mountains

Thursday 22nd May 2026 – a day walking up in the mountains at Murren (Part 1)….

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An absolute stunner of a day for us today, starting with a saunter down to the Lake to gauge visibility and sure enough – pretty good….

After various discussion with the site personnel and a fair bit of googling we have decided that our best course of action is to drive the relatively short distance up to Stechelberg where there is a huge car park at the cable car / bus terminal and go from there. There was no problem parking though it was pretty full and I suspect at the weekend and during the summer parking up here will be quite a challenge. Already the views of the surrounding mountains are quite incredible….

Before getting the cable car we take a closer look at Stechelberg waterfall and the fast flowing icy blue River Lutschene….

The cable car is packed to the rafters so no chance of evening admiring the views let alone capturing them as I am having to carry Tilly – who incidentally was getting a lot of fuss and attention but we took a moment at the top when the car had emptied out and wow….

Murren was just a bit unreal with 360 degree of mountains all around – most significantly the Eiger 3970m, Monch 4107m and Jungfrau 4158m (4 times the height of Snowden!!)….

And towering immediately overhead the Schilthorn 2970m….

The main street of the traffic free village was quite busy but by wandering through the beautiful back streets it was peaceful and magical….

It was also surprisingly warm and so after a while we were quite content to find a little bit of shade and just sit for a bit soaking it all up….

Words fail but I hope the photos give you just a small measure of how stunning it is.

After taking a slightly less crowded cable car back down we caught the bus to Lauterbrunnen and will continue in Part 2.

Tuesday 19th May 2026 – a walk into Interlaken….

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A bit wet overnight and showery into the morning but by the time we were ready to set off out, the rain seemed to have passed on by.

Starting off along the lake side and through the nature reserve….

we then turned inland following the river Aare for a good mile or so through open farmland and then the outskirts, until the weir marked our arrival in Interlaken…..

Interlaken appears to be an upmarket sprawling town with every designer outlet you could think of, dominated by two stations at either end both a hub of activity mostly feeding the tourist industry with lots of little branchlines into the mountains. Lots of open spaces and small well tended gardens add interest to the mostly modern shops and hotels, mixed in with the old….

In the very centre is a huge open field where a constant stream of paragliders come in to land after gliding down through the valley from Harder Klum the 1300m mountain sitting behind Interlaken. Here we had a break and watched the continuous perfectly executed landings with the Jungfrau (4158m one of the highest peaks in Switzerland and claiming the highest railway station in Europe at 3354m) as the spectacular backdrop….

An absolute beauty of a mountain….

Having had our fill, we set off on the same route for our return to site, arriving almost simultaneously with a few drops of rain. A little later as it had dried up again we popped down to the Lakeside for a last little walk and to enjoy the aftermath of the setting sun….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 9
  • Cookies for the way back – £7.00
  • O/N – £28.00

Wednesday 13th May 2026 – driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road Part 1….

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As a fine sunny day dawned we suffered a little indecision, I am quite keen to drive the Grossglockner High Alpine Road but after a long driving day yesterday had planned an easy day just wandering locally, however the weather forecast for the next few days is not good with snow likely on the higher ground which will inevitably mean that the Grossglocken road will be closed – so let’s go for it….

We drove the 20 or so miles from Lienz up to Heiligenblut and paid our entrance fee to drive the High Alpine Road to Grossglockner – starting with amazing views down the lush green valley before heading above the snow line…

The driving was challenging with multiple switchbacks constantly either climbing or dipping back down into the valleys but the road itself was good and plenty wide enough for two way traffic so not too daunting and fortunately plenty of lay-bys to pull off and really enjoy the views…

As we crept up higher and higher – reaching 2500m above sea level on several occasions – that is 2 and a half times the height of Snowdon! And still the 3000m + peaks soared above us. It certainly got colder, hovering around 1 or 2 degrees and the views more stunning as the snow deepened, with glimpses of frozen lakes….

At the top of Kaiser Franz Josefs Hohe (2369m) with views across to Grossglockner Peak only just visible – Austria’s highest mountain at 3798m and down onto the mostly frozen Sandersee.

Here we also spotted, well to be fair Tilly sniffed our their presence though she couldn’t see them, a couple of Marmots going about their business – I last saw these in the wild up in the mountains in Canada…

This section of the road ends here and we made our way back down to the main roadway and then continued our trip heading further north and higher still….

To be continued tomorrow….

Tuesday 12th May 2026 – leaving Italy behind and moving on to Austria….

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Pretty wet overnight though drying up nicely for a final walk down to the beach as we bid a farewell to the stunning Italian coastline and head up into the Dolomite Mountains and eventually into Austria….

Whilst driving through the Italian Dolomites we pause for a while at the stunning Lago di Croce….

Take several quick photo stops at Via Valgrande, Cascata de Pissandalo and on the Passo Monte Croce….

A little further along the Passo Monte Croce we stop to get out and stretch our legs at the Sesto Ski resort (all closed for the season) and enjoy stepping into the snow (in very appropriate footwear) for the first time in a while….

From here it was downwards all the way into Lienz in Austria to our campsite for the next few nights – Camping Falken with 360 degree mountain views….

As it is such a beautiful (if a good few degrees cooler than we have become accustomed – 12 degrees as opposed to 20+) afternoon we take a slow wander down into Lienz for a mooch around….

In the short distance that we have travelled through Austria, we have spotted a few of these tall wooden poles with Christmas trees on the top in the villages – as far as I can google they are an advent feature symbolising Light and Life and decorated and lit up for Christmas – a little odd….

An absolutely stunning drive, interesting with lots of switchbacks and serious climbs and descents but so worth it.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 146
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Country No – 5
  • Fuel – £67.88
  • Groceries – £45.18
  • O/N – £26.11