The sky is fairly clear this morning, so we decide to take the cable car (packed to the gills with maybe a 100 people) up to the top of the mountain, Schilthorn, on our side of the valley. It is at 9740 foot elevation. Unfortunately by the time we get to the top, the clouds have moved in and the vista is not nearly as impressive as it could be. The restaurant, Piz Gloria, that sits on the peak was the star of the James Bond movie, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. In the movie, the restaurant was the lair of Blofeld. The ski scenes were filmed on the slopes between here and our hotel in Murren. On one floor the restaurant has a rather large museum dedicated to the movie. Sadly for George Lazenby he turned down big money to continue as James Bond.
From the Schilthorn, we took the cable car back down one station to Birg. There we exited and hiked the rest of the way back down to Murren. The initial terrain reminds me of Hawaii with very steep wet green cliffs. The only thing different is the snow. The temperature is only a few degrees above freezing. Luckily I was able to borrow a fleece from the chalet. An hour into the hike we turned the corner and the massive wall of Alpine peaks comes into view. The three tallest are named Eiger, Monch, and the Jungfrau. This translates to Ogre, Monk, and Young girl. The monk is the middle peak protecting the young girl from the Ogre.
After three hours we make it back to Murren where we rest at a park bench, chill out, and watch para-gliders soar above the valley below. We also saw three base jumpers take a dive off the edge. Back at the chalet we had some wine while catching up with the world. For dinner we have pizza at a restaurant with an outdoor deck overlooking the valley.
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