In a day that gives adrenalin a rest and seeks some artistic niceties... we scoured Grindelwald for lakes that give money shots, where mountains are 'doubled dosed' ... with direct view and reflected view. The tourist information office showed us where the lakes were located... on the northern side of the valley... take the 'First' chairlift to the end of the line... take a left for two kilometres... and there you will find them nestled up against the Berghaus Manndlenen range... you can't miss it. The weekend visitors have departed... and on Monday, Grindelwald looks more like the sleepy village that charmed us 43 years ago.
The chairlift was a great ride... lifting us over 1,000 metres... and carrying us 5-6 klms away from the valley floor. The sun lit up the alpine colours... so much for the weather forecast of 3 days rain! We had our coffee at the top of the chairlift... then strolled along a gentle path towards the lake. It's easy to identify the drama and grandeur felt when standing on the glacier under the peak of the Jungfrau... no 6th sense needed there. But the enjoyment from strolling through alpine meadows... dodging between the cows... looking at the wild flowers... jumping over the babbling brooks... the strength of enjoyment is no less than looking down 2,000 metres from the mountain peaks.
The path to the lake was well used. We found a cow appreciative of a scratch behind the ears... that started a queue of trekkers wanting to scratch the same cow's ear. Upon reaching the lakes, the wind was rippling the water... diffusing any reflection... Oh well... them's the breaks.
The next phase of the walk was magic. We followed the path called the 'flower walk'... the track was rough... very few people chose this path... it follows the valley down 600 metres of altitude to join our chairlift at the last stop before the township. Only one mishap occurred on the flower walk... a young guy walking with the group ahead of us was showing off to his mates... he had climbed 50 metres above the track right under the cliff face. He picked up a big rock and rolled it down the hill in the direction of his friends... but random chance being what it is... it deflected off another rock and headed straight towards us. Fortunately, we saw it early... watch it bouncing along... taking no prisoners... then it slowed... and ended its run at our feet... the impetuosity of youth!
There were many streams joining the stream at the bottom of the valley. The stream had rapids and small waterfalls decorating its descent. We found wild flowers of types we had not seen before. Walking downhill... in the sunshine... with beautiful scenery... it was easy to maintain a sense of well being. There was one section of difficult descent... that tested the ankles and the knees... but otherwise, we didn't want this walk to end.
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