The heat wave is expected to reach its peak today, with temperatures of up to 35 degrees in the lowlands. So it's off to the cool waters - or up into the heights. We take the first PostBus from Meiringen to Engstlenalp at 1834 metres above sea level, where we tackle the penultimate stage of the Via Berna. We forego a visit to the show dairy right next to the PostBus stop and set off straight away. At least for two or three minutes. Then we reach the Engstlensee - and simply have to stop here. The mountains are reflected in the water, a group is taking a morning dip in the lake. And we would also like to stay here for a while. But as the saying goes: first the work, then the pleasure. We have a quick snack, take the obligatory photos, and then start hiking. From Engstlenalp we could see the mountain station of the Titlis in the distance, now we always have the Alpen tower in view. At the beginning of the hike, the path goes slightly uphill, then briefly downhill again. It is green, many flowers adorn the path.

We are almost alone, enjoying the peace and quiet of nature. The only sound we hear is the bells of the cows. Below us we discover a small lake - later a marmot that has ventured out of its burrow. We pause for a moment. Then it gets stonier, it climbs steadily. The craggy rocks are not called the "Hasli Dolomites" for nothing. Higher altitude or not, we work up quite a sweat. Finally we reach the highest point of the hike. The "Sätteli" is at 2116 m. We can see both the Finsteraarhorn and the Trift glacier from here. A few sandwiches, energy bars and fruit later, we start the steep descent. 1200 metres of altitude difference down to Gadmen await us. On the way, however, we stop at the Tällihütte and treat ourselves to a sweet drink. We have been looking forward to this all the way down. On the last very steep section we really feel the heat wave. Now we wish we were back at the start of our stage. A swim in Engstlensee, that would be it!

On the road for you: Corinna Gilgen, Elena Koch, Raphael Hadorn