hotel a day-pass for the Grosse Scheidegg Road can be arranged for the once-in-a-lifetime-ride over the top into Grindelwald.
Otherwise, the regular yellow Post-Bus from Meiringen will pick you up at the Schwarzwaldalpe Hotel. Try to get there by about 9am...and get a return ticket to Grindelwald Station.
http://www.verkehrsmittelvergleich....p/ankunft/schwarzwaldalp_08_00-11_59#timetabs
The narrow road across to the Grosse Scheidegg high above Grindelwald follows a gentle climb and seems to be on a permanent collision-course with the ice-clad Wetterhorn towering within an arms reach.
A few stops to drop off and pick-up walkers...then the bend where the Eiger, Moench + Jungfrau come into view, blocking half the skies.
The bus-ride takes about 50mins all up.
From the Grosse Scheidegg it's all downhill into Grindelwald.
Walk across to the ticket office before taking a few gulps, closing your eyes and popping your VisaCard on the counter.
This is gunna hurt...but only once!
The Top-Of-Europe!
http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/tourism/
http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/quick-navigation/top-of-europe/fares/ The Grindelwald-Jungfraujoch return trip is just on SFR200.
Breathtaking? Hell Yeah!
Grindelwald in the bowl, the bus-trip comes across that shoulder on the left, which is the Grosse Scheidegg.
Top of Europe
...and if it's your lucky day, you'll be part of the photo-shoot.
Back to Grindelwald, then the bus-trip up the Grosse Scheidegg again.
If head and heart aren't full enough yet, pick any of the following stops and walk the rest of the gentle downhiller back to the Schwarzwaldalpe.
Having a cuppa at one of the huts along the way, the peak of the Wetterhorn above, is a great way to digest the stunning impressions of the day.
Before climbing back onto the bike, try for a short (yeah, right!) stop at the "water-saw", a marvel of yesteryear's engineering and fully functional.
http://saege-schwarzwaldalp.ch/e/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnIuQcaRKTA