It is Wednesday, August 15, 2023. The air is crisp and clear as we, my Sister-in-law Basia, here daughter Anja, my wife Hania and me, leave the Aare Gorge near Innertkirchen behind, the tires of our car gripping the first switchbacks of the Grimsel Pass road. It is a journey into another world—away from the lush greens of the valley and into the rugged, venerable realm of the high Alps.
The road winds like a grey ribbon along the Guttannen massif. Soon, a first glimpse of deep blue shimmers toward us: the Räterichsbodensee. The landscape here is so powerful it practically forces us to stop. As we step out, the silence of the mountains, broken only by the distant roar of waterfalls, envelops us instantly.
Gallery I: Where Rock Touches the Sky
We continue further, climbing higher until we reach the parking area just below Hotel Alpenrösli. Here, on the border between Bern and Valais, the light changes. It feels more golden, while the shadows of the peaks grow deeper. Before us lies the Totensee (Lake of the Dead), nestled in a barren, almost mystical highland landscape.
The hiking trail around the lake, barely 2.3 kilometers long, looks so inviting that we cannot resist. We shoulder our backpacks and set off. After about twenty minutes, we find a spot for a picnic. We aren’t alone; here and there, other hikers sit in the grass, yet the vastness of the landscape swallows every sound.
Gallery II: Picnic on the Shores of Silence
The view to the east is framed by the Sidelhorn, while to the west, the Aare Massif reigns supreme. The Oberaarhorn, with its vast glacial surfaces, shines so brightly it is almost blinding. To its right, a delicate, almost fragile-looking chain of rock needles and sharp jagged peaks stretches out—the Studerhörner and the Finsteraarhorn group. It looks as if a sculptor used the finest chisel to carve that ridge into the sky.
Even though we have lived in Switzerland for 25 years, it is precisely these moments that leave us speechless. We constantly discover new facets of this home. We follow the path further along the shore, enjoying the sparkle of the small island with its stone sculpture. For a brief moment, uncertainty arises: does the path really go all the way around? But curiosity wins. At the dam, the trail leads us down a short way, only to gently guide us up again on the other side.
Gallery III: Between Dams and Summit Bliss
While the others immerse themselves in the world of the marmots at the local zoo, I set off alone to retrieve the car. It’s one of those moments of stillness where the raw beauty of the Grimsel belongs entirely to me. The view back into the valley is intoxicating; from up here, the road looks like a delicate sculpture carved into the rock.
Gallery IV: Farewell to the Totensee
The play of light, the grey granite, and the deep blue of the lakes stay with us until the end. Today, the Grimsel Pass has once again shown us that the most beautiful stories are often written where the road ends and the mountain begins.
Steam Engines and Distant Giants – Over the Nufenen into Ticino
Once I’ve gathered my companions, we bid farewell to the majestic Aare Massif. The road now plunges into the depths. In tight hairpins, hugging vertical granite walls, the path leads us down to Gletsch, where the Rhone is still a young, wild stream. There, a technical jewel awaits us.
As if through a window in time, we catch sight of one of the legendary steam locomotives of the Furka Mountain Line. Whether it is the “Furkahorn” or No. 4—these steel witnesses of railway history are the heart of the line between Realp and Oberwald. The fact that some of these machines, like the HG 4/4, were painstakingly restored over years after being brought back from distant Vietnam, lends this place an almost reverent atmosphere.
Gallery V: Nostalgia in Gletsch
But our journey continues. We turn right, leave the Obergoms behind, and tackle the ascent to the Nufenen Pass. This is the gateway to Ticino, and once again, one breathtaking panorama follows the next.
After about 25 minutes of driving, a very special mountain appears on the left: the Grieshorn. With its striking pyramid shape and the deep “step” in its face, it looks as if it has sunken down towards the right. Only ten minutes later, the view widens again. On the distant horizon, a long chain of ice and snow appears—the Mischabel group, with its proud four-thousand-meter peaks, greets us from the Valais.
Gallery VI: Peak-Bagging on the Go
As soon as we cross the summit of the Nufenen, the world changes abruptly. The air becomes milder, the light softer. We descend briskly towards Bellinzona. Our destination is Roveredo, where our holiday apartment awaits—the perfect place to reflect on the overwhelming impressions of this day spent between Bern, Valais, and Ticino