Switzerland's scariest railway (video)
Although promoted as a funicular railway, the Gelmerbahn funicular has the appearance of a giant roller coaster and all of the fun too.
For all those still having nightmares about recent rail tragedies in the age of non-stop surveillance and on-line replays, the 108 degree ascent (or descent) may not be your thing. On the other hand, for those who experience the London Underground each morning, "mind the gap" takes on a whole new meaning as you see your feet hanging out the bottom of the train and the tracks descending vertically into the valley below.
and here are download links for those who prefer to download now and watch later (about 160MB):
At the top
At the top, there is a scenic two hour walk around Lake Gelmer, the path takes you across the top of a dam built for hydro-electric power generation.
Getting there from DebConf13 and the Debian 20th birthday
For those coming to Switzerland for DebConf13 next month, the Gelmerbahn is probably a little bit too far for a day trip but makes an excellent place to stop during a 2 or 3 day tour around Switzerland. It is accessible using the all-day bus pass for the tour of 3 or 4 mountain passes or by train to Innertkirchen and then a short ride on the bus. The busses are irregular, use sbb.ch to plan the journey. Walking down the mountain from the lake to the bus stop takes about 90 minutes and for those who choose this option, the ticket is cheaper.
More Swiss travel blogs
Please click here to access some of my previous blogs about Swiss travel with videos and useful ideas for day trips.