Birg Thrill Walk and Wengen
Well, well, well, if it isn’t 30,000 steps catching up to us.
We woke in pain. Maybe not pain exactly but tired and sore and lethargic. Our plans for the day were loose but we found ourselves taking so long to get ready that we were eating breakfast at 11:30. Rebecca poached some eggs for us and we had some of our leftover bread and potatoes and fruit. Very yummy and healthy start to the day!
I will note here that traveling in the off-season definitely has its perks: there is no one else staying in the Chalet with us so we have had free range of the kitchen and really the entire house.
We had wanted to go up to Schilthorn which is the 2nd highest lookout point (Jungfrau is the first but 2+ hours away) except Schilthorn was closed for construction. Instead, we went up to Birg which is known for its “thrill walk” just beneath Schilthorn. Once we got up to Birg, it seemed quite high enough. I have really ridden enough gondolas to sustain me for life. Box checked, no more please. I can’t really understand how those cables are pulling us up to an 8000 foot peak.
Rebecca walked right out to the ledge for photos (but did do a very funny walk where she felt more sturdy by bending her knees). I refused to go at first, but eventually I managed to walk out by not looking down and also keeping my eyes mostly closed. 😂
Rebecca laughed going through the photos later. She kept saying “oh your eyes are closed in this one!” Until realizing that I simply did not open my eyes at all.
We met a mom and son who were excited about the thrill walk. I figured since we are here we must try it. Essentially, it is a see through metal walkway bolted to the side of the mountain. Somehow we walked it, screaming the entire time.
Holding on to the rock wall gave an excellent false sense of security. I did panic at one point because I really just wanted to run through as fast as possible but the other end had a locked gate so I had to turn around and run back to the start while everyone else was walking slow and enjoying the “thrill”. Extra freaky when the wind gusted through.
Not much else to do at the top so we took the gondola back down and unfortunately this time, some sort of ski/snowboard camp had just let out and we were packed into the gondola with 50 other people, 20 of them being teenage European boys. Rebecca felt claustrophobic but I warned her not to take deep calming breaths unless she wanted to suffocate from the smell.
It takes three gondola rides to get all the way down to the bottom, each of them 5-10 minutes. Also when the gondola is full, there is a bit more swing to it. Horrifying.
We decided to explore another hike recommended by Rick Steves which took us to the other side of the valley/mountains. It was a bit of a journey but the best part of Switzerland is that the journeys are just as beautiful as the destinations. (Some sort of life lesson in there.)
We ended up in a town called Wengen. We had thought we would continue up to where the hike supposedly began but we arrived around 4:30 and the lady at the ticket booth said it was too late, we would be hiking in the dark, and she didn’t think our sneakers were good enough for the hike.
Honestly, I was dreading another gondola ride up so we enacted plan b—drinks with a view.
We had delicious Gin & Tonics, picked up some more groceries for dinner, and rode the scenic train back to Gimmelwald. We made pork schnitzel, roasted squash, and cabbage slaw and drank a bottle of wine. It’s hard to justify a $100 dinner when you and your bestie cook better than most restaurants. I would eat that dinner we cooked last night any night.
