Sprung

Spring really has sprung in the Gantrisch region of Switzerland. After a good night's sleep at the hotel in Schwarzenburg, and a a great breakfast, no washing up, we packed our little rucksacks and set off on the second day of our mini trip. The path stayed high up, as we head back north, stopping frequently to admire the views back to the Gantrisch mountains and the Bernese Alps. Suddenly we dropped down into the Sense River Gorge, with an old ruined castle on an outcrop in the gorge, the Grasburg castle. We had a wonder around, it was big, back in its day, first built in about 1200. A steep climb back up from the sandstone base of the Sense rewarded us again with views back to the Alps and to the Jura mountains. We had lunch on the terrace of the Bären in Albigen, a Great spot with Finnish specialties, and a nice cold shandy.
Felt like we were in the Alps with all the tinkling cow bells. After lunch we walked in the warm sun high on the flower filled meadows on the plateau above Bern, before dropping down to the Sense/Schwarzwasser again. The last 4km followed the river closely, through to Thörishaus, where we got the train back home.
14km, 4hrs40 mins, 400m ascent