Switzerland

We live in Basel, and still Switzerland has long had too little space on this blog.

In September 2025 our trip to Bali and Lombok, which begins in Basel, ends with the night flight from Bangkok to Zurich. We do not sleep, but in the first light the snow-covered peaks of the Alps glow above the clouds. We take the train back to Basel.

At the end of July 2026 we cross the Great Aletsch Glacier, the longest stream of ice in the Alps. After a night in Grindelwald we ride up to the Jungfraujoch at 3454 metres. From there we walk roped up with our mountain guide Richie, in a group of twelve, across firn and bare ice. At the end of the first day a good 550 steps lead up to the Konkordia Hut at almost 2850 metres, above Konkordiaplatz, where four streams of firn flow together. On the second day we leave the ice at Märjelensee and walk on to Fiescheralp. The glacier crossing is a high alpine tour with SAC grade L, and without a mountain guide or your own glacier experience and equipment you should not attempt it.

In mid-August 2026 we walk up the Brienzer Rothorn from Sörenberg, the highest mountain in the canton of Lucerne. Halfway up a cow stands in the middle of the path, and we go for a swim in the cold Eisee. From the summit Lake Brienz lies far below in turquoise, until clouds push over the ridge from the west. We take the gondola back down to Sörenberg. The hike via the Eisee has around 1100 metres of ascent and fits comfortably into one day.

On 10 October 2026 the four of us hike into the Val da Camp to Lagh da Saoseo and spend the night at Rifugio Saoseo. The next morning the hike follows a frozen forest path to Lagh da Val Viola.

In mid-October 2026 Nicolas walks with his friend Julian from Bergün along the Albula Railway to Lai da Palpuogna, where the larches glow yellow at the lake above Preda.

To reach the Jungfraujoch you take the Eiger Express from Grindelwald Terminal to Eigergletscher station and change there to the Jungfrau Railway. From Fiescheralp the cable car takes us down to Fiesch, and by train we are back in Basel in the evening. There is no marked path across the ice, and the guide picks the line each day according to snow, crevasses and weather. In Sörenberg we park at the valley station of the Rothorn cable car. According to Sörenberg Tourism the car park charges a fee, payable in cash or by Twint. Without a car you take the train to Schüpfheim and then the PostBus.