Day trip to Grindelwald First, with a hike to Balchapsee and Trotti-bike down the mountain

9 July 2015

We started out early from Wengen as we have planned a full day trip to First via Grindelwald. There are a couple of ways to get from Wengen to Grindelwald. We chose the cheapest option which is to take the train to Lauterbrunnen and then on to Zweilütschinen and then change for a train to Grindelwald. The journey was about 1 hour and was slightly faster than going to Grindelwald via Kleine Scheidegg or taking the gondola via Mannlichen.

Arriving at Grindelwald.

Beautifully decorated train at the Grindelwald Station.

Grindelwald is a lovely town. From the train station, we walked through the town along a street lined with shops to the cable car station that would take us up to First. We stopped by a bakery shop along the way to buy items needed for a picnic lunch.

Gondola Station to First.

Our plan for the day was to take the gondola from Grindelwald up to First where we would hike to Balchapsee, have a picnic and then walk back to First. From First, we would take the gondola down to Bort where we can hire Trotti-bikes and ride down the mountain to Grindelwald.

There were various First Fun packages which may include the cable car ride to First, First Flyer and the Trottibike. We bought the package that includes the cable car and the Trottibikes only since none of us is keen on the First Flyer (zip-lining down from First to Schreckfeld).

 

The ride up the 3-stage cable car from Grindelwald to First was awesome!

Check out the views!

Initial part of the cable ride with Grindelwald in the background.

Higher up the ride with magnificent views of the Eiger’s North Face and surrounding mountains.

Arriving at First, almost same height as the mountains across the Grindelwald valley.

Clouds were rolling in as we arrived at First. At 2166 meters a.s.l, we could feel the sudden drop in temperature as we left the cabin of the gondola. The First Flyer zip lining was just round the corner but it was not in operation.

We started out on our walk to Balchapsee slightly after 11 AM.  The trail was a bit steep in the beginning.

Trail to Balchapsee.

After the initial uphill, the rest of the hike to the lakes were easy. With the clouds rolling in and the sun above, it was a superb conditions all the way.

“via ferrata” trail, First Cliff Walk, still under construction.

We could see that a “via ferrata” trail (First Cliff Walk) was being constructed along one of the cliff. It would take some guts to try this. (Note: it opened later in September of 2015).

The trail to Bachapsee is popular and no wonder. The views were simply stunning.

Looking back at the trail.

Onwards to Balchapsee, right below the mountains in the background.

Low clouds were rolling in and at one point, I was playing the Carpenters’ song “Top of the World” from my mobile phone while walking. 

Approaching our destination.

Many families were having picnics around Balchapsee. There were a couple of benches round the lakes.

Balchapsee is actually two lakes. The views by the lake was simply gorgeous! It was worth the effort to get to this place.

Balchapsee.

This trail would continue on to Faulhorn and Schynige Platte but it would be a long hike.

After our picnic, we made the return journey back to First. The hike back offered different viewpoints of the mountains although it was the same trail we took to get to the Balchapsee.

It was around 3 PM when we got back to First. We had a late lunch at the “Restaurant First”, sitting at the sun terrace instead of indoors. The views at 2166 meters a.s.l were too gorgeous to be sitting indoors although it would be slightly warmer to be inside.

After our lunch we took the cable car down to Bort where we collected our helmets and trotti-bikes. The trotti-bike has no pedals and works like a scooter. Stand with one leg on the platform and use the other leg to give a push on the ground to propel the bike forward. Used on a downhill slope, gravity will keep the bike rolling. The only way to control the speed is through the brakes. When going downhill fast, use the brake on the back wheel and not the front wheel to reduce risk of somersaulting.

I do not cycle often at home and it took me a few moments to get used to handling the trotti-bike. The boys took to them like ducks to water. The ladies gave up after a few tries, although they knew how to cycle on a normal bike. The thought of zipping down a mountain on a bike that they were not familiar with was too frightening.

It was good that they were able to get a refund for their bikes at Bort and bought tickets for cable cars to bring them down to Grindelwald instead. 

Once the ladies were safely on board the cable cars, we took off down the mountain on our trotti-bikes.

The cycling trail down the mountain was not too steep and were generally safe if we control our speed, especially round the bends. There were almost no other bikes encountered. The only other “danger”, besides speeding round bends, were traffic along the normal roads as we rode into Grindelwald.

There was a short stretch of normal road in Grindelwald where we rode on the sidewalks and main road before we arrived at the Grindelwald cable car station, the return point for the trotti-bikes.

It took us about 30 minutes to ride from Bort to Grindelwald. Good fun all the way.