jextex

My best friend and I are backpacking Europe for 16 days in August and would like to do some hiking in Berner Oberland. We'll be in the area for 2 days (plus another day in Luzern). We were hoping for some advice on suggested hikes with awesome views!

We're both in good shape although not regular mountain-hikers. Would it be easier to stay in one place and just do a day hike or would it be more convenient to travel with our packs?

Information on lodging and dining options would be much appreciated as well. =)

michele_d

Hi jextex,
We stayed in Lauterbrunnen and really liked the location. Others prefer to stay higher up, but we felt this let us travel to both sides of the valley easily. There is a hostel right in the middle of town, next to the laundromat, just a block or so from the train station, which can take you virtually anywhere you want to go in the area. There is a also a small grocery across the street from the hostel.

Regarding dining: Food is pretty expensive in Switzerland. We stayed in an apt for 8 days so we would cook our own dinners. During the day we would stop in to the grocery store and pick up picnic fixings which we would take with us in our backpack and then we would have a great picnic with terrific views.

Three of the hikes we really liked was the one from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. You take the train to Wengen, then the cable car up to Mannlichen. From there you take a leisurely walk around the mountain for a couple hours until you reach KS. From KS you can take the train down to Grindelwald and then to Lauterbrunnen (or wherever you are staying) or you can go from KS to Wengen and then down to Lauterbrunnen.

The other hike we liked involved taking the cable car from Grindelwald to First. From there we hiked down to Gross Scheidegg and caught the bus back down to Grindelwald.

For the third hike we rode the aerial cable car and train up to Murren. From there we rode a funicular up the mountain to Allmendubul. We hiked down from there to Murren and then returned to Lauterbrunnen.

These are relatively easy hikes but beautiful. This site describes these and many more. http://www.myswissalps.com/berneseob...ng.asp?lang=EN

Have a great trip and remember that the grocery stores are usually closed from 12-2, so pick up food before you are hungry or you will have to wait until they open. Unfortunately we learned this the hard way.

One of our favorite memories are of the 'chocolate milk' (half white and half brown) cows roaming everywhere. You hear their little cowbells wherever you go. You will love this area.

jextex

michele_d, thanks for the info and the link! I'll definitely look into those hikes. I'm thinking we'll probably pack some picnics for breakfast/lunch and eat out for dinner. I'm really excited about the trip even though it's not for another 5-6 months, haha.

thomo7

Jextex, sorry to sidetrack a bit but I'm planning a trip with husband and two children and was wondering if any of these hikes are open or even if the cable cars etc are running in late October, November or even December? Any info would be great, thanks. Have a wonderful trip!

lynnalan

I have not been to this area in the summer but we skied there and absolutely loved the town of Wengen. One note regarding food - we found taking meals at the hotel to be a real value so look into the option of half board. We stayed at the Hotel Alpenrose and had breakfast and dinner each night there ... even though we thought we would go out we found the food and service to be so lovely that we ended up staying in each night (and there was a nice variety).

swandav2000

Hi jextex,

I'd just like to suggest you reverse your dining plans -- have your lunch meal in a restaurant, and have a picnic for dinner. Restaurant meals are cheaper at lunch time and very often are for the very same food. Then, you can stop by a grocer while on your way back to your hotel/hostel and stock up for a gourmet evening picnic. There are lots of prepared foods and desserts, and wine and beer of course, so you won't be deprived at all.

Have fun!

s

jextex

lynnalan, I'll have to look into that as well-- we'll probably be staying at hostels since my friend is a graduate student, but that may possibly cover breakfast!

swandav2000, not a bad idea, any suggestions on good restaurants?

swandav2000

Ack, sorry, no. I'm usually in that area skiing, so have lunch at a mountaintop restaurant and then dinner at the hotel.

I do this plan lots, though, in other areas of Switzerland, and I like it.

s

flygirl

Second on the Mannlichen/KS plans!

Schynigge Platte was utterly magnificent. If possible, even more beautiful views than the above. I really have to write my report one day.

Cable cars would be year round, I would suspect, because of ski season.

I doubt you'd hike much beyond early October though.

swisshiker

Hello jextex

How long of a hike are you looking for? A couple hours, half day, whole day?

These 2 hikes are among our favorites, with views that are out of this world, and each will take most of the day:

<b>Schynige Platte to First:</b>
http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/sommer/tou...n-trail-no-62/

<b>Mannlichen to Wengen</b>: This trail combines trail numbers 33, 41, 42, 43 - AWESOME views the entire way.

Here's the hiking brochure in pdf. Gives a good overview of the region's hiking trails on the map (easy to enlarge for viewing)
http://mhs.gadmin.ch/item_files/86304.pdf

And since you asked about hostels, here's the one for Grindelwald. Located at the foot of the Mannlichen gondola, it's a great location for a base of the entire area.
http://www.eiger-grindelwald.ch/en/mountain-hostel

Happy travels!

jextex

flygirl, are you saying that because there'll still be a lot of snow..? oh! i'm also trying to figure out what type of clothes we'll need to pack while we're out there!

swisshiker, thanks for the links! i'm down for a whole day hike though i just want to make sure we don't end up lost in the dark. ooh, and thanks for the hostel recommendation!

travelzomg

i would just check out each cablecar or mountain line you are planning to take... some of em dont run in winter because of snow, others do only in winter or after a certain date (start of the season)..
there shold be a homepage to every line with propper dates and descriptions...

generally, i can only second on those hiking trips... not that i am a hiker myself, but i have been to all the places and this is def. something you need to see before you die...

kaleighmh

Check out the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald! The nightly prices are good and they also had some of the best/cheapest food we found in Switzerland. It's also a really great place to hike from. (Make reservations soon though! I agree with swandav, the stores have really good prepared food, we had some awesome picnics! The scenery is so great, you will be perfectly happy to be eating outside.
On the other hand, we found the hostel in Lauterbrunnen to be really nice and it is the perfect central place - easy to get to trails and also to the train (if you're taking the train to Luzern). Plus, I HIGHLY recommend the Trummelbach falls in Lauterbrunnen, they're very cool!

jextex

@travelzomg-- Ah, thanks, I'll have to look up those schedules!

@kaleighmh-- Thanks for the tips on the hostels! Yes, we will be traveling to Luzern afterward. There's so many awesome-sounding/looking hikes, it's hard to just pick a few!