Day Fourteen – Kandersteg
Well, it’s our last day before our long journey back tomorrow. But let’s not focus on that.
Today, we have a full day of hiking and adventures in Kandersteg. Kandersteg is a high-altitude resort village in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Small town with a population of about 1,000 people.
One problem, we woke up a few times last night to thunder, and it’s still cloudy and wet this morning, and may obstruct some of the epic views of the mountain peaks.
Not going to slow us down, hotel breakfast and we are off!
Ten minute walk to the gondola, and a quick ride up. By the way, taking the gondola is great. You could hike up, but you would be wasting your energy and time hiking to the places you really want to hike. You’d literally spend half a day hiking to where you want to be.
Today is a prime example, this hike was epic… Lake Oeschinen – Herbert Circular Hike. Located in the Bernese Alps, this is a day we are excited to conquer.
But first, we jump off the gondola and head straight for the alpine slide. We did this slide a few years ago, and we couldn’t wait to do it again. Fun, fast, and the setting is impeccable.
Stocked up on water, we then head straight for the trail. We chose the counterclockwise route to get the hard part done first, a steep ascend over the first two miles, followed by a ‘gradual’ descent and ending at the lake.
Hike up definitely wasn’t easy, but once you are to the top, you have some of the best views on Earth.
We actually find descending (especially after hiking Grindelwald) to be a bit harder (stupid old knees), and we had a long descent back down to Lake Oeschinen.
Very impressed with this trail! The scenic views are endless and they made the descent incredibly enjoyable. Of course, like many trails in Switzerland… cows!
About halfway down the trail toward the lake, there are two restaurants perfectly placed on the mountainside. We opted for the second one, and it gave our legs a perfect break from trekking.
The choice to end the hike at the lake was incredible. Dipped our feet in the refreshingly cold water helped too…
And finding a place to relax in our hammock overlooking the peaks several mountains: the Doldenhorn 3638m, the Fründehorn 3368m, the Oeschinenhorn 3486m, & the Blüemlisalphorn 3660m. Clouds parted a little throughout the day.
Finished off with a beer on the deck of Berghaus Arva restaurant! It’s no surprise this lake has recently been designated as a World Heritage Site. The pristine water and incredible peaks are complimented with a few waterfalls flowing to add to this majestic place.
From there, we hike about 25 minutes back to the gondola (more ascending), and another ride on the alpine coaster. Unreal day!
Down the gondola, a stroll through town, and back to our hotel to relax before dinner. Speaking of dinner, we went back to the exact restaurant from last night, and we both ordered the exact same thing 🤣.
And an amazing sunset as we walked home from dinner!
Pretty much the perfect last day on this European adventure!
Day 15 – The Journey Home
Flight home:
*Early start, 5 am
*Hard to find rental car return
*One day late, sorry avis
*Running through London Airport – Katie’s bag hung out in London for a few extra days
*America needs to step up their airport game
*Philly to Orlando took forever
Trip takeaways:
*Home Exchange is a catalyst for traveling
*Driving in France and Italy is hectic
*Annecy deserved a longer visit
*Three languages in two weeks complicates some things.
*More time (& money) is always needed in Switzerland
*Renting a car was clutch. We saw an incredible amount in the days we were there.
*We don’t vacation, we travel & explore, and it’s awesome and exhausting but we would not have it any other way.
*4 countries, 18 cities/towns, 2,500 km/1,553 miles driven
Ps. Love our new bags waiting for us at home. Guess we have to start planning our next adventure…
Two Wayfaring Wanderers 