After Lauterbrunnen, the third leg of my European motorcycle tour brought me to the Gelmerbahn Funicular a cable railway in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. Don't believe the videos you see of the Gelmerbahn on Instagram. They're often speeded up, to look like a rollercoaster, but in reality, the funicular is ridiculously slow - watch my video of it. It was originally designed to carry building materials to the top of the mountain.

It was the steepest funicular in Europe, until the opening of the Stoos Funicular in 2017. Either way, it's near vertical along some stretches, with a gradient of 106% and climbs 1,000m tortuously slowly up the side of mount Tieralplistock. At the top, you'll find Lake Gelmer - an almost flouresecent torquoise body of melt-water held back by a man-made dam. It's worth taking an hour or so for a wander the footpath that circles the lake.

I turned up just before the last train at 5pm, and caught some amazing views of Alpistock (the mountain across the valley) at Golden Hour. Perhaps if I'd arrived a little earlier, I would've had time to write my name in little rocks on the plateau, like dozens of others before me. The funicular is mega famous and well worth a visit. You can book tickets in advance on their website. The twisty mountain roads to get there are mind-bogglingly good, too.

These photographs were taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and the extraordinary Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 II.

Equipment used

Camera

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Lens

Canon 35 mm f/1.4 L II USM

Motorcycle

Triumph Bonneville Scrambler 865

About the photographer

I'm Alex Nichol. I'm an amateur photographer from the North of England. For me, photography is a way to share what I love most about the world. That includes everything, from family and friends, to wild animals and breathtaking places... or maybe just how the sun twinkles on a weed in my back garden. It's all fair game.

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