Valentinas Travels

Fancy a hike with spectacular views? Then I have an idea for you! This week, a little dream finally came true: I did the hike to the Tschingellochtighorn in the Bernese Oberland, which I had already seen in so many pictures and somehow impressed me. And it was worth it!  Here are the facts about the hike: Starting point: "Adelboden, Unter der Birg" Bus stop, then by cable car up to Engstligenalp mountain station. Duration: approx. 3,5 hours Altitude metres: approx. 785 m up, 785 m down Route: Engstligenalp - Ärtelegrat - Tschingellochtighorn - Engstligengrat - Chindbetti Pass - Engstligenalp The hike is easily doable in dry weather and doesn't need any special gear except good hiking shoes. Although you walk along a ridge in places, even I, with my fear of heights, managed it well and was able to enjoy the spectacular views. From Engstligenalp at 1,973 metres, the route leads east over the Aertelengrat ridge to the imposing peak towers of the Tschingellochtighorn (2,735 ...

  Finally, summer is here! Ooh, how I had missed it! And with the summer came back my wanderlust! That's why I treated myself to three nights in the Grimsel region .  The first night I spent in a hotel on the Grimsel Pass at 2,164 meters.  The Grimsel Pass is a Swiss mountain pass that connects the Bernese Oberland with the Upper Valais and separates the Bernese Alps from the Uri Alps.  The next day I hiked on to the Bächlitalhütte SAC at 2,328 meters (from the bus stop Räterichsboden to the hut in approx. 2h). I enjoyed a night there before hiking back down and spending another night at the top of the pass.  I can highly recommend the region and the hike to the SAC hut (hike from . The panorama is unique, the hike varied and beautiful! But take a look for yourself... 

  I would like to tell you about a wonderful weekend in the Graubünden region of Switzerland, which I was able to enjoy a few weeks ago. We treated ourselves to a few days of wellness in the "Chalet Silvretta Hotel & Spa", enjoyed the great spa area and the autumnal, almost wintery landscape, great food and wine and some days away from Corona and the current restrictions.  Samnaun is a somewhat strange village. The former smuggler's paradise in the triangle of Switzerland, Austria and Italy is well known by sport enthusiasts - but even more so by price-conscious shopping fans, because it is considered THE duty-free paradise of Switzerland. No wonder the village is full of stores where you can buy alcohol, perfume and cigarettes at reasonable prices.  When we were there at the end of October, many of the stores, restaurants and hotels were closed, there was hardly anything going on. Also the cable cars were not open yet and we were stuck in the village without much to ...

  Here is a small photo report about a great weekend in the Lavaux area on Lake Geneva. The more than 800 hectares of vineyards are the largest continuous wine-growing area in Switzerland and have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2007. The view is really simply stunning - and especially now with the great autumn colors it was just great!  We walked through the vineyards and visited villages whose name we only knew from the labels on the wine bottles (St. Saphorin, Épesses). I loved it!  So for once I let the photos speak for themselves. Have fun and a nice autumn to all of you!  The view from the "Hotel Préalpina" over lake Geneva A walk along the vineyards over Chexbres The village of St-Saphorin with the vineyards in the background

At least one positive thing I can take away from the corona crisis is that it allows me to discover Switzerland intensively. Even if I can't travel far, I can at least work through my list of pending hiking destinations. And every time I am thrilled again how beautiful our country actually is (I guess I write this in every blog, sorry if I bore you with it!) So here is another, quite enthusiastic post about my hiking weekend in the Bernese Oberland last week, which I did with 2 friends.  Lauterbrunnen is a place I did not know before, but I had heard a lot about it. Embarrassingly mostly from foreign friends. I knew that the area is a Mecca for outdoor enthusiasts (especially for base jumpers), starting point for many trips to the Jungfrau region and that it inspired J.R. Tolkien for his "Lord of the Rings" books.  So it was high time to explore the area!  We had 2 days to explore Lauterbrunnen area and started our first hike in Mürren , a beautiful villa...