February 16, 2013

We had planned this trip for last weekend but we overslept, missing out on the early start we had wanted. We waited a week to try it again. We set the alarm and managed to motivate ourselves. We took an early(ish) train from Basel to Zurich to Ziegelbrücke to Linthal. It sounds like a long trip and the way we went about it, it was. Next time we’ll plan better and take more direct routes. In the meantime, we had a delightful view of northern Switzerland.

The view from the train as we head south from Ziegelbrücke

The clouds kept most of the mountains from us for the beginning of our journey. The snow got deeper and the buildings spread out further and further. Once we made our final change at Ziegelbrücke things really started to change. The train followed a flat valley surrounded by high peaks – how high, we couldn’t quite tell. Villages sprung up every few minutes until we reached the end of the line – Linthal.

Our guide for the day

Buildings of Linthal

Linthal has a lot of snow

Linthal buildings

Main Street, Linthal

Walking south through Linthal

We weren’t sure where to go. We knew of a Funicular that would take us up to Braunwald but the heavy clouds would prevent most of the spectacular views that we knew could be had. Instead, we wandered south through the town and see what else we could stumble across.

We had to watch for falling snow and ice

Looking back at Linthal

The sun played peek-a-boo behind the clouds and we could see that the mountains around us went much, much higher than we initially thought! Blue skies taunted us to the north, something that I hoped might continue over own heads.

Looking ahead down the valley

Curvy road climbing up the mountain

We tried to follow the hiking paths along our route, but the ones we found were 2′ deep in new snow. We weren’t prepared for such conditions so we stuck to the plowed streets and roads that we did find.

Dan and I on a side road

The village of Tiefehd

When we reached the point where the photo above was taken we realized that we were getting nowhere fast. We didn’t like sharing the road with the few cars that came by and that we weren’t ready to head off into the snow. We turned around and headed back towards Linthal.

Dan spotted these guys up a side valley (there are two deer there)

Focusing at this distance was tricky…

Retreating back down the road to Linthal

A murder of crows. Really!

Linthal church tower gleaming in the sunshine

We gave the Braunwald Incline a look, since we were right there anyway. We gathered up information for future visits, when the top wasn’t covered in clouds and the ground covered in snow. From what I can tell, Braunwald is quite a popular location and I look forward to visiting it another time.