View from gondola going up to Birg

Tuesday morning was beautiful, and we decided to go to Schilthorn. The weather was perfect all day; brilliant blue skies, cool temperatures. We got the best mountain views ever!

The gondola lifts straight out of Lauterbrunnen so it is most convenient. Not everyone did the same, but my path for the day was 1) gondola up from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp, 2) train from Grutschalp to the north end of Murren, 3) walk through Murren, 4) gondola up from the south end of Murren to Birg, 5) thrill walk along the cliff at Birg, 6) gondola up from Birg to Schilthorn/Piz Gloria, 7) lunch at Piz Gloria, 8) gondola down to Murren, 9) walk from Murren to Gimmelwald, 10) explore Gimmelwald, 11) gondola down to Stechelberg, 12) bus from Stechelberg back to Lauterbrunnen.

View from gondola lifting up from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp. This view looks north (downhill) toward Interlaken.

The group was pretty excited about going up to Schilthorn.

On the way to the gondola that took us up the mountain we walked through the village of Murren. Murren was a lot of fun, good shopping, and has beautiful views; I’m going to save those pictures for the next post since we walked through it again on the way down.

This photo on the left was taken at the Murren station on our way up, as we were waiting in line for the gondola up to Birg.

There was no snow in Murren, but there was plenty at the higher elevations.

From Murren the gondola takes you up to a halfway point called Birg. At Birg you get great views of the surrounding mountains, and this year a new feature called the Thrill Walk – a walkway attached to the side of the cliff.

The video to the right includes parts of three gondola rides: Birg to Schilthorn, a gondola docking, and Murren to Birg. Near the end, enjoy the view of the Thrill Walk as we approach Birg.

View of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau from the platform at Birg.

The coffee shop at Birg was closed; they are transforming it into a full restaurant. Because of this, we focused our attention on the Thrill Walk. Some members of our group decided to stay up on the platform, but the rest of us decided to give it a try.

Here’s a picture of the Thrill Walk taken (by Sue) as we approached Birg via gondola. You can see that it’s just sort of stapled across the face of the cliff.

If you’re standing on the platform, looking down at your husband on the first landingĀ at the beginning of the Thrill Walk, wondering if he’ll survive , this is what you see…

And this is what it looked like to me, after going around that first corner.

Honestly, my heart didn’t know whether to be thrilled with the beauty or the danger. It really is a Thrill Walk.

The Swiss are always so helpful. I thought this sign offered good advice.

From the patio, you take stairs down, then walk across the cliff face around to the other side. The floor of the thrill walk is a metal mesh, and there are handrails all along – but then they start to mess with you.

This photo was taken of my foot (at the bottom) stepping out on to the glass part of the Thrill Walk.

I was impressed with myself that I could walk on the glass, but when I saw the tightrope I said “no way.” Others in our group were more brave (if that’s the right word). It doesn’t look scary from here, I know, but it was.

The last “challenge” (other words come to mind) on the Thrill Walk was this tube, apparently constructed of fencing wire, just hanging in space. Janet and Joyce got in there! Amazing!

Here’s Janet, who seems to have no fear.

After the Thrill Walk, we were all hungry, so we hopped on to the gondola and headed for Schilthorn and its restaurant in Piz Gloria.