On Tuesday the clouds were nearly gone, so we aimed for a longish walk from Grosse Scheidegg to First.

The trek began with a walk (up and down) to town, where we climbed on the bus to Grosse Scheidegg. 

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The bus followed a long and winding road, with sweeping views of the valley and peaks north of Grindelwald. The road was single-track. At every blind turn, the bus rang out a little five note song letting everyone in know that they’d best get off the road – or else.

Grosse Scheidegg (we think “egg” is Swiss German for “pass”) is a long mountain pass on the lower slope of the Wetterhorn, with 360 degree views, southeast to Grindelwald and northwest to another deep valley.

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Wildflowers were abundant around this little cascade. We were thrilled to come across these little marsh orchids.

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The sound of music was especially grand as cowbells echoed off the surrounding peaks.

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Afternoon brought clouds creeping down.

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If you look very closely, you can see our exciting wildlife viewing: two chamois. We didn’t spot them, some fellow hikers did – pointing out that we had walked very close to them, oblivious to their presence above.

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After partaking of refreshment at the excellent First self service restaurant, we boarded the cable car for the ride back to Grindelwald – this time with views.

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People were joyriding many forms of scooters and trikes down the slopes of First.

Scooters and trikes got to ride cable cars back to the top of the mountain.

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Back in town, the afternoon sun revealed Grindelwald in all its splendor.