Читать книгу Walking in the Bernese Oberland. Over 100 walking routes онлайн

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Glaciers hang suspended on north-facing slopes too, but by comparison these are just modest streams, the last remaining vestige of those tremendous icefields that once carved and fretted some of the loveliest valleys in all of Europe.

But by far the greater part of the Oberland is covered with flower-rich grasslands; meadows and pastures steeply tilted below broad crests from which you gaze with a sense of wonder at a backdrop of towering mountains, at their snowy crowns with blue-tinged glaciers snaking between them. This visual contrast is one of its major attractions, and the reward for those who take to the footpaths; the winding highways that explore an alpine wonderland.

The Bernese Oberland

Every corner of the range has its own touch of magic. There are the rock climbers’ slabs of the Engelhörner above Rosenlaui, and the multi- summited Wetterhorn which peers down on Grindelwald and stands as a cornerstone, not only of the Oberland, but of mountaineering history. Grindelwald boasts so much of appeal; its glaciers, its tremendous scope for walkers, climbers and skiers, its magnetic views and, of course, the Eiger. But in truth the Eiger is only one of many great peaks here. More attractive still are the Schreckhorn, Finsteraarhorn and the Fiescherhorn, seen to great effect from some of the walks outlined within these pages.