Switzerland's Grindelwald region no longer under threat of glacial flooding

  Springtime in Grindelwald, Switzerland, Photo by Sue Frause.

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On May 23, 2009 the Swiss villages between Grindelwald and Bonigen on Lake Brienz were placed on flood alert. Sections of the moraine near Grindelwald's glacier lake broke away the day before, which caused concern about the flooding of the Lutschine River. My husband and I were visiting Grindelwald the week before with friends from Basel, and mentioned the possibility of flooding (and being stranded!). Fortunately, the glacier lake level is now decreasing due to lower temperatures in the Alps and a stronger outflow through the dam. So residents and visitors are resting a bit easier. 

Our journey to Gridelwald started at Zurich's Hauptbahnhof (renamed RailCity) on a Sunday morning, and Swiss friends Marcel and Nicole picked us up at the train station in Bern. From there, it was about a 60-minute drive to their family chalet high in the mountains of Grindelwald. Although I lived in Switzerland in the early '70s, I'd never visited this part of the Alps, called the Bernese Oberland. It's absolutely beautiful! We took a six-seater gondola from the heart of the village up to First (elevation 7,100 feet). From the outdoor restaurant at the terrace, it was a 360-degree view of such impressive peaks as the Wetterhorn, Jungfrau and Eiger.

There's plenty to do besides mountain gazing at First; the area has more than 60 miles of summer hiking trails, along with

• Scooter-biking
• Paragliding
• First Flyer (zipline)

But it had been too long since breakfast, so we opted for lunch first at First! The cafeteria style resto had a wide selection of Swiss cuisine, and while my hubby chose bratwurst w/onion sauce and rossti (potatoes), I settled for just the brat, enjoyed with red wine from the Ticino region of Switzerland. Afterward, we re-boarded the gondola, but got off about half way down and enjoyed walking the rest of the way (about four miles). The air was fresh and only the occasional sound of a Swiss cow bell interrupted our wanderwegging. Both the mountains and flowers were bursting out in all their spring glory. Grindelwald is glorious!