In Switzerland for the 1st time: One day in Grindelwald
Last full day in Switzerland. Last trip. It must have been to the Alps themselves, of course. So let’s do it!
Grindelwald is a village just below the Swiss Alps in the Jungfrau region. And no, it has nothing to do with Harry Potter haha I had to go there because simply the Alps and who wouldn’t want to see them. The same train goes there from Interlaken as it goes to Lauterbrunnen, but it is divided in one village before, because there is a mountain range between Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald.
I didn’t have a map for Grindelwald, because I knew I wanted to take the cable car to First, which is the name of the mountain, but also of the cable car itself. And from there, walk to the Bachalpsee and simply enjoy the mountains. First in itself is a nice place – it is located at 2167 m above sea level and in addition to the restaurant, Intersport shop and amazing views, you can also pay for paragliding, gliders and even mountain tricycles. In winter, it serves as a great place for skiers and snowboarders.
I arrived in the village by train around 11:30 and decided to only go to the nearby viewpoint, because I was still dead from Lauterbrunnen the day before. The lookout was uphill… but I gave it a go and they had a bench there and luckily no one was sitting on it (they have outdoor benches everywhere, I totally love it). The viewpoint was right across from the Alps, I sat there for about an hour and just looked at them. It struck me as crazy that one could get up and walk to the Alps and just touch them without having to climb them. Meanwhile, it was also funny that at the same time I was there, there was an Asian couple and the man was filming and taking pictures of the woman – I guess they were doing TikTok haha
After they left, I tried to take a long exposure photo of the Alps with a filter and then I decided to go out on First and go for a walk to the lake. From the lookout point, I had to walk back to the Grindelwald-First cable car terminal. I bought a ticket up only and it cost me 16 CHF thanks to the Swiss Travel Pass. The journey took about 20 minutes, and I rode with a local worker for part of the first journey, then he got out and two women from Canada and the Netherlands sat in the cabin. So we chatted the rest of the way. Views, by the way, 11/10.
The cable car will take you to the Intersport shop and a restaurant. There you can immediately see the whole Alps, or whatever the weather allows. First is also known for the so-called First Cliff Walk by Tissot (yes, it’s by the watch/free attraction). It is a man-made trail around the mountain with views of the Alps and the valley. But it was very crowded during my visit and you can get the same view on the way to the lake, so I skipped this attraction and went for a walk to the Bachalpsee (local lake).
The journey there was a killer – it was up and down and I don’t know where else and I wasn’t doing very well. However, the views! But walking to the lake was worth it and I definitely recommend it (bring plenty of water and food with you, because there are no shops by the lake/there are public toilets by the lake – the building in the photos). On the way to the lake and by it, you can come across a lot of cows with those mountain bells around their necks. The views around the lake are very beautiful, I was lucky because the clouds cleared quite well after a while and the Alps directly opposite began to be reflected in the lake and it was a spectacle! My only regret is that I didn’t go a little further. From the lake, you can continue along the path and bypass the mountain. I looked at Google Maps now and if I had gone a little higher, I could have had an even better view, but maybe next time. But even so, I looked directly at the peaks of Jungfrau, Eiger and other very well-known and popular parts of the Swiss Alps.
There are also benches by the lake, so you can sit there. As is the standard in Germany in the mountains, they have the same in Switzerland and all trails are taken care of, just make sure you have the right shoes. However, I would not recommend this tour to people who are not used to it and would simply not be able to walk it. But I saw that bikes can probably be rented at First, some people just rode the trail on bikes.
I spent most of my time at the lake, taking photos of course. Then I headed back to First, had a snack, and then decided to walk down from First to Grindelwald instead of the cable car. Like the dumbest idea ever. I had no idea that some sections would be mega steep and my legs took the hit, oops. In the end, I brought twice the size of an ankle back home with me. Fortunately, it wasn’t broken.
Otherwise, the path was quite nice – at first you felt like you were in Lord of the Rings, because the first part of the path was made of large stones. Then I went down to the second hill and there was already a normal road. After a certain time I then walked through the forest, which was fine until I took off my headphones for a while and realized that it was deathly silent. So I thought that maybe I would meet someone on the way down, but I didn’t meet anyone, so I put my headphones back on and picked up my pace. When I got out of the forest and survived the super steep parts of the road, I came across a few more cows and at the end, near the village, a cat. I think she wanted to go with me, but I don’t know, they probably wouldn’t take her on the plane.
I walked over 20 kilometers that day and it showed right away when I took the train back to Interlaken and I couldn’t walk haha but since there was no bus between the train station and my hotel, I had to walk it. Well, don’t go hiking with me.
But I can’t complain – Grindelwald can’t be described in words, it can’t be described in photos. I tried, but I think it’s a place you have to experience for yourself. It’s just really, really nice there and if you ever get lucky enough to see it, I can only recommend it (and it’s definitely worth going up to First and then taking the cable car back down). I was so excited about it that I “almost” lost my passport somewhere near the Alps…
If you found this article interesting and would like to read the rest of my Swiss adventures, then simply click/tap on the tag below “switzerland eng” and the blog will show you all available posts.
