Eurotrip 2022 - Day 2 (7/24/2022) - Oberblegisee

We got almost 10 hours of sleep (or at least with eyes closed) overnight, and were feeling much more rested by the time Fran's alarm went off at 7a. She hadn't yet decided which day trip we were going to do, but had narrowed it down to Braunwald (a resort town she found in some online research) and Flims (a suggestion by the hotel clerk who checked us in the day before). The goal was to do a moderate hike and get some good mountain views. After she settled on Braunwald we hurriedly got dressed and headed to the Hauptbahnhof (via the S-Bahn) to catch the 8:43 train to Linthal. We also bought a couple of pretzel and cheese sandwiches (which she had been craving since we arrived) for breakfast on the train. We found the train to be completely full with fellow hikers as we boarded, but were luckily able to find a couple of seats.

The train trip was about 1.5 hours, and we got off at Linthal Braunwaldbahn. The Braunwaldbahn is a cable railway that takes a single car up/down the steep slope between the main railway and Braunwald every 15 minutes. We bought a couple of round-trip tickets and made our way up. At the top we found a tourist information center and asked the lady there for advice on trails to take. She suggested a few, including one to Oberblegisee, an alpine lake, that we already had our eye on - we settled on that one.

The map suggested that it was a 3 hour hike each way, though I would say that 2 hours is probably a better estimate at a reasonable pace. We were going a bit faster than that, and made it in about 1.5 hours. The first third or so of the trail is uphill on paved and gravel roads through the town of Braunwald, and is the most strenuous. The rest of it is more up-and-down along rocky trails, gravel trails, and through beaten-down grass, some of it going by, or through, farms on the hillside. We saw quite a few paragliders on the hike up. The lake itself is pretty stunning, with clear water right below a mountain cliff. There were a good number of swimmers in the lake, and Fran decided to strip down to her underwear (she hadn't brought a swimsuit) and join them. After her swim, a bit of rock-skipping, and generally enjoying the view, we headed back the trail toward Braunwald, stopping at a hillside cafe on the way for a quick drink.

We made it back to Braunwald, took the cable car down, and then waited for the train. We caught the 4:47p train to Zürich HB. After arriving Fran bought another pretzel and we went in search of some take-out for dinner. We settled on a place called Brooklyn Burgermeister, because of the name, which was on the way to the hotel. I got a veggie burger and some truffle fries, while Fran got a caesar salad without the chicken which turned out to be quite weak. We ate in the little park right outside the hotel, and then headed up to do some blogging before turning in.

---

Full pictures for the trip here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/44Vf8gccA5UfLjTo7