By Bike

Day 35 (7th September) – First to Schynige Platte.

One of the best ways to get both a birds eye view and inspection up close of the Bernese Alps, is to walk from First to Schynige Platte, catch the historic cog train from Schynige Platte to Wilderswil, then the Berner Oberland-Bahn back to Grindelwald.

To get to First, tis best to take the gondola from Grindelwald. It saves at least 1,000m in climbing.

The walk from First to Schynige Platte has to be one of the most fabulous one-day randonnées that Sue and I have undertaken. About 16km long, it descends 869m and takes 6-7 hours. Oh, and note the fine print: it is classified as ‘strenuous’.

The first stretch from First to Bachalpsee (Lake Bachalp, the “blue jewel” of the Bernese Alps) on its own would almost make the perfect walk. A moderate climb with the stunning backdrop of the Jungfrau massif dominating the sky-line to the south.

While soaking our feet in the lake we were serenaded by the deep melodic sounds of an alphorn high on the slope behind us.

From the lake, the track starts to climb steeply to Faulhorn, the highest point on the walk. While taking a ‘catch-my-breath’ altudinal rest, it is highly possible that you might encounter some inquisitive bovine characters.

Once you reach top of the climb, it doesn’t matter which way you turn your head, the view in every direction is, well, amazing!

Look back to the southeast you just might see off in the distance cloud rolling over a col.

Look down over the ridge to the north side to the tiny sparkling Sägistalsee and Brienzersee at the very bottom of the valley. To the distant northeast are the Urner Alps and to the southwest the Blüemlisalp massif. Look under foot and find lush green meadows dotted with colourful alpine flowers.

It’s a long and gradual descent to Schynige Platte, with spectacular scenery the whole way.

The latter part of the walk descends through the wild, karst landscape of the Güw area.

Wise hikers check on train and gondola timetables before they set out.

Thinking we had all the time in the world, and with the constant distractions (and yet another photo stop), it was a quite a shock to be told en route by a passer-by that we had less than 2 hours to make the last train from Schynige Platte to Wilderswil.

Once it became apparent that we were not going to make the train, we considered our options:

1. Find local accommodation (turns out there is a hotel @AUD 500 for the night and ‘the full alpine experience’!)
2. Hitch (there is no car access)
3. Call Liz and Sam to come collect us in the van (there is no van access)
4. Walk (descend 1,500m and @9km) in the dark only to discover that trains and buses have ceased operations for the night
5. Spend the night in the forest

Not very exciting options.

As we trudged up the last hill to the station, a miracle happened.

Out of nowhere, a young man ran past and without looking yelled at us, “Do you want to catch the train? It’s leaving in 2 minutes”. In shock, I turned to Sue and asked if she thought I should run to see? “Of course, go!”.

I chased after the young man, and lo and behold there was a little green train in the station with two red fully laden passenger cars ready to depart (at least an hour later than we’d been told).

The driver was smiling and hanging out of the drivers cab. With scarcely a breath, I asked him how long before he departed – he replied “one minute”. I tried to think of way to hold him up till Sue arrived, but there was no need. Behind was a second train which waited till we were on board before departing.

The 19th century historic cogwheel train between Wilderswil and Schynige Platte, climbs and descends 1,420m over 7.3 km at an average 25% gradient.

It’s a startling ride winding down the mountain in and out of tunnels, through forest with wonderful views of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and to the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

At Widlerswil, we caught our breath and celebrated our miracle with beer/wine and frites. Then caught the train back to Grindelwald and celebrated again with a wonderful restaurant meal and a steep climb in the dark back to our abode.