Blumental Panorama Trail

The brochure says this is a great introductory hike, perfect for families.   We had a little trouble finding the trail head which is a short distance above the Schilthorn gondola station.  Eventually after a little climbing along  a paved path we found a signpost with the words "Blumental Panoramic Trail" on it in English as well as German.  The first part of the trail we knew was going to be strenuous but it seemed like we were continually climbing in altitude. We weren't sure where this first part of strenuous hiking was supposed to conclude.  The grade may have been easy but it was uphill none the less.  We walked along a barbed wire fence beside a field loaded with a multi variety of wildflowers.  Eventually we went into a woods and hiked along a running stream.  Of course the streams here are full. It's Spring and the upper snows are melting, and it's a downhill journey for all this rushing water.  The fast moving stream sounded peaceful.  In the same woods we eventually came upon a zip line and a platform for jumping.  We each took a turn on the zipline which was a lot of fun.  Video of Libbie's zipline adventure follows this blog entry.

Above the Gondola on the Blumental

Flowers and a stream

On this walk we found some of the most beautiful sites in the Alps.  We hiked a total of 4 miles and gained over 1,000 feet of elevation,

Incredible Scenery

Wildflowers throughout the Valley

A Gondola passes overhead 

Natural variety is splended

We shared the flowers with this little guy

Scenic vistas at every twist and turn

A path through the flowers

Our destination, Allmendhubel

A valley of flowers

The quantity of Wildflowers is breathtaking

Path past literally millions of flowers

Our destination is almost here

After 3 hours of hiking uphill through the most incredible scenery either of us have ever seen, the Funicular station is ahead.   There also is a small deck at the station with sandwiches and beer.  A cold beer sounds great and definitely a ride back down on the Funincular is in order since we're done with walking today.

A nice conclusion to a breathtaking hike

While waiting in the Gutschalp Gondola station for the ride back down to Lauterbrunnan I was amazed at how far the Swiss carry their love of flowers.  These flower boxes of blooming plants decorated the waiting area. Nice!

Flower boxes adorn the gondola waiting area while a Gondola ascends to pick us up for the return to Lauterbrunnan