CHAIR LIFTS, LAKES AND COW BELLS

Yesterday afternoon was beautiful, so I decided I would go up into the mountains to Lake Oeschinen -- or Oeschinensee, which is it's name in German. On the way over to the trail head, I took a couple pictures of Kandersteg: I arrived at the beginning of the trail in just a few minutes, but then, I had to decide: a really long walk straight up the mountain, or a short ride up an old rickety chair lift. Needless to say, I chose the lesser of two evils (in my opinion, anyway), the rickety chair lift! It was pretty scary. I have ridden it before, but this time was particularly bad because the wind was blowing really hard, and the chairs were rocking around much more than I would have preferred. It was a bit disconcerting to see that even the locals don't appear to trust it anymore, there is a new one being built!I made it to the top alive, thank goodness, and started down the rest of the trail to the lake. As I turned the corner, I heard my favorite Swiss sound...cow bells! Hope you enjoy it, too!

Oeschinensee sits in a mountain cradle with the Doldenhorn, Rothorn, Oeschenin and Bluemlisalp peaks surrounding it. You can't see them from these pictures, but there are several waterfalls that come down from the peaks and empty into the lake. I was told that it gets its turquoise color from the glacial silt in the water. It was so pretty...I just had to stop and have an ice cream! :-) Any excuse will work.
You should come up here sometime! If you value your life though, walk up -- or wait until December of '08 when the new chair lift is finished. I highly recommend it.