Before We Get to Our Destination...
With a little time to kill before our reserved train to Wengen, Switzerland, the bus pulled off to a little scenic area overlooking the lake-front town of Lungern. Cynthia passed around a sip of apéritif and we toasted to our good weather, good luck, and great experiences we've had so far.
REST STOPS
& ROSENBERGERS
Rick Steves' tour buses are very generous and efficient with their rest stops during long road trips. We stopped approximately every two hours and stayed long enough to stretch your legs, use the facilities, and purchase goodies. Most of our stops were made at a Rosenberger, a chain throughout Austria that has great food options (freshly made cafeteria- style or prepackaged), clean bathrooms, a shopping area, and some even have lodging. Our bus trips weaved in and out of Austria each time as we traveled to new destinations.
Why mention Austrian bus stops in Switzerland? Because as you enter Switzerland, you quickly experence a phenomena called "Sticker Shock"
Wengen and the Lauterbrunnen Valley
Wengen, the village where our hotel was based, is located on a plateau on one of the two giant cliffs that border the Lauterbrunnen Valley; this valley was carved by glaciers many ages ago. The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains, all 13,000 + ft in height, are located above Wengen. Across the valley are the quaint towns of Gimmelwald and Mürren, also on a plateau, and are beneath the Schilthorn mountain located at 9,700 ft. This network of villages is connected by cable car and cog train, making it quite easy to access each village, when they seem so difficult to reach due to the terrain.
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Wengen and the entire Lauterbrunnen Valley was our favorite destination from the entire trip. There was the threat of rain in the evenings, but we had two beautiful, sunny days. The scenery was something we've never seen before; waterfalls flowed over the vertical cliffs.
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Simply put, it was heaven on earth. We finished our full day in Switzerland saying, "Wow. Today was a perfect day."
Our Adventure in the Swiss Alps
There are two sides of the valley where you can spend an entire day visiting each. One side takes you on a series of cog trains up to the Jungfraujoch or the other takes you on a series of cable cars up to the Schilthorn. We chose the Schilthorn because we had the additional bonus of walking back down the mountain between some villages, trying out the Thrill Walk at Birg, and walking along the valley floor with a pit stop at Trümmelbach Falls. It may have been cheaper to go up to the Jungraujoch since it was on the same side as our hotel in Wengen, but we had the ability to do more activities by visiting the other side of the valley. Nevertheless, in an effort to save a little more money, we took the first lift of the day from Stechelberg which gave us a 25% discount. We timed it with breakfast at the peak at Piz Gloria, so the discount essentially paid for the breakfast. Our two tickets for the ride to and from the Schilthorn with breakfast included, came to 226 CHF total or about $240 in USD. Now let's get started!
Journey to the Schilthorn
Our day started with a 6:53am train from Wengen to the valley floor of Lauterbrunnen. The night before, I had purchased a combination ticket that included the train and the bus ride to Stechelberg. We were unable to pre-purchase the tickets to the Schilthorn because we wanted breakfast included in the ticket price.
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We hopped off the train and picked up the 7:35am bus to Stechelberg. Ten minutes later we made it to the Stechelberg lift station. We purchased our early bird/sunrise priced tickets with breakfast included and waited for the 7:55am cable car to Gimmelwald. In five minutes we ascended from Stechelberg, located at about 3,000 ft, to Gimmelwald, located at about 4,500 ft.
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The next cable car to Mürren arrived just as we approached the same lift station. We easily transferred to the next cable car and ascended to about 5,400 ft in five minutes. Gotta love that Swiss timing because we transferred easily again to the next cable car to Birg. You scanned your tickets every time you changed cars.
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Birg, at about 8,900 ft elevation, was our last ride beneath the clouds. We transferred to the last cable car and disappeared within the clouds as we ascended to the top of the Schilthorn. We arrived close to 8:30am. At the peak, over 9,700 ft up, we were completely clouded in. We stayed optimistic and started with the breakfast buffet in the revolving restaurant called Piz Gloria.
Traveling up to Gimmelwald.
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Several plates of food later and over one complete revolution of the restaurant that takes 55 minutes for a 360° view, we were unfortunately still within the clouds with no apparent break in sight. We explored the terrace area, but the clouds were too dense. Beneath the Piz Gloria is a James Bond museum; the 1969 movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service was filmed here when the station first opened and the entire building is outfitted in James Bond decor. We took the 10:30am cable car back down to Birg.
Beneath the Clouds & on the Thrill Walk at Birg
At last we were beneath the clouds and could see the spectacular Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau off in the distance! Now that was the view we came to see.
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The main attraction at Birg is the Thrill Walk. This pathway is wrapped around the side of the mountain with different features like a tight rope, a glass floor, and even a chain link tube you can crawl through. I ventured over the tight rope but was too nervous to crawl through the tube. There were amazing views along the whole way.
There is also a Skyline Walk, which is another glass platform extending over the edge of the cliff. It was the perfect photo op.
from Mürren to Stechelberg
We took the lift from Birg to Mürren and then walked 30 minutes from Mürren to Gimmelwald. There's a nice paved road connecting the two villages that offered ample views, a chance for us to see some alpine cows, and the spot where paragliders jump off the cliff. From Gimmelwald, we took the last cable car back down to the valley floor at Stechelberg.
Trümmelbach Falls: The Power of Mother Nature
While walking along the valley floor back to Lauterbrunnen, we detoured to Trümmelbach Falls. For 11 CHF each, you can ride a funicular up inside a crack of the vertical mountain cliff. Through a set of tunnels and stairs, you approach the intense water-flow through a series of ten waterfalls.
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During our visit at the end of May, water was melting from the glaciers and they say as much 20,000 liters roar by in a second. The water comes from the snow and glaciers around the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.
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I was not mentally prepared for how impressive this detour would be. The noise and force of the water shooting through the rocks was awe-inspirinig. The burst of cold air and mist felt amazing too, as it was warmer in the valley and in the sun.
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We highly recommend making a brief detour during your visit.
Lauterbrunnen Valley Stroll
The valley floor walk from Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen is about three miles. It's a very easy walk with little elevation change. A paved path takes you along a flowing river, cow farms, and a little woodsy area. As you look up at the vertical cliffs alongside the valley, you can see waterfalls shooting over the cliffs.
This place is pure paradise.
Fondue or Fon-don't ?
We splurged on a three-course fondue extravaganza our first night in Wengen at Da Sina. It was incredible. The whole event lasted two hours and we left so stuffed.
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The first course was a traditional cheese fondue served with baby potatoes and bite sized pieces of bread. The cheese had a distinct smell to it.
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They moved us to a four person table before the main entrée came out, because our table for two was too small. What had we gotten ourselves in to? They brought out plate after plate of meat, sides, and accessory sauces. Of course we tried them all!
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Dan got a little carried away with his fondue by testing which items were good candidates for fondue. His favorite were the pearl onions. His first sacrifice sunk to the bottom and we were sure we wouldn't see it again. Minutes later, the onion floated back to the top, signaling it was done. It tasted great and then all of the onions were dumped into the broth to receive the same fate.
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Dessert was the final course with a classic dark chocolate fondue accompanied by four different fruits: oranges, pear, strawberries, and apple slices. We scraped that chocolate pot clean!
Rösti in the Morning, Rösti in the Evening, Rösti at Suppertime
In our approach to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Cynthia recommended a traditional Swiss dish called Rösti. It's comprised of shredded potatoes that's fried and commonly accompanied with cheese, eggs, onions, and speck (a thick cut of bacon). We were sold immediately! Little did we know we'd have a full day of eating different varieties of Rösti.
We split a plate of Rösti at Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen for a late lunch. This was our favorite version of Rösti and the one we recreate at home on a monthly basis. This plate was incredible as we washed it down with some apple cider, or Applewine.
For dinner, Dan had vegetarian Rösti at the Eiger restaurant in Wengen. After having Rösti two times earlier in the day, Dan decided that he shouldn't stop a good thing and have Rösti a third time.
After having similar hotel breakfasts for the entirety of the trip, we ventured to the top of the Schilthorn on the early-bird lifts and had breakfast 9,700 ft up. This version was buffet-style where you built your own Rösti plate.