After traveling by train, bus and boat during the last few vacations due to the age of the children, we now wanted to travel by bike again. For the planned week at the end of September/beginning of October, we were looking for a route that we could start from home and from which we could easily get back home by train.

As we had already liked mountain passes in the past, we thought that the trip from home over the Grimsel Pass to Valais would be nice and exciting.

With a whole week to spare, we were able to divide the route into family-friendly daily sections. With several overnight stays at the Hotel Handeck, we planned rest days for local excursions. This also allowed our youngest to get used to the altitude, so that an overnight stay at the top of the pass was also possible. We also hoped for less traffic on the pass road in the fall and during the week.

In addition to the familiar short alternative routes via the old pass road, we looked for other alternative routes. We found a small path on the other side of the valley near Guttannen. Despite intensive study of maps and satellite images, we were unable to reliably assess the passability of the route, but wanted to try the alternative. A bit of pushing couldn't be too bad, or so we thought.

To have a plan B in case of bad weather, breakdowns or other incidents, the route with train and post bus connections was ideal. Speaking of bad weather. When planning in the fall, we were aware that the weather might not be as warm at this time of year and that snow could be expected in the worst-case scenario.

Shortly before our vacation, there was a cold snap, which meant that the pass was temporarily closed. According to the weather forecast, however, we could expect better weather again. To make it easier to switch to trains and post buses in bad weather, we decided to travel on normal bikes instead of the tandem.

As it was unfortunately raining on the first day of our vacation, we already started planning our options. We rode our bikes to Bern and then took the train to Spiez. From there we cycled to Interlaken despite the light rain. Ariki was also allowed to ride himself where the cycle path situation allowed. On the climbs, we tested the new elastic tow rope for the first time, which proved its worth.

We were glad to have rented a cottage at the campsite near Interlaken. The rain cleared overnight, so we were able to continue on the second day in wonderful weather. Cycle route 8 along Lake Brienz is so traffic-calmed that Ariki was largely able to cycle by himself. We already knew from a previous trip to Norway that it doesn't have to be flat along a lake. We were glad of the tow rope for the many steep sections. It meant we could share the weight of the children: Rana towed Ariki and Moritz transported Kaiu in the trailer.

From the Giessbach Falls onwards, both children sat in the trailer as the traffic became heavier. Ariki fell asleep from the morning's exertions, so we made rapid progress on the plain as far as Meiringen. After the ice cream break, everyone was fit again and Ariki drove himself again. At the Geissholz crossing, however, he had to briefly switch back to the trailer. Shortly after the Aare gorge, we were able to ride along the Aare path without cars to our next overnight stop in Innertkirchen.

The weather was also kind to us on the third day, so we were able to tackle the first part of the Grimsel Pass road. We were pleased that our assumption was confirmed and that the traffic was relatively quiet on this Monday morning in the fall. Nevertheless, we didn't let Ariki drive himself on the pass road. The car-free tunnel bypasses over the old pass road were therefore a welcome change for everyone. Kaiu had room in the trailer, Ariki was allowed to drive himself and Moritz had less weight to pull.

In Boden below Guttannen, we turned off the pass road onto a small side road. We were curious to see if the surface of the road was passable. We still had no idea of the challenge ahead. The first somewhat steep section to bypass an earlier section of road that had been partially torn away by the Aare could have been a warning. But we rode on motivated and unsuspecting, enjoying the great weather and the beautiful surroundings. But then we saw that the road a little further on had turned into a steeper hiking trail. We were still focused on the good passability of the path and were pleased that the hiking trail had a good gravel surface. So we were still motivated and felt that pushing up through the hairpin bends of the hiking trail was much less of a problem than riding back down. After all, we had already pushed the tandem over the Gotthard Pass once in knee-deep snow. Of course, we neglected the fact that this was without vacation luggage, without children, without a child trailer and without an additional children's bike. As the serpentines became steeper and steeper, we realized our rookie mistake: when planning the route, we had been so worried about the condition of the path that we hadn't noticed the closely spaced contour lines on the map. Too bad. The whole thing really turned into hiking with a bike, as Katrin Iglhaut describes in many of her videos:-)

Only when we had already covered too many meters in altitude did we reach the point where it was no longer particularly fun - but our good team dynamics carried us through. So we pushed our fleet up the extremely steep hiking trail, sometimes in pairs and with lots of breaks to catch our breath. But at least the surface of the path was good! The section of the trail that was feared to be the worst in the planning turned out to be easily passable. As known from the satellite images, it was wider and overgrown with grass. The grass surface was not a major problem as it was no longer so steep. When we passed a family of mountain farmers a little later, they commented on our choice of route as "sporty". We classify this route as an "ambitious" alternative to the main road and will not cycle it again in the future, neither uphill nor downhill, even without luggage. After around two hours of "Type 2 Fun", we reached Guttannen and returned to the main road. Here, the alternative route on the other side of the valley would most likely have been acceptable. However, our daily budget for experiments had been used up. Fortunately, the traffic on the main road was still acceptable and another tunnel bypass section offered us a welcome change, so we could really enjoy the tour. Satisfied, but also exhausted, we finally reached the Hotel Handeck. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse during our two rest days at the hotel. Despite the drizzle and fog, we took the Gelmerbahn cable car up to the reservoir. As we had taken possible snowfall into account when planning, we were able to enjoy the trip in warm clothes. We never got bored in the warm outdoor pool, on the playground, in the hotel playroom and on walks. The excellent meals in the hotel restaurant were highlights of our stay. After the rest days, we tackled the second half of the pass road refreshed. The drizzle and fog did not deter us, as we were looking forward to our overnight stay on the pass and the later drive through Valais. As before, we took the tunnel bypass roads wherever possible. Despite the temperatures dropping to 5°C, our children didn't mind the weather. There was variety, after all, and the clothes were warm enough. After almost half the day's route, at Räterichsbodensee, we unfortunately received a call from the hotel. We were asked to turn back as it had started to snow, the road on the Valais side would be closed and it was not certain whether we would be able to leave the following day.

Although we had counted on this possibility, we were a little disappointed that we had to turn back. We dressed warmly and enjoyed a speedy descent to Innertkirchen. There we took the train to Meiringen. From Meiringen, we then had to take an alternative route: Due to storm damage in Brienz, there were no trains running between Meiringen and Interlaken. No bikes could be transported on the rail replacement bus. So we drove to Brienz as quickly as possible. Fortunately, we reached the boat landing stage there early enough to board the boat to Interlaken as soon as it arrived and park our bikes. A little later, it would have been quite a hassle to make our way through the full ship to the bike parking spaces.

From Interlaken we took the spacious IC train back to Bern. From there we rode our bikes home without any rain.

Even if not everything went according to plan, we all had a very eventful vacation.