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	<title>SwissTraveling.com &#187; First</title>
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	<description>A weblog about travel guides - tips, maps, photos and experience - in Switzerland.</description>
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		<title>Grindelwald &#8211; Sightseeing and Location</title>
		<link>http://www.swisstraveling.com/2008/07/31/grindelwald-sightseeing-and-location/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swisstraveling.com/2008/07/31/grindelwald-sightseeing-and-location/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:57:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cities & Towns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grindelwald]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jungfrau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Männlichen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pfingstegg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swisstraveling.com/?p=56</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of Switzerland&#8217;s chief mountaineering, summer, and winter resorts, Grindelwald village is the starting point for climbing the First (7,113 ft), which is reached by a chair lift 3,720 ft in length. The valley possesses excellent pastures and fruit trees. Highlights * Jungfraujoch – snow and ice are guaranteed on the «Top of Europe» at [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="down">O</span>ne of Switzerland&#8217;s chief mountaineering, summer, and winter resorts, Grindelwald village is the starting point for climbing the First (7,113 ft), which is reached by a chair lift 3,720 ft in length. The valley possesses excellent pastures and fruit trees.</p>
<p><strong>Highlights</strong><br />
* Jungfraujoch – snow and ice are guaranteed on the «Top of Europe» at 3454 m, the ultimate excursion destination in the Bernese Oberland.<br />
* Eiger north face – one of the most spectacular and difficult faces to climb in the world; successfully climbed for the first time in 1938.</p>
<p><span id="more-56"></span><br />
* Eiger Trail – mountain tour imparting an ‘Alpinist’ feel: starting from the Eiger glacier station, the route sticks closely to the rock along the foot of the Eiger north face and leads down to Alpiglen.<br />
* Gletscherschlucht (Glacier Gorge) – at the village end of Grindelwald lies the wildly romantic, thunderous glacier gorge with its glacial mills and striations as well as the pink and green marble blocks, through which a path leads over man-made footbridges and through rock galleries and tunnels.<br />
* First (2168 m) – over 100 km of hiking trails as well as 50 km of ski pistes and a toboggan run can be found on the south-facing, not overly steep First slope.<br />
* Männlichen (2229 m) – gentle walking and winter sports terrain with a link to the nearby Kleine Scheidegg and with the perfect panorama across the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.<br />
* Pfingstegg – at 1391m is the lookout post of Grindelwald and offers a unique vista across the valley floor.</p>
<p><strong>Top Events</strong></p>
<p>* World Snow Festival – during the course of a week, Swiss and international teams of artists hew and construct figures and sculptures from metre-high snow blocks that have been provided (January).<br />
* “Velogemel” World Championship – every year a world championship on snow bikes takes place in Grindelwald, a speciality to Grindelwald (February).<br />
* Snowpenair – Snow Openair, always held at the end of the winter season on the Kleine Scheidegg (March).<br />
* Landart Festival – short-lived works of art are placed on the landscape using natural, local materials (June).<br />
* Spring Mountain Festival – held annually on the Männlichen near Berghaus, with dances in traditional costumes, folk music and flag throwers (June/July).</p>
<p><strong>How to get there</strong><br />
<strong>Public Transport:</strong> Direct trains run daily from numerous European cities to Interlaken. From here, direct connections take you in 35 minutes to Grindelwald. Daily train connections from neighboring countries to Interlaken.<br />
<strong>By car:</strong> National roads (Autobahnen) lead from Basel, Geneva or Zürich via Bern to Spiez. From here, well constructed national and cantonal roads lead via Interlaken to Grindelwald.<br />
<strong>Other/Air: </strong>The international airports Zürich-Kloten, Geneva-Cointrin and Basel Mulhouse have direct train connections to Interlaken &#8211; Grindelwald. Bern-Belp Airport is connected to the rail system via airport taxis.</p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>First</title>
		<link>http://www.swisstraveling.com/2008/07/11/first/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swisstraveling.com/2008/07/11/first/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:21:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mountains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bachalpsee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grindelwald]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hiking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jungfrau]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swisstraveling.com/?p=44</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Grindelwald is world-famous for the spectacular scenery of the Berner Oberland, including unbeatable panoramas of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. This First side together with the Männlichen side, over Kleine Scheidegg towards Wengen and also over on the Mürren / Schilthorn side makes up the Jungfrau region and offers a very popular tourist destination with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="down">G</span>rindelwald is world-famous for the spectacular scenery of the Berner Oberland, including unbeatable panoramas of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. This First side together with the Männlichen side, over Kleine Scheidegg towards Wengen and also over on the Mürren / Schilthorn side makes up the Jungfrau region and offers a very popular tourist destination with plenty of varied skiing.</p>

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<p><span id="more-44"></span></p>
<p>This does mean, however, that you&#8217;re much more likely to hear British English in the lift queues and restaurants than Swiss German, and it also means that the prices can be kept high without massive investment in the infrastructure &#8211; beware horrendous queues for the morning gondola and unmanned, unprepared drag lifts.</p>
<p>Having said that, the queues once you&#8217;re up are not too bad, and there&#8217;s plenty of artificial snow being pumped in the early season. And the views of the Wetterhorn and Eiger in the afternoon sun are quite special.</p>

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<p>First is a wonderful place to go hiking in Summer. You can choose different kinds of hiking routes. The most easy one is from First to Bachalpsee. It takes about 45 minutes one way and you can see the perfect invert image of Jungfrau from Bachalpsee.</p>

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<h3>Getting there</h3>
<p>By train, Grindelwald is reached in around half an hour from Interlaken Ost, and then from the station you&#8217;ll have either a walk or a shuttle bus to the lifts. The &#8220;Snow and Rail&#8221; tickets from the SBB include, as always, return train travel and a day&#8217;s lift pass.</p>
<p>From Zurich by train, you need to change in Bern and Interlaken, with a total time of around 2h50m, plus a walk or a shuttle bus to the lifts, making it a bit far (and pricey) for a day trip.<br />
By car from Zurich, it&#8217;s a long but scenic run through Luzern and over the Brünig pass to Interlaken, and then up the Grindelwald valley, taking around 2 hours. Parking is a bit problematic in the centre of Grindelwald, you might have to use the park-and-ride car parks outside the centre.</p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Railways of the Jungfrau Region</title>
		<link>http://www.swisstraveling.com/2008/06/25/railways-of-the-jungfrau-region/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swisstraveling.com/2008/06/25/railways-of-the-jungfrau-region/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:26:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grindelwald]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jungfrau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kleine Scheidegg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lauterbrunnen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[railway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Schilthorn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Schynige Platte]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swisstraveling.com/?p=29</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe At 3454 m a.s.l., the Jungfraujoch is arguably the highest train station in all of Europe. Snow and ice are guaranteed but so is a good time: The Sphinx Terrace with its fantastic view onto the Aletsch Glacier, the Ice Palace and the Walking Plateau for walks in eternal snow [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe</strong></p>
<p>At 3454 m a.s.l., the Jungfraujoch is arguably the highest train station in all of Europe. Snow and ice are guaranteed but so is a good time: The Sphinx Terrace with its fantastic view onto the Aletsch Glacier, the Ice Palace and the Walking Plateau for walks in eternal snow are attractions that are open year round.</p>
<p><span id="more-29"></span></p>
<p><strong>Kleine Scheidegg – Eiger North Face</strong></p>
<p>At the foot of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains with a top-tier view of the Eiger North Face, the Kleine Scheidegg is a meeting point for mountain climbers and hikers from everywhere in the world.</p>
<p><strong>Schynige Platte – Paradise of Nature</strong></p>
<p>The Schynige Platte is a classic among alpine excursions. With its nostalgic cogwheel train, interesting and well-groomed hiking trails and a botanical Alpine garden, it offers something for everybody.</p>
<p><strong>Grindelwald – First</strong></p>
<p>A brief 20-minute aerial cable-car brings passengers from Grindelwald to the First.</p>
<p>From here, you can admire the alpine peaks and set out on hikes on the 100 km long trail network.</p>
<p><strong>Schilthorn – Piz Gloria</strong></p>
<p>There is no better place to fully appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the Swiss Alps than from the summit of the 3000 m high Schilthorn, which you reach in 20 minutes by cable car from Mürren. Just imagine yourself comfortably installed in our revolving restaurant, and enjoy more than 200 mountain peaks slowly passing in front of your window.</p>
<p>Swiss Pass, Swiss Flexi Pass and Swiss Youth Pass holders: ride free till Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren. From there, enjoy a 50% discount to the Kleine Scheidegg, the Schynige Platte, the Schilthorn and to the First. On the route between Kleine Scheidegg and Jungfraujoch &#8211; Top of Europe you get a 25% discount. Swiss Card holders: enjoy a 50% discount on all the routes of the railways and cable cars of the Jungfrau region. No seat reservations possible for individual passengers.</p>
<p><strong>Routes:<br />
Interlaken East – Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald – Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraujoch<br />
Wilderswil – Schynige Platte<br />
Grindelwald – First<br />
Lauterbrunnen – Mürren – Schilthorn</strong></p>
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