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Autumn in the Alps
Harry came to Grindelwald in Bernese Oberland.
The cows that had been taken up to the summer pasture
were all brought back down in the village in October.
The sound of cow-bells in the village reminds people
the coming of the cold winter there.
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Jungfraujoch
When one comes to Grindelwald, he must go visit Jungfraujoch.
Harry took the Jungfraubahn to go up to the saddle between
the Mönch and the Jungfrau.
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The Jungfraujoch is the highest railway station in Europe.
This is why it is often called the "Top of Europe".
The train stopped for 5 minutes at the halfway up the mountain.
From there, Harry could see the steep cliff of the rocky Eiger
and the village of Grindelwald down the bottom.
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Harry fell into a deep sleep in the train.
It may be because of the high elevation.
But as soon as he went to Plateu (an outside view point)
and saw the view of the mountains, he got very excited!
He was certainly not sleepy any more,
but perhaps a little puzzled by a sudden change of the climate.
The top of the mountains is covered with snow even in the summer.
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After leaving the Plateu, Harry went up to the Observatory
which is called the "Sphinx".
The view of the Eiger North wall from the Sphinx is spectacular.
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The Sphinx is located at an elevation of 3,571 metres.
Strong winds were browing up from the bottom.
The view down to the foot looked pretty scary to human,
but surprisingly not to Harry...
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Hiking 1: Grosse Scheidegg - Bachalpsee
Hiking is the most fun in the autumn in the Alps.
Harry and his family with lucky with the weather.
For the first hiking trip, they deicded to take the route from
Grosse Scheidegg to Bachalpsee.
A relatively easy hiking route.
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Harry was busy searching the remaining scent of the cows.
He probably walked three times as long as human,
because he went zig-zag between the walkway and the pasture.
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When the Sun shines, it can get very hot even in October.
Harry had to cool down himself whenever he came across a stream.
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Wild alpine flowers were almost at the end of the season.
But Harry could find quite a few of them.
This purple Gentian is called "Glockenblumen", which means
"Bell flowers". Indeed they look like little Church-bells.
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This flower is called "Silberdistel".
The flowerhead is pretty large and it can be nearly 10 cm.
It is fun to walk the mountains as trying to spot different
alpine flowers on the way.
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Harry and his family kept walking half a day, with a short lunch break.
Then finally they came to the beautiful Bachalpsee.
When they arrived, two Golden Retrievers were swimming there.
The view of Wetterhorn, Schreckhorn and Eiger in the background was marvellous.
The way back to Grindelwald was easy.
From a place called First, they simply took the gondola lift down to the village.
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Hiking 2: Männlichen - Kleine Scheidegg
From Grindelwald Grund Station, Harry and his family took
the gondola lift, which is supposed to be the longest in Europe,
up to Männlichen, and walked to Kleine Scheidegg.
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This hiking trail is perfect for enjoying the view of
Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau (Ogre, Monk, and Virgin).
The path was almost flat from the beginning to the end.
An extremely easy walk!
There were even hikers who had an old dog in a pushchair.
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Just before Kleine Scheidegg Station, they stopped at a small café.
The owner of the café gave Harry a tiny piece of meat.
And for that treat, Harry behaved well while his family had lunch.
Cafés near the station were too crowded with packaged tourists.
It is always a good idea to rest somewhere a little far from tourist traps.
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Hiking 3: Kleine Scheidegg - Biglenalp - Mettlenalp - Wengernalp - Kleine Scheidegg
From Kleine Scheidegg, Harry and his family walked the pasture
between Lauberhorn and Jungfrau to Biglenalp.
Then from Biglenalp, they walked through a forest to Wengernalp via Mittlenalp.
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This is a very long trail.
It is also somewhat for experienced hikers.
Even dogs can slip and fall over if they are not careful.
And people definitely need a pair of good hiking shoes.
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Harry found lots of lingonberries and blueberries.
Lingonberries are a bit sour, but they were in season.
Blueberries were already a little dry, but very sweet.
Nevertheless both had plenty of vitamins.
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Harry's master tend to walk looking down on the ground.
This must be true for anybody who has a dog.
But in Grindelwald, everybody was walking looking up the spectacular mountains and the beautiful blue sky.
Only Harry was walking pushing his nose on the ground, just as usual.
But it is perfectly OK.
Because dogs do sightseeing not with their eyes, but with their nose!
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Autumn Colours
Back in the village, the colours of the leaves started changing.
The Autumn in the Alps is beautiful...
Harry will come back here again next year.
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Grindelwald, Switzerland 
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