Hotel Fiescherblick Grindelwald

... the snow. I was lucky enough to see a couple of Golden Eagles hat flew over me. They were massive. As I climbed up another point of the mountain I bypassed a couple of blokes climbing up to the path after taking the wrong direction (there was a fork in the path, luckily I chose the right one). It was very difficult for them but they said they would make it. I hope they were ok. At some points there is only a rope while you balance yourself on the edge of a cliff and ...

... chalets. Some chalets were so close together in narrow streets that I'm sure you would be able to hear the neighbour’s conversations.

We went back to Interlaken and went to a chocolate shop to buy some Pave which I had heard about and to do some grocery shopping and then get in to cook dinner before the kitchen got crowded.

... went up to the Phoenix which is the weather station. While there, it started snowing and the weather started to close in so we decided to head back down to the bottom of the mountain so that we had views on the way down. By the time we left on the train and had got through the tunnel, all we could see was cloud or mist and it had started to rain.

When we got to Grindlewald we got warm in a restaurant (although ...

... were full of Japanese buying label goods, with Swiss watches being popular. We also came across 2 chocolate shops but decided to look for a cafe to have coffee and icecream.

Interlaken is a very pretty town and the river running through it is a glacial blue colour. I decided that as I had not been able to find my gloves (not sure if I had lost them or just left them at home), maybe I should buy some at a sports store. I ended up buying ...

I wasn't sure where in Switzerland I wanted to go after Zurich, but I knew I wanted it to be near some mountains and away from crowds. The hostel I found was highly recommended and was in a valley in the mountains near Interlaken, so that’s what made my decision. Turns out my somewhat random choice was a good one, putting me in one of the most beautiful areas in Switzerland, according to some ...

We checked out of our hotel in St. Moritz and went to the train station to board The Glacier Express. It is the slowest express train in the world –it only averages 25 miles per hour. Had we taken the train all the way back to Zermatt, we would have passed over 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels. We only rode it for 4 ½ hours and passed through plenty of tunnels and over many bridges. The Swiss made spiral tunnels to help overcome some of ...

... the way up to 1600m beofre finally descing back to grindelwald. it had been quite a walk and despite raining and cold we really enjoyed the view and the selculsion of most of the walk. we were both drained and went to bed quite early. got up at 6.15 to go up to jungfraujoch - the highest train station in europe. luckily it was a clear day so we able to see for miles once up there. along the way the train stopped at various points for pictures ...

... but to enjoy a good day of hiking. By the time we had taken the combination of trams and trains up the mountain, we found that the tops of our heads were nearly touching the clouds. We became lost briefly at the outset of our journey. We started a near vertical ascent up the Schilthorn into the thick cloud layer and concluded that the painful burning our calves were enduring up this steep path was not a symptom of an "easy hike" as listed in the ...

... though someone thought it got to -9oc.) I had a look out from the viewing platform or the mass of white surrounding us which hide mountains and gods only know what else. Also up Joungfraurhoch (spelling might be wrong) was a "palace" carved out of ice- it was just a series of rooms really but still all carved out of ice with the exception of the handrail. It was strange trying to keep your balance on the ice-covered floor and not need to have ice skates on. It was ...

... forgot (due to lack of sleep again) to give a member of staff some walkie talkies to take back to England. This then incurred the wrath of the management in London and a few choice words were thrown my way. I found this more than amusing as the level of management knowledge is pretty minimal, but I suppose that is the way it goes. Well am I still enjoying it? Yes and No, yes it is great fun, but now my brain is starting to demand some more intellectual stuff and the ...