UNESCO world heritage site....Right here in Switzerland!

Once you've lived in a country for a while, it becomes easy to be complacent.  You think you know everything that that country has to offer.  Well, our trip to Bettmeralp in September 2009 was a stark reminder that Swtizerland has something special to offer on every turn.  I can honestly say that each time I head to the mountains in Switzerland I'm surprised and amazed by something completely unexpected!  Bettmeralp was certainly no exception to this.

Bettmeralp is only a short three and a half hour drive from Basel.  It takes longer than you'd think because you have to wait to board a train ferry that takes you through the mountains.  It's kind of surreal to drive your car onto a train, sit there while traveling through a mountain and drive off on the other side.  Crazy!  The GF had booked us some accommodation in the town of Bettmeralp so we could get in two solid days of trekking before our trip to Nepal.  Apart from that, we had no idea what to expect.

The first day we set out to see the "glacier" that everybody was talking about.  The owner/operator of our hotel showed us a great trek up that would allow us to walk along side the glacier.  Off we went.  To our surprise, as we rounded a corner, there was a beautiful trail of ice snaking it's way down the valley. 

Fortunately the clouds began to part as we stopped to get some photos of what we thought was the Aletsch glacier.

It was impressive and disheartening to see how much of the glacier has disappeared as evidenced by the markings on the valley wall.  A hiking trail can be seen to the bottom left of this photo

After a few photos we moved on thrilled at what we'd seen but slightly less than impressed based on the stories and descriptions that we'd heard.  We were thrilled to learn, by way of stumbling upon it,  that the Aletsch glacier, one of the most spectacular glaciers that I've seen, was still to come.  It descends down the back from Jungfrau and snakes it's way to the valley.  From here you get and amazing view of the entire thing.

The actual Aletsch glacier is spectacular.  To help put it in perspective, look at the man standing in front of the glacial ice

On day two, feeling slightly more adventurous, we'd heard that there was a higher trail that could be taken to get a more panoramic view of the glacier.  Now, in Switzerland all of the hiking trails are well marked with red and white signs.  This trail, for whatever reason, was marked with blue and white signs which we soon learned meant "alpine" trekking route (insert "extreme" instead of "alpine")  

I now have a full appreciation for the difference between red and white and blue and white markings.  What you can't see from this photo is that to the left is a cliff that drops down approximately 150 vertical metres.  Intense!

After what was some of the most intense climbing (especially for a guy terrified of heights) we got to the top.  The trip was worth it.  The views were spectacular from above.  It added an entirely different perspective to the entire valley.

It was all worth it.  The glacier stretches as far as you can see to it's source on the top of Jungfrau.  You can also see the type of trekking we were doing by the path stretching off to the right

I figured it was only appropriate to get the blue and white trail marking in a photo to remind myself of what we'd gone through to get here.  Was absolutely stunning though!

After two days of trekking in Bettmeralp, I do believe seeing the Aletsh glacier is a must do for anybody visiting Switzerland.  It is one of the most impressive glaciers that I have seen to date and so easily accessible.  Not to mention the hiking is some of the most exciting that I've experienced in Switzerland.  Fortunately, it's another great addition to our expat adventures from Switzerland!