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Photographer and copyright owner - Terry Smith 2009. |
Meiringen 06 December 2008 |
Meiringen it seems is known for two things. Firstly it claims to be the place where meringues (pronounced muh-rang. although how a word with that spelling can be pronounced muh-rang has always been beyond me.) were first made. Secondly it appears Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was fond of the place and set the nearby Reichenbach Falls as the location his fictional hero Sherlock Holmes would apparently meet his fictional end together with his fictional arch enemy Professor Moriarty. There is a museum dedicated to Sherlock Holmes here and you can also visit the very ledge at Reichenbach Falls where in the story the two fictional characters were believed to have fallen to their fictional deaths! Bizarre, but I expect the Holmes enthusiasts are only too happy to part with their hard earned francs to visit it. |
It's a dull damp day here, but we had seen a considerable amount of snow as we'd travelled over the mountain-pass roads to get here. We intend to go on to the surrounding mountains the easy way by ski-lift (gondola) and I wonder if we'll see more snow when we get there. |
Terry takes his first ever steps on an alpine mountain. |
The first full day of our Alpine Adventure begins. Here are my long time friends, old school pal Tom and his wife Pam. On the right is my eldest son Kevin. Kevin and I are staying with Tom, Pam and family and they put together a great programme so we get to see as much of Switzerland as possible on our visit. We soon realise that we've chosen a good time to visit, Switzerland is getting lots of early season snow, though the ski resorts are as yet still quiet. Plus the traditional Christmas markets in the towns are bustling with visitors. |
" I'm telling you the truth I saw him. He dropped down through that hole in the roof". |
We get off the ski lift at Bidmi (1,425 metres/4,674 feet above seal level) The ski lift carries on further up the mountain. The mountain summit is Glogghus at 2,534 metres/8,311 feet. |
....and you remember I was wondering if we would see more snow up here, well as you are about to see we saw lots and lots of it. |
Kevin is a keen snowboarder and has travelled to Italy, Canada and America to enjoy the sport, so he was keen to see how the resorts in Switzerland compared. Very favourably as it turns out, although he was a spectator only on this trip. |
This is the highest I've walked above sea level and I noticed that there were still plenty of trees about. The maximum height at which trees can grow is called the treeline and it changes with the latitude. In the U.K. the treeline is approx. 2,000 feet, whereas as I found out later, in the alps it's approx 7,000 feet. |
I'd never seen snow like this for years and it was fantastic. The silence was only broken by the sound of the snow crunching under feet ...and Tom complaining his feet were cold! I never tired of telling him I was wearing thermal waterproof socks and my toes were as warm as toast. Oh I can be cruel :-) |
We pass a family on their way back down. I believe that they have a 'family friendly' area here. A winter kingdom for kids. |
Tom gets me out of a hole - literally. I'd taken a step to the right to compose a photo and inadvertently stepped off the footpath. After he'd gone to the effort of helping me out, I told him again how cosy my feet were. I think he was getting a bit fed up of the joke by now. |