Hôtel Royal-St. Georges, Interlaken
Scheidegg passes and Grindelwald
DAY 2
INTERLAKEN
Well known for its genteel atmosphere, Interlaken’s position at the heart of the Bernese Oberland makes it the perfect base from which to explore this amazing region’s fascinating towns and villages. Mighty mountains surround you and today you’ll get up close and personal with some of the world’s most famous peaks — the majestic Jungfrau (young maiden), Mönch (Monk) and Eiger (Ogre). Together they form a trio of giant snow-capped peaks soaring upwards to nearly 11,000 feet. We take the narrow gauge railway to Lauterbrunnen, nestling in a stunning vertical sided glacial valley formed millennia ago. With mountains now completely dominating the skyline, and with only upward views, we change onto the mountain cog railway. It climbs steeply through the fashionable ski resort of Wengen, across the slopes of the famous Lauberhorn world cup ski race reaching one of Europe’s highest railway junctions, Kleine Scheidegg, and some of the world’s most breathtaking alpine scenery. You’ll wonder at the audacity of climbers conquering these snowy peaks and glistening icefields. Breathe deeply and take the crisp mountain air deep into your lungs — it’s almost like wine! You’ll want to photograph the beauty here before descending to the picturesque mountain resort of Grindelwald with the flower-decked, shallow roofed “chocolate box,” chalets so typically Swiss. This afternoon we take the yellow post bus for a scenic drive over the 6,400-foot Grosse Scheidegg pass. This is one of the most beautiful routes in the region, crossing the ‘secret’ Rosenlaui Valley where no private cars are allowed to disturb the tranquillity of the flower-filled alpine meadows, dwarfed by the towering jagged peak of the Wetterhorn. Finally we reach Meiringen — a wonderfully pleasant town, famous for its role in the final demise of Sherlock Holmes at the nearby Reichenbach Falls, a spectacular water torrent plunging towards the valley floor. Visit the small Sherlock Holmes Museum or just relax in Meiringen itself, before joining the train back along pretty Lake Brienz to Interlaken.
Janet wrote: “Huh! I may have had two hours’ sleep at most. Endless night!” It didn’t help that after a glass of
prosecco and two large glasses of strong beer, I was “out like a light”, snoring like billyo. I got out of bed
ca.6.30am to shave, and Janet (she wrote:) “reluctantly got up at 6.45am.”…
I notice from my browser history that I checked my Gmail account at 06:53. I also had a
Facebook session, “liking” eight posts in the news-feed (07:07–07:09). So it was perhaps after that, that I worked out by trial and error how to use the shower taps: right handle, turning it one way supplied water to a fixed overhead shower rose (giving me a deluge of cold water, because I was leaning under it to reach the tap!), turning it the other way supplied water to the bathtub spout, but pulling the diverter knob above the spout then supplied the removable shower head; left handle, turning it one way made the water hot, turning it the other way made the water cold. The hose supplying the removable head was not sufficiently flexible, so that unless I jammed the head hard into the handset holder, it would rotate away from me and wet the bathroom floor. There wasn’t anything substantial to get hold of, to steady me, when I stepped out of the bathtub onto the floor; so I risked life and limb each morning.
I took a photo out of the bedroom window. To the left was a long mountain ridge, obscured in haze as it receded into the distance (it was a rather cloudy morning, with some rainwater in evidence on the ground). I didn’t realise till later that the ridge was called the Harder just here, and that the range continued along the northern shore of the Brienzersee, with the Brienzer Rothorn (which we were to visit on a subsequent day) towards its eastern end. I also didn’t realise, because it was hidden by buildings, that in front of the Harder and parallel to it flowed the River Aare between the two lakes, Brienzersee and Thunersee.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 07:21:16
View from the hotel window
We went downstairs for breakfast at ca.7.30am, and found no tables available; they were all taken. Eventually, a couple who where in our tour party squeezed us in next to them. I had my usual-for-holiday orange juice, corn flakes, bacon, sausages and baked beans — and a slice of darkish bread with a seeded crust. I had bacon,
etc., on a couple or so subsequent mornings; but after that, there were
hijab-dressed women around, who probably wouldn’t have thought anything, good or bad, about me carrying a plate of bacon — but anyway, I didn’t!
This was the first and only occasion when there was insufficient space at breakfast time, but we didn’t know that that was going to be the case. We were not happy that they provided space to cope only with average requirement, not the maximum possible requirement.
Janet recalls: “We noticed a queue of orientals at the door — waiting.” Indeed, out and about, we noticed a great many Chinese and/or Japanese visitors. And there were a good many who were evidently Muslims, for many of the women wore the
hijab (and occasionally the niqab).
We met up in the lobby at 8.15am; and after Jan had noted us on her list, we each made our own way to Interlaken Ost station, to gather again at 8.30am.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 08:20:02
Proceeding to Interlaken Ost railway station
There, we were waiting for latecomers — some younger members of the party, who proved on the early days of the holiday to be habitually late. (I think Jan had “words” with them eventually about it.) Fortunately, Jan had allowed a wide margin of time for this eventuality, and the train was not scheduled to depart till 09:05. On the corner of the station building near the entrance to the platforms was a little
Coop convenience store. Here, Janet bought a banana and a bread bun for lunch. (Also on the opposite side of the square in front of the station was a large
Coop supermarket on two floors.) We had to go to the eastern half “A” of platform 2 via a pedestrian underpass, for at the western end “B” the train was destined for Grindelwald. (We’d be going there today, but not directly).
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 08:53:54
About to turn right to platform 2A for the 09:05 “Regio”[i] train to Lauterbrunnen
[i] Regio trains (abbreviation “R”) are ones that stop at all stations.
The Berner Oberland-Bahn is metre-gauge, but you wouldn’t have judged it to be narrow-gauge by the size of the rolling
stock.[ii]
[ii] Also not evident from the track at the station, was that steeply inclined sections of the line are rack-and-pinion assisted.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 08:55:18
The 09:05 Berner Oberland-Bahn “Regio” train to Lauterbrunnen (foreground) and to Grindelwald (background)
Jan located the coach on the train that had been reserved for
Riviera.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 08:55:18 (detail)
Our tour manager Jan locates the reserved coach.
Just east of Interlaken Ost there was a right turn across the alluvial plain on which Interlaken is built, then the train ascended and wound through a steep-sided valley. At Zweilütschinen the two trains divided, with our front portion taking the right fork to Lauterbrunnen and the rear portion taking the left to Grindelwald.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:19:02
En route to Lauterbrunnen
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:23:54
Passing place en route to Lauterbrunnen, with a rack-assisted section of line in evidence
At Lauterbrunnen we changed to another train, to the station at the summit of the Kleine Scheidegg mountain pass. This was on the
Wengernalpbahn 800mm-gauge (2ft 7½ in), wholly rack-and-pinion assisted line.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:31:34
Lauterbrunnen
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:34:16
Boarding the reserved coach of the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:43:48
Aboard the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
On the way, I managed to photograph some satisfactory views of mountains, forests and alpine meadows, even though the most spectacular sights kept being hidden by trees and other features as soon as I tried to line up my camera on them. And the brown-and-white cows, each with a bell strapped around its neck, eluded me; either they were too far off, or flashed by too quickly. We went through one or two tunnels, also through galleries protecting against the fall of debris onto the power lines and track.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:51:28
Part of the Jungfrau, seen from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:52:14
Part of the Jungfrau, seen from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 09:52:24
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:04:04
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:06:38
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
At one stop we were close enough to a bank or cutting for me to
photograph the alpine flowers growing in abundance there.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:07:56
Alpine flowers, seen from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:08:10
Alpine flowers, seen from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:09:12
Alpine flowers, seen from the Wengernalpbahn train to Kleine Scheidegg
At the station at the summit of the Kleine Scheidegg pass there was a break of some 40 minutes.…
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:20:58
Kleine Scheidegg station
The “big three” mountains on the other side of the station building were stubbornly shrouded in cloud. It was there that I saw the train to Jungfraujoch, which goes through tunnels through the Eiger and Mönch mountains. I wanted to travel on this on one of our free days, and now I knew from where it would depart.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:29:04 Jungfraubahn train at Kleine Scheidegg station, with the Eiger (background) shrouded in cloud
We went for coffee in the station restaurant, which would have afforded a view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, had they been visible.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:40:58
Refreshments at Kleine Scheidegg station
Quite suddenly there was an opportunity to see them reasonably clearly (though the summits, that of the Mönch in particular, were still a bit hazy), so I seized it.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:47:06
The Eiger from Kleine Scheidegg during a brief break in the clouds
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:48:32
The Mönch from Kleine Scheidegg during a brief break in the clouds
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:48:40
The Jungfrau from Kleine Scheidegg during a brief break in the clouds
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:49:58
Clouds, highlighted by sunlight, being blown over the summit of the Eiger
We were about to make our way back to where the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald would depart, when I realised that I didn’t have my shoulder bag. (It’s part of my rucksack, which unzips to form a separate bag.) I looked in the restaurant: I hadn’t left it on the seat. I looked in the toilet compartment I’d occupied on arrival: it wasn’t there. How essential was it? My wallet was in my trouser pocket. My “Regional Pass” was in the other pocket. My camera was slung round my neck. My passport was in the safe in the hotel room. So what was I losing? It had in it my notebook with my scribblings to use for later write-up; that would be a regrettable loss. And my mobile phone was in it; losing that would be awkward and inconvenient, not least because of its very memorable number. Anyway, I had another look in the restaurant — and there it was, under the seat, pushed back a short way!
Janet was so relieved that she hugged the woman who had served us earlier.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 10:56:32
Boarding the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald
We boarded the Wengernalpbahn train for the descent to Grindelwald. Again, the brown cows with bells eluded my lens. I did capture a couple of typical chalets, though.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:13:20
Aboard the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:20:32
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:23:44
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:32:04
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:38:00
Views from the Wengernalpbahn train to Grindelwald
At Grindelwald Grund the train stopped, then went in the reverse direction, taking a left fork, as far as Grindelwald itself, where we all got off. In 2011, as I was trying to recall as much as I could of my holiday in Austria and Switzerland in September 1971, I wrote:
There was a trip to Grindelwald, affording a grand view of the Eiger. I didn’t buy one of the postcards of the Eiger, though, because the publishers had vandalised all of them with lines showing the routes by which the mountain had been
climbed.[iii] Just as there was a
Spar shop in Untermieming, so there was a Coop in Grindelwald (both of which I had thought were purely British
retailers).[iv]
As I wrote that, I had a vague mental picture of the place and the scene; but today, after I stepped off the train, nothing in Grindelwald looked familiar to my eyes or matched that picture. There was a
Coop, yes, but it was in the newly built Eiger+ shopping mall. And where
was the Eiger? I wondered whether the mountain looming ahead could be it (which is why it appears in more than its fair share of photos
below).[v]
[iii] I did buy a postcard of the Jungfrau, though, so I must have seen it on my travels — not from Interlaken, however.
[iv] Holiday
in Austria (2): “Interlaken”
[v] It was only after we returned home that I identified (hopefully, correctly) the mountains in the captions to the photos, below.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:50:32
Grindelwald railway station
(background:) the Mättenberg
Coming out of the station, we went first to the loo across the road (in the grey building to the left, in the chronologically displaced photo immediately below).
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:42:06
View east from outside Grindelwald railway station
(background:) the Mättenberg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:51:28
Grindelwald, seen from the railway station
(background:) the Mättenberg
We went to the aforesaid Coop in the Eiger+ mall — to one of them, anyway: a
Coop convenience store at the end of the mall.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 11:51:28 (detail)
The Eiger+ shopping mall
I bought a long sandwich with ham and salami, etc., in it, and a 50cl bottle of
Evian water. Janet bought a 45cl bottle of Fanta Zero orange-flavoured soda-pop to go with the banana and bread roll she’d bought earlier. There were a couple of automated tills, which we didn’t know how to use, so we enlisted the services of the store-clerk. He was pleasant enough to us; but he bemoaned having to do
this and having to do that, day after day, endlessly. “This is my life…,” he complained. He reminded us of Marvin the paranoid android from
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:06 Coop receipt
We sat on a bench in the mall and consumed our purchases. I hate eggs, so I was lucky that I opened the sandwich and spotted a slice of hard-boiled egg (staring at me like a bright yellow-and-white eye!) before I bit into that part, and was able to remove it. If I’d studied the list of ingredients on the wrapper, I’d have seen a compound word near the end with “Ei” in it (and I don’t just mean “Eiweiss”, which can also mean “protein” and “albumen”).
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:10:26
In the Eiger+ shopping mall
Then we walked some way along the main street — I was still trying to recapture something of the 1971 visit — till we decided that we needed to make our way back, so that we could meet the rest of the party at the bus station, as Jan had told us to, at 12.50pm.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:26:34
In Dorfstrasse, Grindelwald, looking east
(background:) the Mättenberg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:27:18
In Dorfstrasse, Grindelwald, looking south
(background:) Hörnli, the north-eastern shoulder of the range which includes the Eiger
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:32:16
Farther along Dorfstrasse, Grindelwald, looking east
(background:) the Mättenberg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:32:40
Slightly different position in Dorfstrasse, Grindelwald, looking east
(background:) the Mättenberg
We decided that we needed a loo before travelling again, so went back to the
Eiger+ mall. We followed a sign downstairs, where in addition to the
Coop convenience store that we’d visited earlier there was a large
Coop supermarket in the basement. The “toilets” sign pointed downstairs again, where we found ourselves in an underground car park. Because it still wasn’t clear where the toilets actually were, and because we didn’t want to be late, we retraced our steps, left the building, and walked the couple of hundred yards back to the toilets opposite the railway station that we’d been to when we first arrived.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:42:06
View east from outside Grindelwald railway station
(background:) the Mättenberg
Then we went to meet the others at the bus station. “Which one’s the Eiger?” I asked. None of these, I was told. Jan named one of them the “Wetterhorn”. I think it was Clive, one of those at our dinner table, who said that the Eiger was farther down the valley.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:46:50
Grindelwald bus station, looking east
(background:) the Wetterhorn
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:47:26
Grindelwald bus station, looking in a more southerly direction
(background:) the Mättenberg
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:50:32
Detailed view of the Wetterhorn
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:51:52
More detailed view of the Wetterhorn
I’ve since then spent quite a lot of time looking at maps, especially
Google Maps 3D view—
Google Maps 3D view — labels mine [click to enlarge]
—and have concluded that if I’d continued to pan right with the camera after taking “12:46:50” (Wetterhorn) and “12:47:26” (Mättenberg), I’d have photographed the north-east shoulder of the mountain range leading up to the Eiger. (Indeed, if I’m not mistaken, I
did photograph it, in “12:27:18”.) Even later, I found Swiss topographical maps on-line, where the mountain at the Grindelwald end of the range is called “Hörnli”.
The “yellow post bus” promised in the blurb was in fact a yellow “Grindelwald Bus”, not a “PostBus Switzerland” bus. Nevertheless, at every blind corner of the winding road, which seemed much too narrow for such a large vehicle, a three-tone “post horn” was sounded.
The three-tone “post horn”
The initial novelty of this soon wore off. Jan told us at the outset, “You
will get fed up with it.” The bus route was that of the №128, from Grindelwald to Schwarzwaldalp (13:04–13:55 on the timetable, with a stop at “Grosse Scheidegg”, 13:38–13:40), although the specific vehicle that we boarded was reserved for us (“Extrafahrt”).
Grindelwald Bus timetable
Grindelwald Bus lines. Ours was Line 128 to Schwarzwaldalp, with a PostBus connection from there (Line 164) to Meiringen.
Grindelwald Bus timetable: Line 128 to Schwarzwaldalp (yellow highlight
mine)
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:53:28
Boarding the yellow Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 12:59:52
Aboard the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:16:34
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:17:32
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:19:42
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:21:08
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:26:08
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
At the summit of the Grosse Scheidegg pass, we stopped to get out and look around, overlooked by the towering Wetterhorn, before commencing the descent.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:31:38
Panorama of views from the Grosse Scheidegg summit
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:31:46
Panorama of views from the Grosse Scheidegg summit
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:31:56
Panorama of views from the Grosse Scheidegg summit
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:32:08
Panorama of views from the Grosse Scheidegg summit
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:32:38
Panorama of views from the Grosse Scheidegg summit
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:33:18
Panorama of views from the Grosse Scheidegg summit
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:34:16
At the Grosse Scheidegg summit
On the descent, it was fascinating to see a continuation of our road below, sometimes more than one, as it zig-zagged down.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:44:58
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:45:24
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 13:46:34
Views from the Grindelwald Bus №128 to Schwarzwaldalp
At the terminus of this bus, Schwarzwaldalp, in a nearby field, I got what I’d failed to do from the train: photos of brown-and-white cows with bells.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:00:04
Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:03:06
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:03:22
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:04:08
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:05:18
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp
A tributary of the Rychenbach, the Pfannibach, flowed down there and powered a sawmill. There was a small hotel, and a little shop selling local cheeses.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:07:46
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp: water-powered timber mill
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:08:22
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:08:48
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:08:48 (detail 1)
“Chalet-Hotel Schwarzwaldalp”
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:08:48 (detail 2)
Cheese shop and children’s play area
The cheese shop was roofed, in a fashion typical of the region, with wooden shingles. (These are becoming seen less and less, for they are not being replaced like-for-like when they rot, but rather with other types of tile or with corrugated metal.)
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:12:08
Views in and around Schwarzwaldalp: cheese shop
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:13:20
Detail of the roof of the cheese shop showing its wooden shingles
The bus we boarded to Meiringen was an actual “PostBus Switzerland” one. As with the earlier bus, I think this one was chartered for our group, but ran to the timetable of the regular №164
(i.e. departure, 14:15; arrival, 14:54).
PostBus timetable: Line 164 from Schwarzwaldalp to Meiringen (yellow highlight
mine) [click to enlarge], also showing the
Grindelwald Bus connection from Grindelwald to Schwarzwaldalp
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:15:48
Boarding the PostBus to Meiringen
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:15:48 (detail)
The “PostAuto+” trademark can just be made out, but the “post-horn” logo is almost completely concealed by the open door.
We followed more or less the course of the Rychenbach (the “Reichenbach” of Sherlock Holmes fame). I wanted to get a photo of one of what the blurb called “one of the most beautiful routes in the region, crossing the ‘secret’ Rosenlaui Valley”, but all attempts to do so were too blurred to use. The road crossed the Rychenbach, turned sharply to the right before the Hotel Rosenlaui and shortly after that there was the confluence of the Rychenbach and the Rosenlauibach.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:25:16
Views from the PostBus to Meiringen
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:46:10
Views from the PostBus to Meiringen
The valley became steeper-sided, till the Rychenbach was flowing through a deep, forested gorge. I kept trying to photograph the brief glimpses of it through gaps in the dense trees, but I couldn’t. Again, the road at times seemed too narrow for the big bus; and from time to time there were hairpin bends as the road zig-zagged down, till we came to the broad valley of the Aare and to Meiringen railway station.
Janet and I didn’t linger there; we boarded the first train that came along, a
Zentralbahn train on the metre-gauge line to Interlaken Ost.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 14:56:48
Meiringen railway station
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:08:08
Boarding a Zentralbahn train to Interlaken Ost
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:13:48
Travelling beside the River Aare
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:15:56
Travelling beside the River Aare
I wondered about the turquoise colour of the Aare and Brienzersee; reflection of the blueness of the sky couldn’t fully account for it. Perhaps it was due to suspended minerals washed out of the mountains, though I suspected algal bloom as well.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:20:26
Brienzersee
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:21:16
Brienzersee
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:21:28
Paddle steamer moored at Brienz
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:24:32
In a tunnel
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:26:44
Brienzersee
Some of the stone bridges under which the train passed were interesting (of course, they flashed by too fast for me to photograph), because the spandrels weren’t completely filled with masonry; they were pierced with smaller arches.
Arch bridge with additional arches in the spandrels
Screen-capture from YouTube: “Driver’s Eye View — Meiringen to Interlaken (Switzerland)” (Timsvideochannel1)
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:42:50
The Zentralbahn train at its terminus: Interlaken Ost railway station
When we arrived, we crossed the wide expanse of Untere Bönigstrasse between the railway station and the
Coop supermarket. “What is this all about?” Janet wrote. “Why have a big
Coop and a small one? It was the same in Grindelwald.” She bought six 45cl bottles of
Sprite Zero for 6.70 CHF (at 15:54, according to the till receipt), because she didn’t want to pay an exorbitant amount for what amounted to just chemicalised water in the hotel.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:54 Coop receipt
While we were there, we checked out the large cafeteria upstairs, which Jan had recommended. The food choices and the prices looked reasonable, so we decided we’d go there for lunch on Monday, the first “free” day.
As we were going back to the hotel, I paused to get a photo of the lines of trees along Untere Bönigstrasse just west of the
Coop and the railway station. I couldn’t get it framed right, and had three or four attempts, erasing each one as I examined it.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 15:59:30
Untere Bönigstrasse, Interlaken, by the Youth Hostel, with four lines of trees
When I looked again, I couldn’t see Janet anywhere. Eventually, I walked along slowly, looking around every few steps, but not glimpsing her. I crossed the road and walked through the little park between Höheweg and the Aare.
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 16:04:04
English Garden, Interlaken
Saturday 13 July 2019 — 16:04:24
English Garden, Interlaken
I didn’t see her till I got back to the hotel room. “We started to walk back to the hotel,” she wrote, “but as [John] was lingering taking photos I scuttled off on my own. I was tired and weary and just wanted to get back. [John] joined me not long after. Had a drink —
etc.”… Transferred 92 photos from the camera to the
WD Elements HDD (16:37–16:38). Seven of these were taken yesterday, so I created a folder for them (16:40) and transferred them into it (16:41). Rotated two of the remaining photos that need it (16:44). Looked up what I’d written about the
1971 holiday in Austria and Switzerland in
Blogger (17:05–17:10), especially the Switzerland
part; and looked at the environs of Grindelwald, the Wetterhorn,
etc., using Open Street Map, and Google Maps in various views (3D,
Street View, etc.) (17:13–17:35).… Meanwhile,
Janet, who (she wrote:) “just wanted to lie down…, went out and looked in souvenir shops to wake myself up a bit.” At 6.30pm we went downstairs for dinner. There were a number of our party still in the bar having a pre-dinner drink, when I went there for a Grimbergen
Blanche.
I didn’t remain in the bar; I took my drink back to the dining room. Dinner finished
ca.8pm or not long thereafter.…
Janet was updating her holiday journal…. She was in bed by 9.30pm, and I not all that long afterwards.
