Gornergrat - Grünsee

Natalja and Fabian with Jimmy and Bailey (from September 2018):

Expensive, but highly recommended! As a wedding trip, we allowed ourselves an overnight stay on the Gornergrat, where one likes to pay 450 CHF/night at the weekend. In addition, there is the train, with which we went up and paid about 250 CHF including dogs (per dog about 20-25 CHF there and back). Once you have reached the top, it doesn't hurt anymore ;) The view compensates everything. From about 20-21 o'clock you are practically alone in the hotel, because the last train takes all tourists.

From the top, the paths split: towards Grünsee and once towards Riffelsee. As it was teeming with tourists on the first day, we decided to go to the less known Grünsee. It went down quite steeply in parts, but the view more than compensated everything. But on the way there we noticed how the altitude was getting to us and that it was getting pretty tight in time, so we turned back. Nevertheless, the hiking trail is very recommendable, if only because in the whole time, at most 6 hikers came towards us. By walking back, we rather pushed our limits and noticed that walking at a height of more than 3000 metres is not so easy. Altogether we were on the way for about 4 hours (without reaching the Grünsee). We had to drink enough water to avoid headaches.

The next day in the morning we went to the Riffelsee, which was already very crowded in the early hours and despite bad weather. Nevertheless, this lake is worth seeing and belongs to the most photographed subjects in Switzerland, because the Matterhorn is reflected in it and therefore offers an incredible view. Compared to the Grünsee, the Riffelsee is easily accessible by train, but does not represent the same experience.

For all savers: If you want to save on the cost of the train, you can also hike up. According to information, one way takes about 4 hours (we would have estimated it to be a little longer).