Over the long Ascension weekend we drove to the Bernese Oberland for the first time, towards Kandersteg and Adelboden, to hike at the Oeschinensee. Shortly before we arrived, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau to the left of the motorway caught our eye, but Kandersteg itself had plenty to offer too.
From the crowds to the quiet
On Saturday morning we set off early and were surprised how busy it already was at the valley station. We climbed up to the lake, made a short stop among all the people and then hiked along the shore up to the panoramic trail. Up there it finally got quieter, and the view of the mountain massif was often spectacular.
Snowfields and one last flight
There were still snowfields and slippery stretches along the way, yet we reached the mountain station ten minutes before the last cable car down. Enough time for an aerial shot with the drone for the title picture. The next morning we went to the Engstligen Falls near Adelboden before driving back to Lake Constance at a leisurely pace. A lovely corner we’ll come back to.
A wooden house with green shutters and painted bands on the left, a wooden door with a rake on the right.A small hut on the ridge, paths running over scree and meadow.Paths and single huts on the alp, snowfields still between them at the Oeschinensee.Streaks of snow and dark rock ribs on the steep slope above the Oeschinensee.The snowy ridge runs long above the green valley at the Oeschinensee.A thin waterfall on the rock face to the left, a hiker on the alp in front of it to the right.White rucksack and poles: a hiker on the turquoise shore of the Oeschinensee.A small boat lies on the turquoise Oeschinensee, right beneath the rock face.From the slope, the turquoise Oeschinensee lies beneath the snowy rock face.Gravel shore, turquoise water and trees at the delta of the Oeschinensee.Spruces on an overhanging rock band, nothing but blue sky behind, at the Oeschinensee.Three broken orange skis on gravel on the left, a trunk in flowering heather on the right.Two thin waterfalls drop down the rock face, snow remnants still below at the Oeschinensee.A group of spruces on the green alp, the snowy peaks behind them at the Oeschinensee.Beneath a rock overhang, a hiker with a pale rucksack, the red-and-white waymark beside.Far below the panoramic trail lies the turquoise lake – up here it finally gets quieter.The gorge opens onto turquoise water between the rock faces at the Oeschinensee.Two hikers with poles on the ridge, the snowy peaks behind them at the Oeschinensee.A hiker on the path between the spruces, the snowy peaks behind at the Oeschinensee.The Oeschinensee lies in its basin beneath rock and snow, seen from the path.The wooden house „Schönegg“ on the left, red shutters above the sign „Disco Walhalla“ on the right.The waterfall plunges in the shady cleft, spruces in the sun beside it.Beneath the snowfields the water falls through the rocky gully, a hut with ropes on the left.The snowy peaks have evening light, while the valley at the Oeschinensee lies in shadow.
