The damn fly woke us up as usual. It was all right, though, because
we had to move on!
Breakfast in this hotel was slow. Instead of setting up the usual
breakfast buffet, they had a waiter who took all orders and served
everything in person, which for some reason took a very long time.
We could’ve started today’s hike by taking one of the cablecars we’d
ridden yesterday up to the Trübsee lake, or even all the way to the
Jochpass itself. But that wouldn’t have left much of a walk for us to
do. So we started walking right on up!
Leaving EngelbergCows everywhere, as alwaysLooking back, with the cablecar above –
and we’re not on it!
It took a couple of hours for us to climb up to the Trübsee. We
stopped for drinks on the same sunny terrace as the day before.
The Trübsee is a big tourist attraction.
They have donkeys for kids to ride.The snack bar and terrace can accommodate
large numbers of guests. The restaurant is astonishingly elegant, no
comparison with ski snack bars in the U.S., or at least in the
Carolinas. You want champagne and fondue? They got that!And now – you go up!
The climb up to the pass probably took another two hours. It was
uphill all the way!
Along the way, we were repeatedly passed
by skinny dudes RUNNING the entire Via Alpina. This is an annual
marathon. They were much with us today and the next day, and then we
never saw them again.Chris and I were NOT running
uphill.We had a great view of Titlis and the
summit structure we’d visited the day before.Almost to the Jochpass!Cows at the JochpassWe had burgers on the terrace of the
Jochpass restaurant. Some Swiss air force F-16s flew over, but they’ve
got nothing on our Blue Angels.
Here, we had another opportunity to take a cablecar part of the way
down, but we virtuously skipped it and walked all the way down to
Engslenalp.
The way down
Engstlenalp
isn’t really a town, more just a place where tourists stop. Alpine
Exploratory often puts people in Meiringen for this night if Hotel Engstlenalp happens to
be full.
The lake by Engslenalp.It’s a bucolic country setting, perfect
for restoring the souls of urbanites.The auberge drying its saffron-colored
sheets in the sunshine.The auberge at EngslenalpOur room. This is the customary bedding
practice in Switzerland and Germany - a flat sheet and then just a
single down duvet in a cover on top, no top sheet or other
blankets.
We had an aperitif on the lovely terrace and half-board dinner. We
were too tired to stay up late. It turned out one rest day wasn’t enough
to prevent fatigue today. We went to bed early.
