Hi friends, welcome back to my Switzerland series! After spending the previous day in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, we were heading back into the mountains. This was one of my favorite days of the trip and included an excursion through Grindelwald and up to First Mountain. Jon and I were greeted with another beautiful day and started our adventure with a ride in the cable car from Wengen up to Männlichen. We couldn’t resist more pictures at the top, the views never got old!
We then rode the cable car down the other side of Männlichen to Grindelwald Terminal. The ride was also covered with our pass (32CHF each way without pass) so we simply scanned our QR code and were through the turnstile. The cable car down to Grindelwald was our absolute favorite. The views were beautiful, we could hear the cow bells below us, and we had the whole twenty-five-minute ride in a ten-person gondola all to ourselves. This was the least busy cable car station we encountered, but one of the nicest. Honestly, I would’ve been so content riding up and down for a few hours, it was incredibly peaceful!
Our route for the day in purple.
After arriving at Grindelwald Terminal, we took the train one stop to Grindelwald and then walked 10 minutes to the First Mountain cable car (68CHF each without pass). We were bummed to have to share the small cable car after being spoiled in the last one. It’s like a very long, awkward elevator ride but with fantastic views. Jon and I took it all the way up to First and then hiked about an hour to Bachalpsee. The trail was a little hilly with some welcomed descents after a few steep parts. It was more challenging than the Panorama Trail, but definitely doable for all levels.
The views were just incredible, we got lucky with another stunningly clear day!
Mountain views, alpine lakes, wildflowers, and happy cows, does it get any better than this? Bachalpsee is one lake split in two by a naturally occurring dam and the big mountain reflected in the lake is Schreckhorn.
A few people went swimming but the water looked ice cold!
From here you can continue on for longer hikes, but we decided to head back to the mountain station. The views were endless and we were greeted by some friendly goats looking for a snack. They tried to shake down a group of ladies, but they weren’t caving to the four-legged moochers.
We made our way back to the Cliff Walk and it didn’t sway like the bridge at Titlis. You can take you picture at the edge, but we didn’t want to wait in the line.
That paraglider would be me the following day!
One stop down on the cable car you can zip line, or rent three-wheelers and scooters. I wanted to ride one of the three-wheelers but by the time we made it back down, they were all sold out. Guess I’ll have to go back one day!
Jon and I retraced our steps through Grindelwald and enjoyed relaxing in our favorite cable car back up to Mannlichen. We stopped into the cafe for a late lunch with spectacular views. I finally got my sausage and bread roll 🙂
We absolutely loved our visit to First Mountain and Bachalpsee, the views were out of this world and we couldn’t have asked for a better day! I think visiting this mountain is a must if you’re in the area. Grindelwald was one of the towns I considered staying in because it’s extremely accessible (not a car free town) and has great views. It’s also the largest mountain village we visited so it has the most people, accommodations, restaurants, and stores. Grindelwald is a great option, but I ultimately loved the quaintness and views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley from Wengen. Stay tuned for part one of my favorite day of our trip!
More achingly beautiful photos! Chocolate box worthy, Lyssy.
Thank you! It was a stunning day in the mountains.
Such good weather and look at those VIEWS. WOW. <3
I couldn’t have asked for clearer views! I’ll take the heat over clouds/fog/rain any day in the mountains.
Another awesome blue sky day in the mountains Lyssy. I think autumn is the best time to visit such a place. Thanks for sharing your day. Happy Wednesday. Allan
It was such a great, perfect weather day! I’m glad we went later so we didn’t have to worry about snow, mud, or chairlift maintenance after ski season.
Wow, just look at those beautiful mountain views, wonderful ake reflections and cows casually grazing amidst such a stunning landscape. Switzerland is a dreamland for nature lovers. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
It was such. dreamland for sure!! The perfect escape from NYC. Hearing the cowbells instead of honking was just want my soul needed 🙂
Such a beautiful area Lyssy, funny I know so much about Eiger but I’ve never looked at the other mountains in the area 🙂 Maggie
The Berner Oberland region is really something else, I’m glad we spent enough times to see different parts of it. On our last day we did a hike right by Eiger.
Love the reflection of the mountains by the lake! Everywhere is so picturesque and postcard-like! Sounds like a doable hike (one I can do, haha), and I look forward to reading about the highlight of your trip!
I just love alpine lakes! It really is so picturesque and postcard worthy everywhere you look. It is nice the cable cars eliminate a lot of the hard works on hikes so you can enjoy the views without huffing and puffing haha
The weather looks just perfect! I can not get over those beautiful mountain views.
The weather was so perfect! Switzerland is just so beautiful, it seems like it shouldn’t be real.
Your pictures are stunning. Glad you had such clear skies to enjoy the views!
Thank you! We got so lucky with the weather on our trip. The next week was about 30 degrees cooler and overcast and gross.
Wrapped up with a photo of lunch – of course! Bet the beer tasted great after hiking in the Alps. Could you climb over that fence in the first photos and walk to the edge? “First” seems like an odd name for one of the big ones, next to some of those other hard-to-pronounce names. Also, the map shows a dashed line up to Jungfraujoch – is that really a cable car line? Spectacular photos, Lyssy (How can they not be, right?) My favorites are the several with the cows, especially with the lake and the Alps in the background. Appropriate scale figures!
We picked the beer blindly and accidentally got a beer lemonade I think, it was not our fav. Good question, I’m not sure if the fence was for the cows or people, but it seemed to work for both. Interestingly First is pronounced “Fierst”. The dotted line is a train up to Jungfraujoch, the highest train station in Europe. Thank you, it is very hard to take a bad picture in Switzerland, the scenery is just spectacular!
It’s certain that you wanted a break from the big cities, and the result is spectacular, with pastures full of friendly cows and vast landscapes, without a single tower block.
Hard to imagine a more serene break from the city! All that fresh air too and peace and quiet were just what we were looking for.
The landscape looks incredible, and I love all the cows, they are adorable!
Gorgeous! I do not know if I would be brave enough to swim in the freezing lake, but would definitely spend some happy hours photographing cows in and around the lake. The first photo of the cow on the edge of the lake is my favourite, a quintessential Swiss image. And the sausage and bread roll lunch would be high on my list of culinary experiences as well.
Gorgeous pictures on a gorgeous day! I especially like the cows at the edge photo.