Stockhorn

After breakfast at the Essential in Interlaken, we checked out and visited Stockhorn where we discovered a snow covered mountaintop world. After, we returned to Eigergletscher again before picking up our bags from the Essential and taking the train to Zurich, where we checked into the Kameha Grand.

Morning

After waking up at the Essential by Dorint in Interlaken, we had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant returning to our room to finish packing.

Overall, it was an excellent stay! The location was extremely convenient as it is right next to the train platform at Interlaken West. And the property is extremely new so everything was modern and in good condition. The price was also very reasonable, particularly compared to all the other older properties in Interlaken.

We left our bags at the hotel after checking out and heading to Stockhorn. But, we had a bit of time before the next train so we decided to walk around Interlaken a bit.

Most of the time we spent in Interlaken was after the sun had already set. We walked to the east past Interlaken West, passing by the skating bear sculpture.

We crossed over the Aare to reach a narrow island within the river and again to reach a tiny island on the northern side.

We didn’t notice this when walking by in the evening but Interlaken, or more accurately Unterseen, is home to the Swiss Selfie Museum!

We crossed over the final bridge over the Aare just to the north of the museum.

We didn’t go any further but instead crossed over to the east side of the road to take a look. This small part of the Aare seems to end here but it goes under some of these buildings.

We started to walk back to the station to catch the next train. We noticed something on the mountains in the background.

Jungfraujoch is visible from Interlaken! This isn’t something we realized before. While we didn’t visit Jungfraujoch on this trip, we did when we were here last year. Looking closely, it appears that there is Christmas tree on the outdoor viewing platform!

This mountain, to the left of Jungfraujoch, must be Monch. Which means Eiger is even more to the left but is not visible as it is blocked by the Schynige Platte, the mountain directly to the southeast of Interlaken.

Changing directions, we could see Harder Kulm to the north above Interlaken. We only saw it at night during this trip where it basically shows up as an illuminated star.

We crossed back over the Aare two more times to return to Interlaken West.

Spiez

We caught the next train to Spiez as going to Stockhorn requires changing trains here. We decided to take a look outside as we had enough time before our train arrived.

We will have to walk down by the lake during a future trip!

While waiting for our train, a German ICE train stopped at the station.

Stockhorn

To reach Stockhorn, we took the train from Spiez to Erlenbach im Simmental, a short trip at just 16 minutes. After arriving at the station, we started to walk somewhat quickly to the lower terminal for the aerial tram in order to catch the next departure. The initial part of this walk was all uphill.

Looking to our left, we could see residences in this small town as well as a lumber yard next to the railroad.

We passed by a small property on the other side of the road which had some chickens.

There were less buildings as we continued to walk to the west along the sidewalk. We passed by a filled water basin, unsure of what species the water is intended for!

It took us around 15 minutes or so to get to the aerial tram. We picked up an informational pamphlet along with our tickets from the ticket office.

We made it with a little bit of time to spare.

Soon, the aerial tram departed and we began our ascent.

We were really surprised that the tram departed with no operator on board. This is our first time experiencing this in Switzerland. Typically there is always some staff present. There were no other customers either, just us!

The mountainside here is mostly farmland and forest further uphill. We could see that we were headed into the clouds.

Looking back, we could no longer see the lower terminal below.

We passed over a small stream that was cascading down the mountainside. Perhaps it is quite vigorous during the spring from snowmelt? There was a steep partially paved trail next to it.

Soon, we were in the clouds as we approached Chrindi, the aerial tram’s upper terminal.

We switched to another small aerial tram to continue our ascent up to Stockhorn. This tram was staffed.

The tram ascended quickly up and over a lake, the Hinterstockensee, before climbing into the clouds on the way to Stockhorn.

The top of Stockhorn was like being in a completely different world. Visibility was limited as we were up inside the clouds. Everything was encased in a layer of snow and ice!

The facilities at the upper terminal include a restaurant and small gift shop.

There is also a tunnel in between the Grand Tour photo point and the restaurant. We went in to take a look.

There was a chunk of some sort of mineral on display. The light has a halo around it as the lens started to fog up while inside.

This sign basically says, “Thank you for visiting the community of Erlenbach i.S. and goodbye! Welcome to the community of Stocken-Höfen!” This is the border between the towns on either side of Stockhorn.

This carved wood mountain sculpture was a gift from the Lions Club Stockhorn for their 10th anniversary in 2019.

The tunnel leads to a glass door which opens out onto this small balcony, the Panorama Platform! Like everything else here, it was covered in snow and ice. There was no visibility at all here, all we could see in front of us was the metal platform.

This metal balcony protrudes from the side of a cliff on the mountainside.

A slightly closer look at the metal surfaces of the balcony.

Steel mesh is used to keep large rocks from falling onto the balcony. There is even sort of a canopy above.

Back inside the tunnel, there is a side room that seems like it can be used as an event space.

There is enough light from the windows and moisture that small moss-like plants are able to grow on the rocks inside the tunnel.

We walked through the tunnel again to return to the southern side of Stockhorn.

This gap in the mountain above us is a fissure caused by the upward movement of the ground which created Stockhorn. A sign explains, translated via Google Translate:

When the rock layers of the Stockhorn chain were folded, the layers were not only pressed together sideways but also sheared. The hard limestones broke apart and certain fracture patterns formed.

In shear fractures, the rocks on both sides move against each other. If differently oriented shear fractures cross, cavities can open up. In the diagram, blocks A and B moved apart at shear fractures 1 and 2, creating a cavity. A natural example of such an opening is the illuminated crack.

The friction between the moving rock blocks causes slip streaks (drag marks) to form on shear fractures. These can be seen on the rock surface in the illuminated crack.

The summit zone of the Stockhorn consists of limestone from the late Jurassic period (approx. 150 to 142 million years old). This limestone is very dense, so that no particles can be seen with the naked eye.

Under the microscope, you can see small, round structures (dark in the image) made of calcite (CaCO3). The particles were formed in a sea at a shallow depth of less than about 20 m. Storm waves tore off fragments of lime mud from the seabed and washed them, together with mussel shell debris and fecal pellets, into calmer areas.

After being washed together, the loose particles were cemented by chemical precipitation of calcite in the pore spaces, so that today a hard rock exists.

This shrine, near the southern end of the tunnel, is dedicated to St. Barbra, the patron saint of miners. The sign to the left explains, translated using Google Translate:

She lived around 300 AD as the daughter of the wealthy Christian hater Dioskuros in Nicomedia in Bithynia (today Izmit on the Sea of ​​Marmara!) and was of extraordinary beauty. Against her father's wishes, she converted to the then new faith, Christianity. To prevent her from having contact with the Christians, her father had her locked up in a tower. She managed to escape and found refuge in a tunnel near Berglauten. But her father tracked her down and brought her before the judge. Despite pleas, threats and torture, Barbara remained steadfast and did not deny her faith, whereupon she was put to death by her own father's sword.

The image shows a tower whose three windows symbolize the Trinity of the Christian faith, the chalice represents the grace of communion, the sword represents your terrible death.

According to old custom, the miners still commemorate the Hallige Barbara on December 4th in a festive setting.

Good luck

We’re definitely not going that way!

Lets go take a look upstairs!

The stairs led to the top of the restaurant and aerial tram station building. There were some picnic benches and even chairs for lounging!

There seemed to be a little bit of visibility as the clouds moved continuously. Even a hint of blue in the sky!

Looking up, we could see that the actual peak of Stockhorn wasn’t too far above us. There seems to be structures up there, though we can’t really tell exactly what with this kind of visibility!

Looking down, we could see the cables for the aerial tram leading to a tower below. Visibility was definitely getting better!

We saw one of the aerial tram cabins on its way down.

We watched as it descended down into the clouds.

We got a glimpse of a lower peak to the south.

Looking up, visibility was improved! We could see an antenna as well as some platforms.

There is a path that leads up behind the small blue shipping container, though it was closed.

We saw the other aerial tram cabin ascending. Visibility was now worse as we could no longer see the tower below.

We decided to go back downstairs and inside to check out the gift shop and restaurant area.

We ended up getting postcards. They sell stamps and have a postbox!

We also picked up a 360° panorama postcard, although it seems to be more of a 270° or so postcard! The view generally seems to be from northwest to southwest.

We also bought a souvenir 0 CHF bill!

The clouds cleared a bit more when we went back outside. We could see a bit of the Hinterstockensee below.

A bit of blue sky!

Nope, still not going that way!

We had a better view of the peak above as well as all the platforms up on top. We decided to go back through the tunnel to see if visibility was any better on the other side. The entrance is through the door here.

Visibility improved a bit on the north side compared to before. We could see a bit further to the side as well as down. But, overall, we couldn’t tell at all what was out beyond the clouds!

We returned to the south via the tunnel in time to see a bit of sunlight and blue sky!

The sunlight didn’t last for long, though we still had the improved visibility compared to before.

Looking down, we could see the entire Hinterstockensee now! The Chrindi aerial tram terminal could also be seen just a little bit above the lake.

We went back through the tunnel again to the north side of the mountain. Now, looking down, we could see quite a bit more!

We could see much more than before when looking straight ahead, though we were still above the clouds.

We could see a valley to the left, or west.

The eastern view was more limited.

Looking up, we saw a bit of blue sky above.

We returned to the south side once again. We could see another lake to the west, probably the Oberstockesee.

Visibility was much improved overall! We could even see some distant mountain peaks!

We knew the weather would continue to change. However, we decided it was time to descend.

We went down with the next aerial tram departure at around 11:35am.

We decided to take a look around Chrindi, skipping the next descent.

There wasn’t much here, just the two aerial trams and a restaurant which was closed. We took advantage of a bench at the station’s exterior to put on our microspikes before heading out to walk around.

There were some outdoor benches by the station. They were at the bottom of some icy stairs. Also, everything outside of the station was covered in snow. We definitely would not go walking around here without traction devices!

The trail by the station leads down to the Hinterstockensee. It is pretty steep at some parts.

A pretty view of the lake through a gap in the trees, with an aerial tram cable above.

We saw one of the aerial tram cabins pass by above.

We walked over a tiny stream.

This was about as close as we got to the lake.

We tried to create a panorama here but the aerial tram cables don’t stitch together correctly. The photos above are some of the frames that would have made up the panorama if it was successful, cropped so that they sort of line up correctly.

We started to head back so that we could catch the next departure down.

Some of the stone by the trail was pretty weathered with channels from ice and water.

Everywhere that we’ve been is here! The upper terminal at Stockhorn, the lake, and the trail.

We walked around the station building this time rather than walking up the initial path that we descended on. We ended up at a snow covered patio area.

We saw one of the aerial tram cabins descending. The departures are timed so that there is minimal wait in between when transiting through Chrindi.

We got the tram all to ourselves again for the trip down from Chrindi!

After passing through an initial layer of clouds, we descended to better weather than when we left in the morning!

Stockhorn has a nice wrapped van!

That’s what Stockhorn is like when the weather is nice!

We started to walk back to the train station.

We took a slightly different path upon entering the edge of the sort of built up area of Erlenbach im Simmental.

There was a pretty vigorous cascade of water running through the small town.

The walk back took just under 20 minutes at a reasonable pace.

We didn’t notice it before but the train station had quite a bit of new wood structures! Perhaps not too surprising given that there is a lumber yard right here?

Spiez

We caught the next train to Spiez. Like before, we had a bit of time before the next train to Interlaken. So, we went to take a quick look around again.

The weather was pretty good here! Much better than the overcast sky and low clouds that we saw this morning.

Maybe a bit cloudier to the northwest?

We photographed this McDonald’s advertisement at the station as we had tried the McRaclette the other day. It seems like it might be a seasonal item, like the McRib in the US?

Grindelwald

We caught the next train to Interlaken Ost and changed trains for Grindelwald Terminal.

We were pleased to see clear skies as we got closer to Grindelwald!

Eigergletscher

We decided to take the Eiger Express up to Eigergletscher one last time on this trip! Thankfully it is currently included in the Berner Oberland Pass, though that will no longer be the case in 2025!

Here we go!

Looking back after we departed, the northern part of Grindelwald was still illuminated by the afternoon sun while the area around the gondola terminal was in the shadow of the mountains to the south.

Looking to the east, just the peaks of the nearby mountains showed a bit of sunlight at top.

As we continued to ascend, everything started to be covered in snow, including the trees. We could see a hint of the sun right above the mountains ahead.

We soon were just high enough to get a little bit of direct sunlight!

The view to the west was almost all in the shade.

The view down into the valley here was pretty spectacular!

Soon, as we continued to ascend, we saw a bit of sunlight on some of the treetops below.

Looking to the east, we could see the where the railroad below steeply ascends on the side of the mountain.

Soon, we were high enough that we could see Männlichen to the west. The gondola from Grindelwald Terminal is currently closed but scheduled to reopen in three days for the winter season.

The mountain shadows to the north are very evident from this perspective!

Looking to the west, we could see Kleine Scheidegg and the Fallbodensee below, all places that we’ve been to before.

We soon arrived at Eigergletscher and went to take a look from the overpass over the railway below.

We went outside to take a look.

Snow was being blown away from the peaks above.

The weather was beautiful with a clear sky above us.

We continued walking around to the north side of the Eigergletscher station building.

We enjoyed the view across the valley to the north.

We created a panorama of the north side of the Eigergletscher station. It is mostly underground from this perspective.

The view looking to the north and the west at the edge of a roped off slope.

The rope fencing here, like here yesterday and like up on Stockhorn today, was covered in snow.

We started to head back to the station.

These Alpine Choughs, the ever present black birds with yellow beaks, were spaced out on the fence.

One final look back before we head back into the building.

Time to head back down one last time!

It was definitely darker as we headed down. We could see that more of the valley to the north was in the shadow of the mountains behind us compared to when we arrived about 40 minutes ago.

After arriving at Grindelwald Terminal, we had some time before the next train to Interlaken Ost. We visited the Lindt store inside the station and bought some chocolates. We tried to get mostly chocolates that were actually made in Switzerland.

We then walked over to the platform for the next train to Interlaken Ost.

Interlaken

Once we arrived, we caught the next train to Interlaken West to pick up our bags from the Essential.

We had 30 minutes at Interlaken West until the next train so we got a quick dinner to go from Mr. Grill, a food stand by the station. We got a Mr. Grill XXL Cheeseburger and a Bratwurst mit Brot (bread). Not exactly high quality stuff here, particularly the beef patty which was kind of like American breakfast sausage but with less flavor, but overall it all tasted ok and was decently filling. We also supplemented with some Lindt chocolates that we got at Grindelwald Terminal earlier. We ate in the hotel’s bar area while waiting for the train to arrive.

Zurich

The fastest way to get to Zurich from Interlaken is via Bern. This generally requires changing trains at Bern, though the IC81 makes this trip with intermediate stops at only Spiez, Thun, and Bern. IC81 seems to run every two hours. The trip to Zurich takes more or less two hours.

After arriving at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof, we walked outside to take a tram to our hotel. After spending the past few days in Interlaken and the mountains, it felt like we were in a big city! And definitely for Switzerland, Zurich is a big city with more than 1 million people in its metropolitan area!

There are a number of different tram stops near the station and various lines that go all throughout the city. We took tram line #11 to Glattpark, to the north of the city near the airport.

We made a bit of a navigational error when arriving. It turns out there are two separate tram stops at Glattpark on intersecting streets. We ended up going in the wrong direction as we thought we were on the North/South Thurgauerstrasse but instead were on the East/West Glattparkstrasse. Oops! We didn’t realize we were going the wrong way until we walked for awhile, wondering why there didn’t seem to be as many buildings as there should be along the road!

This will be home for the next three nights. We booked it due to its location as it is easy to access both central Zurich as well as the airport. We have a morning departure on our last day so we wanted to be close by. Also, the price was very reasonable as far as Zurich hotels go!

The room is supposed to be Swiss styled and designed by Marcel Wanders, who is Dutch, in 2015 when the hotel opened. It seems kind of a weird bank theme with safe like knobs that don’t actually turn.

Mostly irrelevant to anything, the room has one Schuko outlet, which means we can use the Schuko plug adapter that we accidentally brought with us as it was still in a bag from our recent Amsterdam trip! The room also has one US outlet which doesn’t work.

The bathroom in particular was a bit weird with lots of mirrors, semi-transparent mirrors, and sliding doors! But we were very happy to have a tub!

While the hotel lobby experience was a bit mediocre, we were pretty happy with the room, even if it was a little bit weird!