May Trip to Germany and Switzerland - Munich and Lauterbrunnen - Hiking Included
Jul 11th, 2014, 12:05 PM
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May Trip to Germany and Switzerland - Munich and Lauterbrunnen - Hiking Included
During May, my husband and I went to Germany and Switzerland for our 5th wedding anniversary. We left on 5/14 and flew home on 5/23. Our holiday was considered short by most folks for a European trip, but we wanted to see how well our dog would do being boarded for so long. The longest she had been boarded before was for 7 days. Spoiler alert, she did great and next time we will be gone for two weeks.
While we were planning I did not post a lot on this board, but I certainly read a ton about many topics and opinions of others. Thank you to everyone that posts for answering many questions without me even having to ask!
5/14 and 5/15
We left Kansas City on Wednesday, May 14th to fly to Chicago. Our flight to Chicago was delayed and we had to end up being booked a on a different flight out of Chicago. This was a bummer for us because we ended up having to fly to London instead of Dusseldorf and we had a much longer layover and we got to Munich much later. In the grand scheme of things, we were lucky to even get on the flight to London and still get to Munich on 5/15, so we felt grateful.
We arrived in Munich on 5/15 and quickly made our way through customs. We found the S-Bahn and purchased our tickets to get to our hotel. The airport is literally out in the countryside. We easily found our hotel and dropped our bags. We had been traveling for 26 hours and were exhausted but decided to head out. My original plan was to shower and change clothes, but since it was around 5:00 pm, we decided just to head out, find dinner, and make it an early night to reboot ourselves for the next day.
We walked to the Marienplatz area and wandered around a bit. We ended up finding the Hofbrauhaus and walked inside to check it out. We both decided that we were not in the mood for the chaos of the place so we left and ended up at Augustiner across the street. It was just what we needed for our first night too. We were seated with a lovely couple, Jim and Christie, from the Bay area and we really enjoyed talking to them. I was flattered that Jim and Christie thought that maybe we were on our honeymoon. It made me happy that after five years of marriage we still look in love enough to be mistaken for honeymooners. I hope that continues for quite sometime. Anyway, we enjoyed a few liters of Dunkel and our dinner and then walked back to the hotel. I was so tired that I declined gelato, which if you know me, you know that is a huge deal. I never turn down dessert!
We called it an early night and both woke up at 2:00 am dying of thirst. My husband went downstairs and bought the largest waters he could get from the bar for 7 Euros each. It was the best 7 Euros we had ever spent.
I have written about our trip and included pictures on my blog as well. If you would like to see pictures and read a few more details, please see the below.
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...y-1-and-2.html
While we were planning I did not post a lot on this board, but I certainly read a ton about many topics and opinions of others. Thank you to everyone that posts for answering many questions without me even having to ask!
5/14 and 5/15
We left Kansas City on Wednesday, May 14th to fly to Chicago. Our flight to Chicago was delayed and we had to end up being booked a on a different flight out of Chicago. This was a bummer for us because we ended up having to fly to London instead of Dusseldorf and we had a much longer layover and we got to Munich much later. In the grand scheme of things, we were lucky to even get on the flight to London and still get to Munich on 5/15, so we felt grateful.
We arrived in Munich on 5/15 and quickly made our way through customs. We found the S-Bahn and purchased our tickets to get to our hotel. The airport is literally out in the countryside. We easily found our hotel and dropped our bags. We had been traveling for 26 hours and were exhausted but decided to head out. My original plan was to shower and change clothes, but since it was around 5:00 pm, we decided just to head out, find dinner, and make it an early night to reboot ourselves for the next day.
We walked to the Marienplatz area and wandered around a bit. We ended up finding the Hofbrauhaus and walked inside to check it out. We both decided that we were not in the mood for the chaos of the place so we left and ended up at Augustiner across the street. It was just what we needed for our first night too. We were seated with a lovely couple, Jim and Christie, from the Bay area and we really enjoyed talking to them. I was flattered that Jim and Christie thought that maybe we were on our honeymoon. It made me happy that after five years of marriage we still look in love enough to be mistaken for honeymooners. I hope that continues for quite sometime. Anyway, we enjoyed a few liters of Dunkel and our dinner and then walked back to the hotel. I was so tired that I declined gelato, which if you know me, you know that is a huge deal. I never turn down dessert!
We called it an early night and both woke up at 2:00 am dying of thirst. My husband went downstairs and bought the largest waters he could get from the bar for 7 Euros each. It was the best 7 Euros we had ever spent.
I have written about our trip and included pictures on my blog as well. If you would like to see pictures and read a few more details, please see the below.
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...y-1-and-2.html
Jul 12th, 2014, 06:42 PM
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5/16
We woke up feeling refreshed after our long day the day prior. We got ready and made our way to find a good spot for breakfast and most importantly, coffee! My husband used Yelp to find a place that looked appealing to us, The Dallmayr. We arrived there and realized that the cafe was mostly locals, which we were okay with. Ken had the traditional Bavarian breakfast and I had bacon, eggs, and my new favorite, a croissant. I was pleased that his breakfast included a Bavarian pretzel. We really enjoyed our breakfast and enjoyed looking around the deli area at the base of the building. I ended up buying a few chocolate bars. Yummy!
After breakfast we wandered around a bit and decided to take the S-Bahn to Dachau to visit the concentration camp. The concentration camp was a must see for us and I am glad that we visited. It was a very easy trip from Munich. We did not take a guided tour of the camp and we did not get head phones either. We like to look around at our own pace. After we looked around the memorial, we decided to walk back to the train station instead of taking the bus.
It was a pretty easy walk and we found a grocery store to stop and buy a few bottles of water. We were also surprised to see a cigarette dispenser on the side of the walking path. Only in Europe! We enjoyed our walk around Dachau and quickly were back at the S-Bahn.
We arrived back in Munich and made our way to the Augustiner Beer Garden. It was quite chilly out, it was in the 50's, but we still sat in the outdoor area under heaters. I also liked that they have blankets outside for patrons to use. I am almost always cold, so it was a nice touch.
We enjoyed a few liters of beer and ordered an early dinner. Ken had a sausage plate and I had a schnitzel and noodles. It was delicious! We also enjoyed the pretzels that our waiter brought over. I think pretzels and croissants are both my new favorite things after this trip!
We enjoyed sitting there and listening to all of the locals. Many people were arriving for an after work drink and it was fun to listen to them and watch their interactions with one another. One of the groups behind us was switching between English and German when they were talking, and of course smoking like a freight train. They were very entertaining. Hanging out in the beer garden was one of my favorite things we did while in Germany. Maybe it was all of the beer and pretzels!
After we had too many liters of dunkel, we started walking back toward our hotel. We stopped in the Marienplatz and people watched a bit before stopping for a little gelato. Clearly, I was feeling much better than I was the day prior! My husband was shocked that I only got a single scoop and not a double. I told him I had to some what balance out the beer and pretzels!
We also found a gas station a few blocks from our hotel. We stopped and bought a few liters of water and more beer to take back to our hotel.
It was a pretty low key day, but it was perfect for us. We enjoy wandering around and taking in the city. I was also a little surprised that most of the shops close around 7:00-8:00 pm.
Here is a link for pictures and different details of our day! I will be back to write more, hopefully tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...unich-and.html
We woke up feeling refreshed after our long day the day prior. We got ready and made our way to find a good spot for breakfast and most importantly, coffee! My husband used Yelp to find a place that looked appealing to us, The Dallmayr. We arrived there and realized that the cafe was mostly locals, which we were okay with. Ken had the traditional Bavarian breakfast and I had bacon, eggs, and my new favorite, a croissant. I was pleased that his breakfast included a Bavarian pretzel. We really enjoyed our breakfast and enjoyed looking around the deli area at the base of the building. I ended up buying a few chocolate bars. Yummy!
After breakfast we wandered around a bit and decided to take the S-Bahn to Dachau to visit the concentration camp. The concentration camp was a must see for us and I am glad that we visited. It was a very easy trip from Munich. We did not take a guided tour of the camp and we did not get head phones either. We like to look around at our own pace. After we looked around the memorial, we decided to walk back to the train station instead of taking the bus.
It was a pretty easy walk and we found a grocery store to stop and buy a few bottles of water. We were also surprised to see a cigarette dispenser on the side of the walking path. Only in Europe! We enjoyed our walk around Dachau and quickly were back at the S-Bahn.
We arrived back in Munich and made our way to the Augustiner Beer Garden. It was quite chilly out, it was in the 50's, but we still sat in the outdoor area under heaters. I also liked that they have blankets outside for patrons to use. I am almost always cold, so it was a nice touch.
We enjoyed a few liters of beer and ordered an early dinner. Ken had a sausage plate and I had a schnitzel and noodles. It was delicious! We also enjoyed the pretzels that our waiter brought over. I think pretzels and croissants are both my new favorite things after this trip!
We enjoyed sitting there and listening to all of the locals. Many people were arriving for an after work drink and it was fun to listen to them and watch their interactions with one another. One of the groups behind us was switching between English and German when they were talking, and of course smoking like a freight train. They were very entertaining. Hanging out in the beer garden was one of my favorite things we did while in Germany. Maybe it was all of the beer and pretzels!
After we had too many liters of dunkel, we started walking back toward our hotel. We stopped in the Marienplatz and people watched a bit before stopping for a little gelato. Clearly, I was feeling much better than I was the day prior! My husband was shocked that I only got a single scoop and not a double. I told him I had to some what balance out the beer and pretzels!
We also found a gas station a few blocks from our hotel. We stopped and bought a few liters of water and more beer to take back to our hotel.
It was a pretty low key day, but it was perfect for us. We enjoy wandering around and taking in the city. I was also a little surprised that most of the shops close around 7:00-8:00 pm.
Here is a link for pictures and different details of our day! I will be back to write more, hopefully tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...unich-and.html
Jul 13th, 2014, 03:28 PM
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5/17
We woke up on Saturday and it was raining. It was not an issue though because we had already made plans to travel to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for a day trip. Luckily, we had brought umbrellas with us, so we stayed dry on our walk to the S-Bahn. Our travel time to get to Rothenburg ended up being just a little over 2 1/2 hours. It was fun watching the scenery of the German countryside.
We arrived in Rothenburg right around 11:00 am. The city was so quiet. We wandered around a bit and decided to stop for some lunch. We decided to stop at an Italian restaurant with some outside seating. I am a huge pasta lover, the Italian restaurant was a wonderful change after all of the German food!
After lunch (and wine!) we walked around to the little market area just outside the wall. The views of the hills were beautiful! We continued walking around taking in all of the cute little half-timbered houses and found our way to the most photographed house in Rothenburg. We snapped a few pictures and noticed that the streets were started to get a little more crowded. We found an area to climb up into the wall and walked around the city for a while. We finally decided it was time to stop for a schneeball. Quite honestly, that was one of the things I could not stop talking about!
The first bakery we walked into, we left right before ordering. I had noticed a bug crawling on one of the chocolate schneeballs and told my husband we should leave and find a different one. We went on to the next bakery and ordered an original one and a chocolate covered one. We sat outside and enjoyed our pastries and people watched. This is when things kind of started to get bad for us. After we left the bakery the city had become completely pack. Not just packed, packed with people that were not aware of themselves and would practically run you over. I had read that the city would become crowded after a certain point, but really had no idea how bad it would get. I guess I thought the other tourists would be polite like my husband and I are, but instead it was a lot of people that were completely unaware.
I wanted to stop at the Kathe Wolfart store to buy a Christmas ornament. My husband walked in with me and he quickly left to go back outside. That place was packed! I bought my few items and got out as fast as I could. I found Ken and asked him if he wanted to go ahead and walk back to the train station to go back to Munich. We agreed that was the best thing to do as we both were becoming irritated with the crowd. We got back to the train station and waited about five minutes before a train showed up. We felt like we made a good call. Rothenburg is something that I am very glad that we saw, but I cannot say that we will ever return.
We ended up having one minor issue with the trains. We misread one of the boards for arrivals instead of departures and missed one of the connecting trains. It ended up being no big deal, there was another one in 45 minutes. We walked around the little village and stopped for drinks at the train station. I thought I was buying a bottle of chardonnay, but it ended up being champagne. We had a good laugh out of that, but I ended up drinking the entire (small) bottle anyway.
We eventually got back to Munich and went into a few of the outdoor shops that are just outside the Marienplatz. We started to get hungry, so we went back to the Hofbrauhaus to see if we wanted to eat there. We walked in and decided it was just not our kind of place. I really felt like it was a dog and pony show for all the tourists. It was so crowded, loud, and hot, that we decided we would rather spend our last dinner in Munich some place quieter. We ended up at the same Augustiner restaurant where we at the first night.
We enjoyed our dunkels and ate a delicious dinner. After dinner we walked around a bit and took some photos of the city in the dark. It is sad to say that we had not been in the Marienplatz area at dark the last two nights, because we were so tired we were already back at our hotel! We snapped several pictures and made our way back to our hotel. Of course, we stopped for gelato on our way. We had an early train to catch the next morning to get to Switzerland and we were very excited about that part of trip to begin.
We really enjoyed Munich. It is a beautiful city and very clean. We would not hesitate to go back there again at some point.
Up next, we go to Lauterbrunnen Switzerland!
Here is a link for pictures and more stories:
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...othenburg.html
We woke up on Saturday and it was raining. It was not an issue though because we had already made plans to travel to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for a day trip. Luckily, we had brought umbrellas with us, so we stayed dry on our walk to the S-Bahn. Our travel time to get to Rothenburg ended up being just a little over 2 1/2 hours. It was fun watching the scenery of the German countryside.
We arrived in Rothenburg right around 11:00 am. The city was so quiet. We wandered around a bit and decided to stop for some lunch. We decided to stop at an Italian restaurant with some outside seating. I am a huge pasta lover, the Italian restaurant was a wonderful change after all of the German food!
After lunch (and wine!) we walked around to the little market area just outside the wall. The views of the hills were beautiful! We continued walking around taking in all of the cute little half-timbered houses and found our way to the most photographed house in Rothenburg. We snapped a few pictures and noticed that the streets were started to get a little more crowded. We found an area to climb up into the wall and walked around the city for a while. We finally decided it was time to stop for a schneeball. Quite honestly, that was one of the things I could not stop talking about!
The first bakery we walked into, we left right before ordering. I had noticed a bug crawling on one of the chocolate schneeballs and told my husband we should leave and find a different one. We went on to the next bakery and ordered an original one and a chocolate covered one. We sat outside and enjoyed our pastries and people watched. This is when things kind of started to get bad for us. After we left the bakery the city had become completely pack. Not just packed, packed with people that were not aware of themselves and would practically run you over. I had read that the city would become crowded after a certain point, but really had no idea how bad it would get. I guess I thought the other tourists would be polite like my husband and I are, but instead it was a lot of people that were completely unaware.
I wanted to stop at the Kathe Wolfart store to buy a Christmas ornament. My husband walked in with me and he quickly left to go back outside. That place was packed! I bought my few items and got out as fast as I could. I found Ken and asked him if he wanted to go ahead and walk back to the train station to go back to Munich. We agreed that was the best thing to do as we both were becoming irritated with the crowd. We got back to the train station and waited about five minutes before a train showed up. We felt like we made a good call. Rothenburg is something that I am very glad that we saw, but I cannot say that we will ever return.
We ended up having one minor issue with the trains. We misread one of the boards for arrivals instead of departures and missed one of the connecting trains. It ended up being no big deal, there was another one in 45 minutes. We walked around the little village and stopped for drinks at the train station. I thought I was buying a bottle of chardonnay, but it ended up being champagne. We had a good laugh out of that, but I ended up drinking the entire (small) bottle anyway.
We eventually got back to Munich and went into a few of the outdoor shops that are just outside the Marienplatz. We started to get hungry, so we went back to the Hofbrauhaus to see if we wanted to eat there. We walked in and decided it was just not our kind of place. I really felt like it was a dog and pony show for all the tourists. It was so crowded, loud, and hot, that we decided we would rather spend our last dinner in Munich some place quieter. We ended up at the same Augustiner restaurant where we at the first night.
We enjoyed our dunkels and ate a delicious dinner. After dinner we walked around a bit and took some photos of the city in the dark. It is sad to say that we had not been in the Marienplatz area at dark the last two nights, because we were so tired we were already back at our hotel! We snapped several pictures and made our way back to our hotel. Of course, we stopped for gelato on our way. We had an early train to catch the next morning to get to Switzerland and we were very excited about that part of trip to begin.
We really enjoyed Munich. It is a beautiful city and very clean. We would not hesitate to go back there again at some point.
Up next, we go to Lauterbrunnen Switzerland!
Here is a link for pictures and more stories:
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...othenburg.html
Jul 13th, 2014, 04:06 PM
#6
Ah yes, the crowds at Rothenburg...imagine how crowded it gets at Christmas! We were there for three nights the weekend before Christmas - the mornings were peaceful and quiet, I practically had the Kathe Wolfahrt store to myself.
The crowds grew as the tourist buses and locals arrived, getting progressively more busy and raucous as the gluhwein kicked in.
And then, the buses left, the markets and shops closed and the remaining mob joined the English speaking Nightwatchman tour, all was peaceful again.
Should you find yourself in Rothenburg again kerij, you might consider spending a night. You'll be amazed at the difference.
The crowds grew as the tourist buses and locals arrived, getting progressively more busy and raucous as the gluhwein kicked in.
And then, the buses left, the markets and shops closed and the remaining mob joined the English speaking Nightwatchman tour, all was peaceful again.
Should you find yourself in Rothenburg again kerij, you might consider spending a night. You'll be amazed at the difference.
Jul 14th, 2014, 06:09 PM
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Thanks Melnq8! I thought maybe since we were there in mid-May that maybe we would miss the crowds. I cannot imagine it at Christmas time, although, Christmas time is my absolute favorite. Maybe one of these days we will try it again and stay the night.
Jul 14th, 2014, 06:34 PM
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5/18
We had an early wake up call to check out of our hotel. I had reserved our "train" tickets before we left home and I kept telling Ken that we had to get to the main train station and then walk over to a different train station. Um, yeah, that would be the bus station. As in, I booked us bus tickets from Munich to Zurich. Oops.
We were a little nervous about it at first, but honestly, it worked out perfectly. There were only about 10 of us on the double decker bus and it had a bathroom. The funny thing is, I kept looking at our tickets and trying to find where it indicated bus, but could not find it. Ken grabbed them and found it right away, where it said BUS. We will call that one a blonde moment.
The ride from Munich to Zurich was gorgeous! We got to see the alps and nap a bit. It was about a four hour ride, which is similar to a drive from Kansas City to St. Louis, only much prettier than the truck stops along I-70.
We arrived at the main train station and went inside to buy our half fare cards and tickets to Lauterbrunnen. I asked for two half fare cards and two tickets to Lauterbrunnen. The cashier only asked for my passport, which should have been a red flag, but who am I to question? I asked for two. We hopped on the train to Berne and then from Berne we went to Interlaken. Each time, I gave the conductor our tickets and half fare cards. Once in Interlaken, we hopped on the final train to Lauterbrunnen. The conductor to our tickets and half fare cards and quickly alerted me that I only had one ticket and one half fare card.
We explained to him that we ordered two of each (the card and tickets both had 1/2 on them which I thought was one of two) but clearly only received one. He got upset with us, but we really had no idea. I instantly felt like a criminal. I am such a rule follower that I was hanging my head in shame. He told us it was fine today but not to try it again. We offered to pay, but he said just do not let it happen again.
We got to Lauterbrunnen and stepped out of the train station and our jaws dropped. It was just so beautiful, and here we thought Lake Tahoe was the most gorgeous place we had been too. We walked to Hotel Staubbach, which was about a half a mile away. We were able to check in early and were greeted with a bottle of champagne and a note congratulating us on our anniversary. We were pretty hungry, so we walked to Hotel Junfrau for lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the scenery and a few cocktails and enjoyed our lunch.
We walked around a bit and then decided we had time to do a short hike. I had researched a few shorter hikes before we left home and told my husband that I thought we should hike up to Wengen since it is only a short three miles. It seemed like a great easy hike to start with.
We started our hike up to Wengen and realized that it was literally straight up. It was in this moment that I am pretty sure Ken was tired of my peppiness and me saying that it will flatten out eventually. It was a gorgeous hike with gorgeous views and I had no idea that it was be peanuts compared to what we would see later in the week.
We ended up hiking a portion of the Jungfrau Marathon trail, which I thought was cool since I am a marathon runner. Ken was not all that impressed! Once we made it to Wengen, we discovered most everything was closed. We did find one little bar and stopped for our well deserved drinks. We talked to a local from Wengen and he told his that he could not believe we hiked up instead of taking the train and was telling us just how steep the trail is. We decided to take the train back down to save our knees for later in the week.
Once back in Lauterbrunnen we found a spot for dinner. After dinner, we walked over to Staubbach Falls and took a few pictures. We had wanted to stop by the co-op to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy on our balcony, but it was closed since it was Sunday. We ended up calling it an early night anxiously awaiting our first full day in Switzerland!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...itzerland.html
We had an early wake up call to check out of our hotel. I had reserved our "train" tickets before we left home and I kept telling Ken that we had to get to the main train station and then walk over to a different train station. Um, yeah, that would be the bus station. As in, I booked us bus tickets from Munich to Zurich. Oops.
We were a little nervous about it at first, but honestly, it worked out perfectly. There were only about 10 of us on the double decker bus and it had a bathroom. The funny thing is, I kept looking at our tickets and trying to find where it indicated bus, but could not find it. Ken grabbed them and found it right away, where it said BUS. We will call that one a blonde moment.
The ride from Munich to Zurich was gorgeous! We got to see the alps and nap a bit. It was about a four hour ride, which is similar to a drive from Kansas City to St. Louis, only much prettier than the truck stops along I-70.
We arrived at the main train station and went inside to buy our half fare cards and tickets to Lauterbrunnen. I asked for two half fare cards and two tickets to Lauterbrunnen. The cashier only asked for my passport, which should have been a red flag, but who am I to question? I asked for two. We hopped on the train to Berne and then from Berne we went to Interlaken. Each time, I gave the conductor our tickets and half fare cards. Once in Interlaken, we hopped on the final train to Lauterbrunnen. The conductor to our tickets and half fare cards and quickly alerted me that I only had one ticket and one half fare card.
We explained to him that we ordered two of each (the card and tickets both had 1/2 on them which I thought was one of two) but clearly only received one. He got upset with us, but we really had no idea. I instantly felt like a criminal. I am such a rule follower that I was hanging my head in shame. He told us it was fine today but not to try it again. We offered to pay, but he said just do not let it happen again.
We got to Lauterbrunnen and stepped out of the train station and our jaws dropped. It was just so beautiful, and here we thought Lake Tahoe was the most gorgeous place we had been too. We walked to Hotel Staubbach, which was about a half a mile away. We were able to check in early and were greeted with a bottle of champagne and a note congratulating us on our anniversary. We were pretty hungry, so we walked to Hotel Junfrau for lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the scenery and a few cocktails and enjoyed our lunch.
We walked around a bit and then decided we had time to do a short hike. I had researched a few shorter hikes before we left home and told my husband that I thought we should hike up to Wengen since it is only a short three miles. It seemed like a great easy hike to start with.
We started our hike up to Wengen and realized that it was literally straight up. It was in this moment that I am pretty sure Ken was tired of my peppiness and me saying that it will flatten out eventually. It was a gorgeous hike with gorgeous views and I had no idea that it was be peanuts compared to what we would see later in the week.
We ended up hiking a portion of the Jungfrau Marathon trail, which I thought was cool since I am a marathon runner. Ken was not all that impressed! Once we made it to Wengen, we discovered most everything was closed. We did find one little bar and stopped for our well deserved drinks. We talked to a local from Wengen and he told his that he could not believe we hiked up instead of taking the train and was telling us just how steep the trail is. We decided to take the train back down to save our knees for later in the week.
Once back in Lauterbrunnen we found a spot for dinner. After dinner, we walked over to Staubbach Falls and took a few pictures. We had wanted to stop by the co-op to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy on our balcony, but it was closed since it was Sunday. We ended up calling it an early night anxiously awaiting our first full day in Switzerland!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...itzerland.html
Jul 14th, 2014, 10:08 PM
#9
I had to laugh at your Half Fare Card debacle keriji. We made a similar mistake recently in Germany. We thought we'd clearly indicated that we wanted two return tickets to the Zugspitz. All went well until we tried to board the return cable car from the top, only to have our tickets rejected. Here we were at the top of Germany's highest mountain with the wrong tickets. Seems we were supposed to get off at an earlier stop.
The guy was busy, so he just waved us through.
It's funny now, but embarrassing at the time. Things happen, it's all part of what makes travel fun.
<<I thought we should hike up to Wengen since it is only a short three miles. It seemed like a great easy hike to start with.>>>
We've hiked Wengen to Lauterbrunnen and it was quite memorable - going down! That baby is steep - I won't be doing that again.
Looking forward to the rest of your Swiss adventures.
The guy was busy, so he just waved us through.
It's funny now, but embarrassing at the time. Things happen, it's all part of what makes travel fun.
<<I thought we should hike up to Wengen since it is only a short three miles. It seemed like a great easy hike to start with.>>>
We've hiked Wengen to Lauterbrunnen and it was quite memorable - going down! That baby is steep - I won't be doing that again.
Looking forward to the rest of your Swiss adventures.
Jul 16th, 2014, 06:24 PM
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5/19
We had a great night sleep and I woke up fairly early to go for a run before we started our day. I left the hotel and ended up running with the cows, literally. A cow was chasing me behind a fence while I was running down the road. It was priceless, only in Switzerland! I ended up stopping and taking a picture with the cow, who ended up getting kissed by the other cow. It was one of my favorite pictures ever.
After my run, we had breakfast at our hotel. Maria, one of the associates at Hotel Staubbach, stopped by and asked us what we had planned for the day. She told us we should take the cable car to Grutschalp and hike to Murren. From Murren, we could then hike to Gimmelwald and we could then hike back down to Lauterbrunnen. It was the perfect plan for us.
We rode the cable car, which was quite packed at 10:00 am. We got off and noticed that most people take the train to Murren. We were all alone on the trail to Murren. We were greeted with the most gorgeous scenery I have even seen in my life. It was a beautiful day and we were so grateful that we were out enjoying it. The hike to Murren is super easy and went by very quickly. We stopped in Murren and found a restaurant with a patio overlooking the valley where we could have a little lunch and drinks, of course.
We shared a pizza and enjoyed our cocktails. We left Murren and started the hike to Gimmelwald. We made it to Gimmelwald and found it to be absolutely adorable. We wandered around for a bit, which did not take too long and took some pictures. We found a farmer's barn where you can buy cheese on the honor system. We did just that and I was smiling from ear to ear knowing we had just bought Swiss cheese from a local farmer! We stopped at the Mountain Hostel for you guessed it, a few drinks and to eat our cheese. We sat out looking over the valley and just felt so grateful.
Finally it was time to carry on to make our way back to Lauterbrunnen. The hike down from Gimmelwald was quite steep. We came to a section with a bridge crossing and realized the bridge was under construction. Knowing how steep of a hike it was to get back up to Gimmelwald, Ken turned to me and told me that I needed to flirt with the construction workers so they would let us cross! He told me to bat my eyes, smile, do whatever it would take, that he was not hiking back up to Gimmelwald! Well, it turned out to be our lucky day, they could have cared less and did not even question us crossing on the bridge. That would not have happened in the USA.
We continued on the steep trail toward Stechelberg. We saw several waterfalls and, of course, took many pictures. It was like a post card at every turn. We finally made it down to Stechelberg where the trail flattened out. That was such a welcomed site after all the down hill hiking. Our knees were thanking us.
The pictures continued as we made our way toward Lauterbrunnen. Walking along and hearing the cow bells seemed like a dream. We could not believe we were really in Switzerland!
We got back to Lauterbrunnen and we were starving for dinner. We freshened up a bit and made our way to Hotel Oberland for dinner. I had fondue and Ken had rosti. It was so delicious! Hotel Oberland ended up being our favorite spot for dinner. We indulged in dessert as well, since we had such a productive day. We walked back to the hotel and sat on our balcony for a while and then called it a night. It was my favorite day of the entire trip. When I think of Switzerland, I will always remember this day.
Thanks for reading!
Pictures and more detail: http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...y-6murren.html
We had a great night sleep and I woke up fairly early to go for a run before we started our day. I left the hotel and ended up running with the cows, literally. A cow was chasing me behind a fence while I was running down the road. It was priceless, only in Switzerland! I ended up stopping and taking a picture with the cow, who ended up getting kissed by the other cow. It was one of my favorite pictures ever.
After my run, we had breakfast at our hotel. Maria, one of the associates at Hotel Staubbach, stopped by and asked us what we had planned for the day. She told us we should take the cable car to Grutschalp and hike to Murren. From Murren, we could then hike to Gimmelwald and we could then hike back down to Lauterbrunnen. It was the perfect plan for us.
We rode the cable car, which was quite packed at 10:00 am. We got off and noticed that most people take the train to Murren. We were all alone on the trail to Murren. We were greeted with the most gorgeous scenery I have even seen in my life. It was a beautiful day and we were so grateful that we were out enjoying it. The hike to Murren is super easy and went by very quickly. We stopped in Murren and found a restaurant with a patio overlooking the valley where we could have a little lunch and drinks, of course.
We shared a pizza and enjoyed our cocktails. We left Murren and started the hike to Gimmelwald. We made it to Gimmelwald and found it to be absolutely adorable. We wandered around for a bit, which did not take too long and took some pictures. We found a farmer's barn where you can buy cheese on the honor system. We did just that and I was smiling from ear to ear knowing we had just bought Swiss cheese from a local farmer! We stopped at the Mountain Hostel for you guessed it, a few drinks and to eat our cheese. We sat out looking over the valley and just felt so grateful.
Finally it was time to carry on to make our way back to Lauterbrunnen. The hike down from Gimmelwald was quite steep. We came to a section with a bridge crossing and realized the bridge was under construction. Knowing how steep of a hike it was to get back up to Gimmelwald, Ken turned to me and told me that I needed to flirt with the construction workers so they would let us cross! He told me to bat my eyes, smile, do whatever it would take, that he was not hiking back up to Gimmelwald! Well, it turned out to be our lucky day, they could have cared less and did not even question us crossing on the bridge. That would not have happened in the USA.
We continued on the steep trail toward Stechelberg. We saw several waterfalls and, of course, took many pictures. It was like a post card at every turn. We finally made it down to Stechelberg where the trail flattened out. That was such a welcomed site after all the down hill hiking. Our knees were thanking us.
The pictures continued as we made our way toward Lauterbrunnen. Walking along and hearing the cow bells seemed like a dream. We could not believe we were really in Switzerland!
We got back to Lauterbrunnen and we were starving for dinner. We freshened up a bit and made our way to Hotel Oberland for dinner. I had fondue and Ken had rosti. It was so delicious! Hotel Oberland ended up being our favorite spot for dinner. We indulged in dessert as well, since we had such a productive day. We walked back to the hotel and sat on our balcony for a while and then called it a night. It was my favorite day of the entire trip. When I think of Switzerland, I will always remember this day.
Thanks for reading!
Pictures and more detail: http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...y-6murren.html
Jul 17th, 2014, 05:49 PM
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Kerij, we're really enjoying your TR! Thanks for sharing so many details. We're leaving in mid-August for about 3 1/2 weeks in the Alps, including several days in Lauterbrunnen. We'll probably not be doing that ambitious climb to Wengen!!! However, we hope to enjoy a few of the other hikes. We can't wait to take in the dramatic beauty!
We, too, have had similar situations of "misunderstanding". It's entertaining while looking back, but not so funny at the time it happens. We ended up going to the local court in Engelberg, Switzerland, paying a fine for parking in a restricted area. That was very embarrassing. We thought we had read the signs and followed the color codes. Oh well. Chalk it up to travel experiences!
Happy to see that Melnq8 has been following along!
We, too, have had similar situations of "misunderstanding". It's entertaining while looking back, but not so funny at the time it happens. We ended up going to the local court in Engelberg, Switzerland, paying a fine for parking in a restricted area. That was very embarrassing. We thought we had read the signs and followed the color codes. Oh well. Chalk it up to travel experiences!
Happy to see that Melnq8 has been following along!
Jul 20th, 2014, 08:27 AM
#14
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5/20
We woke up on Tuesday and Ken did not feel to fabulous. It seemed that the was catching some sort of a cold. We went to breakfast and kind of took our time around the hotel. I told Ken that Tuesday had big shoes to fill after our wonderful day on Monday.
We debated and debated about where to spend our day. We really wanted to explore the other side of the valley, but we knew it was risky since there was still a lot of snow near Kleine Scheidegg. We decided on taking the cable car back to Grutschalp and to hike in the opposite direction of Murren, toward Sulwald.
The trail we hiked had much more of a Colorado feel to us with the trees. It was such a beautiful hike! Ken was not feeling well at all, but he started to feel better when he zipped the bottom of his hiking pants off into shorts. His mood also changed when we found a few patches of snow. He offered me 10 Francs to make a snow angel. Of course I stopped and made one.
There was area of the trail where we had to hold onto cables to walk the stone stairs down. It was not all that steep, but the drop off below made it a little scary. We survived and continued on our way.
Knowing that our options would be limited for food, we had stopped at the Co-op before leaving Lauterbrunnen so we could buy some snacks for lunch. We ended up with Pringles and a Swiss version of Goldfish crackers. The lunch everyone dreams of. We found the perfect spot for our little picnic and enjoyed our fancy lunch while taking in the gorgeous views. It was so relaxing that I could have napped there for a while.
We continued on and came to a sign that said lattes 10 minutes ahead. I was so excited and hand my fingers crossed that it would be open! We came around the corner and saw the hut at Sulwald was indeed open along with most gorgeous view of the week. The Alps were there in all their glory with a field of dandelions up in front.
Ken immediately told me to go roll around in the dandelions so that he could take a few pictures of me. I laughed. He was serious. So, I laid down and he took a few shots of me in the dandelions with the most gorgeous backdrop. I thought it was funny, but they turned out to be some of my favorite pictures from the entire trip. There were a few locals enjoying drinks on the patio and they were laughing. I am sure they thought it was my first time out in public, but when would I ever get to roll around in Swiss dandelions with the Alps behind me again?
We ordered our drinks and enjoyed them on the patio. The song "Ride my Pony" by Genuine came on and Ken and I both looked at each other while laugh hysterically. Out of all the American songs that could come on, it was that one. It was pretty funny. The owner of the hut came out and spoke to us a bit. She asked us where we were from and we told her Kansas. She asked us about the typhoons that hit our area, and we knew that she meant tornadoes. We were both impressed that she knew that about Kansas.
There was a cable car that we could have taken down, but we wanted to continue hiking. We left Sulwald and had to walk with the cows thru a field. As obsessed as I had been with the cows all week, I was actually nervous walking with them. They are just so huge and I was laughing nervously. Obviously, no cow attacks happened.
We kept walking toward Lauterbrunnen and finally came to an area with a paved path. Soon enough, we were back in Lauterbrunnen. We stopped at the Co-op and bought a bottle of wine, beer, and chocolate to have in our room. We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit and then made our way to an early dinner.
We ended up going to the pizza place by the train station and the name escapes me. We each had a delicious pizza and a few drinks. We walked back to Hotel Staubbach and took our drinks out to the cozy patio area that faces the valley. We had a balcony on our room, but the furniture on the patio was much more comfortable. We sat out there for quite some time just listening to the waterfalls and enjoying the fact that we were in Switzerland!
At one point we decided to go for a walk. We wandered all around and took many pictures. It was such a perfect evening. Since we had such an early dinner, I was wanting some dessert. We went back to Hotel Oberland and sat on the patio for dessert and of course more drinks. We ended up sitting next to a few expats from Australia and the USA and enjoyed listening to their stories about how to extend their Visas. They were also telling stories of paragliding and BASE jumping They were quite entertaining.
It was soon time to head back to the hotel after yet another wonderful day in Switzerland.
Thanks for reading!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...re-hiking.html
We woke up on Tuesday and Ken did not feel to fabulous. It seemed that the was catching some sort of a cold. We went to breakfast and kind of took our time around the hotel. I told Ken that Tuesday had big shoes to fill after our wonderful day on Monday.
We debated and debated about where to spend our day. We really wanted to explore the other side of the valley, but we knew it was risky since there was still a lot of snow near Kleine Scheidegg. We decided on taking the cable car back to Grutschalp and to hike in the opposite direction of Murren, toward Sulwald.
The trail we hiked had much more of a Colorado feel to us with the trees. It was such a beautiful hike! Ken was not feeling well at all, but he started to feel better when he zipped the bottom of his hiking pants off into shorts. His mood also changed when we found a few patches of snow. He offered me 10 Francs to make a snow angel. Of course I stopped and made one.
There was area of the trail where we had to hold onto cables to walk the stone stairs down. It was not all that steep, but the drop off below made it a little scary. We survived and continued on our way.
Knowing that our options would be limited for food, we had stopped at the Co-op before leaving Lauterbrunnen so we could buy some snacks for lunch. We ended up with Pringles and a Swiss version of Goldfish crackers. The lunch everyone dreams of. We found the perfect spot for our little picnic and enjoyed our fancy lunch while taking in the gorgeous views. It was so relaxing that I could have napped there for a while.
We continued on and came to a sign that said lattes 10 minutes ahead. I was so excited and hand my fingers crossed that it would be open! We came around the corner and saw the hut at Sulwald was indeed open along with most gorgeous view of the week. The Alps were there in all their glory with a field of dandelions up in front.
Ken immediately told me to go roll around in the dandelions so that he could take a few pictures of me. I laughed. He was serious. So, I laid down and he took a few shots of me in the dandelions with the most gorgeous backdrop. I thought it was funny, but they turned out to be some of my favorite pictures from the entire trip. There were a few locals enjoying drinks on the patio and they were laughing. I am sure they thought it was my first time out in public, but when would I ever get to roll around in Swiss dandelions with the Alps behind me again?
We ordered our drinks and enjoyed them on the patio. The song "Ride my Pony" by Genuine came on and Ken and I both looked at each other while laugh hysterically. Out of all the American songs that could come on, it was that one. It was pretty funny. The owner of the hut came out and spoke to us a bit. She asked us where we were from and we told her Kansas. She asked us about the typhoons that hit our area, and we knew that she meant tornadoes. We were both impressed that she knew that about Kansas.
There was a cable car that we could have taken down, but we wanted to continue hiking. We left Sulwald and had to walk with the cows thru a field. As obsessed as I had been with the cows all week, I was actually nervous walking with them. They are just so huge and I was laughing nervously. Obviously, no cow attacks happened.
We kept walking toward Lauterbrunnen and finally came to an area with a paved path. Soon enough, we were back in Lauterbrunnen. We stopped at the Co-op and bought a bottle of wine, beer, and chocolate to have in our room. We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit and then made our way to an early dinner.
We ended up going to the pizza place by the train station and the name escapes me. We each had a delicious pizza and a few drinks. We walked back to Hotel Staubbach and took our drinks out to the cozy patio area that faces the valley. We had a balcony on our room, but the furniture on the patio was much more comfortable. We sat out there for quite some time just listening to the waterfalls and enjoying the fact that we were in Switzerland!
At one point we decided to go for a walk. We wandered all around and took many pictures. It was such a perfect evening. Since we had such an early dinner, I was wanting some dessert. We went back to Hotel Oberland and sat on the patio for dessert and of course more drinks. We ended up sitting next to a few expats from Australia and the USA and enjoyed listening to their stories about how to extend their Visas. They were also telling stories of paragliding and BASE jumping They were quite entertaining.
It was soon time to head back to the hotel after yet another wonderful day in Switzerland.
Thanks for reading!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...re-hiking.html
Jul 24th, 2014, 06:53 PM
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Thanks for the kind words mokka4! We are super laid back and casual when we travel, the only way for us to be.
Tomarkot, you are going to love Lauterbrunnen! It is so gorgeous!
Melnq8, we seem to have very similar tastes!
Tomarkot, you are going to love Lauterbrunnen! It is so gorgeous!
Melnq8, we seem to have very similar tastes!
Jul 24th, 2014, 07:24 PM
#17
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5/21
We woke up and poor Ken felt worse. I felt so bad for him. We had tentatively planned to go white-water rafting in Interlaken, but I knew he was not feeling up to it. We went down for breakfast and talked to Maria at Hotel Staubbach about our plans for the day.
We really wanted to get to Kleine Scheidegg and were going to take a chance and just take the train up there. We looked at the web cam and saw all the snow and knew it was out. I was bummed because I really wanted to explore the other side of the valley. We decided Kleine Scheidegg was out for us, but that is just another reason to make our way back as soon as we can!
We decided that we would walk to Stechelberg, take the cable car to Murren, and the hike to Allmendhubel, hopefully stop in Allmendhubel for drinks, hike to Grutschalp and then take the cable car back to Lauterbrunnnen or hike bike to Lauterbrunnen. Our first stop was the Co-op for cold medicine for Ken. It turns out you cannot buy cold medicine from the Co-op and we were referred to the local doctor. We paid our 12 CHF for something that was made by Bayer and hoped Ken would feel better. We had slept in a bit, so we hoped that would help too.
On our walk to Stechelberg we saw a few BASE jumpers landing. Since we saw one jump from the platform earlier in the week, we really wanted to see one from the ground. We were in luck, we saw a few. It was pretty cool, but I still do not know how those guys do it. Craziness.
I took one of my favorite pictures of the trip on the way to Stechelberg. It really is a gorgeous walk. We made it to the cable car and were quickly greeted by a tour bus full of annoying tourists. It was not pretty. We were thankful we were not going to the Schilthorn.
The cable car to Murren was the steepest one we went on the whole week. We arrived in Murren and stopped in one of the shops to buy Ken a patch for his backpack and a few stickers for our beer fridge. We made our way to a restaurant for a little lunch and of course, drinks. After this trip, I am going to have a hard time hiking without being served wine half way thru.
After lunch we started our hike. If you ask Ken about this hike, he might tell you that I was trying to kill him. Let's just say the first few miles were not pretty. I am pretty sure Ken thought I was dragging him up to the Schilthorn on foot. I tried to be sympathetic (I am training for an Ironman, so I am in unusual great shape) with him being sick and all. I asked him for a picture and he put his hand on his hip, which is the first sign that he has had it with me.
I, of course, said my famous words of this has to flatten out eventually. Ken was not impressed. He wanted to turn around, but was too stubborn to do so. We kept on going and it did flatten out.
We finally made it to Allmendhubel and instead of being greeted with a hut for drinks, we were greeted with snow. It was a lot of snow, but it was not in a steep section so we motored on. I may have fallen and Ken may have laughed, considering it payback for me dragging him up all the hills.
We ran into a gentleman that was hiking from the other direction and we asked him if we could make it to Grutschalp. He advised that we would be fine. Ken was originally worried, but relieved to hear that we would be able to get to Grutschalp.
We hiked on and had a gorgeous view of the mountains. We got great pictures of the beautiful day. It was wonderful. I cannot think of this hike without smiling from ear to ear. We did encounter more snow and I fell again. You see, I am only 4'10 and Ken is 6'5. He can step in the snow easier than I can. All of my falling was pretty funny, but I must note that it was never in a dangerous area.
We saw the beginning of Staubbach Falls, which was pretty cool. We also saw many farmers rebuilding their fences. We were reminded that we would love to come and hike in July or August when the cows are in the mountains.
We finally made it to Grutschalp after many footsteps thru the snow. We decided that it was in our knees' best interest to take the cable car back instead of hiking. The hike from Grutschalp to Lauterbrunnen is pretty steep our we were not sure our knees could handle another decent.
After we made it back to Lauterbrunnen, we sat on our balcony at our hotel and enjoyed the view, along with a few cocktails. We decided that we wanted to go back to Hotel Oberland for dinner, since it was our last night in Lauterbrunnen. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed talking about our day.
After dinner, we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a few drinks on the patio in the comfy patio furniture. We enjoyed our last day and evening in Lauterbrunnen and were sad to be leaving, but excited to make it to Lucerne.
I will always look back at this day and smile and remember me falling in the snow in the Swiss Alps. I am glad I was able to make Ken laugh, even if he was not feeling his best.
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...urren-and.html
We woke up and poor Ken felt worse. I felt so bad for him. We had tentatively planned to go white-water rafting in Interlaken, but I knew he was not feeling up to it. We went down for breakfast and talked to Maria at Hotel Staubbach about our plans for the day.
We really wanted to get to Kleine Scheidegg and were going to take a chance and just take the train up there. We looked at the web cam and saw all the snow and knew it was out. I was bummed because I really wanted to explore the other side of the valley. We decided Kleine Scheidegg was out for us, but that is just another reason to make our way back as soon as we can!
We decided that we would walk to Stechelberg, take the cable car to Murren, and the hike to Allmendhubel, hopefully stop in Allmendhubel for drinks, hike to Grutschalp and then take the cable car back to Lauterbrunnnen or hike bike to Lauterbrunnen. Our first stop was the Co-op for cold medicine for Ken. It turns out you cannot buy cold medicine from the Co-op and we were referred to the local doctor. We paid our 12 CHF for something that was made by Bayer and hoped Ken would feel better. We had slept in a bit, so we hoped that would help too.
On our walk to Stechelberg we saw a few BASE jumpers landing. Since we saw one jump from the platform earlier in the week, we really wanted to see one from the ground. We were in luck, we saw a few. It was pretty cool, but I still do not know how those guys do it. Craziness.
I took one of my favorite pictures of the trip on the way to Stechelberg. It really is a gorgeous walk. We made it to the cable car and were quickly greeted by a tour bus full of annoying tourists. It was not pretty. We were thankful we were not going to the Schilthorn.
The cable car to Murren was the steepest one we went on the whole week. We arrived in Murren and stopped in one of the shops to buy Ken a patch for his backpack and a few stickers for our beer fridge. We made our way to a restaurant for a little lunch and of course, drinks. After this trip, I am going to have a hard time hiking without being served wine half way thru.
After lunch we started our hike. If you ask Ken about this hike, he might tell you that I was trying to kill him. Let's just say the first few miles were not pretty. I am pretty sure Ken thought I was dragging him up to the Schilthorn on foot. I tried to be sympathetic (I am training for an Ironman, so I am in unusual great shape) with him being sick and all. I asked him for a picture and he put his hand on his hip, which is the first sign that he has had it with me.
I, of course, said my famous words of this has to flatten out eventually. Ken was not impressed. He wanted to turn around, but was too stubborn to do so. We kept on going and it did flatten out.
We finally made it to Allmendhubel and instead of being greeted with a hut for drinks, we were greeted with snow. It was a lot of snow, but it was not in a steep section so we motored on. I may have fallen and Ken may have laughed, considering it payback for me dragging him up all the hills.
We ran into a gentleman that was hiking from the other direction and we asked him if we could make it to Grutschalp. He advised that we would be fine. Ken was originally worried, but relieved to hear that we would be able to get to Grutschalp.
We hiked on and had a gorgeous view of the mountains. We got great pictures of the beautiful day. It was wonderful. I cannot think of this hike without smiling from ear to ear. We did encounter more snow and I fell again. You see, I am only 4'10 and Ken is 6'5. He can step in the snow easier than I can. All of my falling was pretty funny, but I must note that it was never in a dangerous area.
We saw the beginning of Staubbach Falls, which was pretty cool. We also saw many farmers rebuilding their fences. We were reminded that we would love to come and hike in July or August when the cows are in the mountains.
We finally made it to Grutschalp after many footsteps thru the snow. We decided that it was in our knees' best interest to take the cable car back instead of hiking. The hike from Grutschalp to Lauterbrunnen is pretty steep our we were not sure our knees could handle another decent.
After we made it back to Lauterbrunnen, we sat on our balcony at our hotel and enjoyed the view, along with a few cocktails. We decided that we wanted to go back to Hotel Oberland for dinner, since it was our last night in Lauterbrunnen. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed talking about our day.
After dinner, we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a few drinks on the patio in the comfy patio furniture. We enjoyed our last day and evening in Lauterbrunnen and were sad to be leaving, but excited to make it to Lucerne.
I will always look back at this day and smile and remember me falling in the snow in the Swiss Alps. I am glad I was able to make Ken laugh, even if he was not feeling his best.
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...urren-and.html
Aug 4th, 2014, 09:48 AM
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5/22
We woke up some what early and started to pack our things. I left to go on a quick run to burn the beauty of Lauterbrunnen into my brain. I also wanted to see if my cow friends from earlier in the week would chase me again. Guess what, they did! I of course, took another photo with my cow friend and wished them well. I am an animal lover in case you cannot tell.
We had breakfast one last time at Hotel Staubbach and thanked Maria for all of her assistance during our week there. We checked out and made the walk to the train station. We were very sad to leave such a beautiful place, but were also excited to see Lucerne.
We ended up running into an issue when we bought our train tickets. I had asked for one ticket at full price and one ticket with my half fare card. It turns out, they gave us two at half off. This became an issue on the train and the conductor told us she would sell us the other half of my husband's ticket. We had depleted the majority of our Swiss Francs and the conductor was angry with us. She could not take a credit card and we finally agreed that she would take Euros. The whole thing was irritating because we were willing to pay for the appropriate fare from the get go, we just wanted to use my credit card to do so. It got resolved and we were fine to continue on to Lucerne.
The train ride to Lucerne was quite gorgeous and we saw several little villages that we would love to visit some day. With that being said, I know we will have a hard time traveling back to Switzerland and not going to Lauterbrunnen. It was that gorgeous and wonderful!
About 20 minutes before we pulled into the main station in Lucerne, Ken asked me if I had my car keys. As in, my car keys for my car at the Kansas City airport. I knew I did not have them, Ken had been keeping them in his bag. Well, it turns out, we left the keys at Hotel Staubbach. The only reason I did not panic too much is that I was 99% certain my spare keys were in my car. My car has a keypad on the door, which unlocks it. I text my friend that was watching our cats and asked her to look for my keys on my desk when she stopped by. If the keys were not on my desk, I knew they were in the car. Again, I was pretty certain, so we were able to enjoy our last day without worrying how we were going to get home from the airport at midnight. Jill did offer to pick us up should we not have my keys. What are friends for, right?
We got off the train and walked of to Hotel des Alpes which is located one block from the train station. We had a room with a balcony that overlooked the Chapel Bridge and the Alps. We dropped off our stuff and ventured out to find food and cocktails. We ended up sitting outside along the river at the microbrewery. We ordered pretzels that had meat and cheese on them like a sandwich. It was in that moment that I decided we should not go home and move to Switzerland. A pretzel with salami and cheese??? Could life get any better?
We sat outside for a few hours enjoying our wine and beer and people watching, not to mention the gorgeous view. One thing that we love to do is see how other people interact with one another. After our drinks, we went back to our hotel to relax for a while. We are very laid back when we travel, but all the hiking from the days prior started to catch up to us. Ken took a nap and I sat on our balcony with the iPad and got caught up on the news and read a few blogs that I like to read.
After relaxing, we set out to wander around the city. Lucerne was such a charming city! It seemed very Italian to both of us and we really liked it. We wandered around and did a little shopping. For dinner we ended up going to the Italian restaurant along the water. We enjoyed our pasta very much along with our wine. Our waiter had a different accent than others we had come in contact with. I asked him where he was from and he was from Berlin.
We walked around a little longer and ended up finding the Co-Op where we bought a bottle of wine and more chocolate. We made our way back to our room and sat on the balcony enjoying the wine. A storm was rolling in, and it was really cool to watch the clouds come in and cover the peaks.
After enjoying some wine, we walked back downstairs to wander around the city while the sun was setting. I may have also wanted to stop for dessert as well. We took several pictures of the Chapel Bridge and of the waterfront. We stopped by the brewery for one last beer and for apple strudel. It was such a wonderful last day!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...-9lucerne.html
5/23
We woke up and it was raining on our walk to the train station. We had a long day ahead of us to get back to Kansas City, but our travel day was without issue. We cannot wait until we have the opportunity to go back to Europe! We loved everything about our trip!
Thanks for reading!
We woke up some what early and started to pack our things. I left to go on a quick run to burn the beauty of Lauterbrunnen into my brain. I also wanted to see if my cow friends from earlier in the week would chase me again. Guess what, they did! I of course, took another photo with my cow friend and wished them well. I am an animal lover in case you cannot tell.
We had breakfast one last time at Hotel Staubbach and thanked Maria for all of her assistance during our week there. We checked out and made the walk to the train station. We were very sad to leave such a beautiful place, but were also excited to see Lucerne.
We ended up running into an issue when we bought our train tickets. I had asked for one ticket at full price and one ticket with my half fare card. It turns out, they gave us two at half off. This became an issue on the train and the conductor told us she would sell us the other half of my husband's ticket. We had depleted the majority of our Swiss Francs and the conductor was angry with us. She could not take a credit card and we finally agreed that she would take Euros. The whole thing was irritating because we were willing to pay for the appropriate fare from the get go, we just wanted to use my credit card to do so. It got resolved and we were fine to continue on to Lucerne.
The train ride to Lucerne was quite gorgeous and we saw several little villages that we would love to visit some day. With that being said, I know we will have a hard time traveling back to Switzerland and not going to Lauterbrunnen. It was that gorgeous and wonderful!
About 20 minutes before we pulled into the main station in Lucerne, Ken asked me if I had my car keys. As in, my car keys for my car at the Kansas City airport. I knew I did not have them, Ken had been keeping them in his bag. Well, it turns out, we left the keys at Hotel Staubbach. The only reason I did not panic too much is that I was 99% certain my spare keys were in my car. My car has a keypad on the door, which unlocks it. I text my friend that was watching our cats and asked her to look for my keys on my desk when she stopped by. If the keys were not on my desk, I knew they were in the car. Again, I was pretty certain, so we were able to enjoy our last day without worrying how we were going to get home from the airport at midnight. Jill did offer to pick us up should we not have my keys. What are friends for, right?
We got off the train and walked of to Hotel des Alpes which is located one block from the train station. We had a room with a balcony that overlooked the Chapel Bridge and the Alps. We dropped off our stuff and ventured out to find food and cocktails. We ended up sitting outside along the river at the microbrewery. We ordered pretzels that had meat and cheese on them like a sandwich. It was in that moment that I decided we should not go home and move to Switzerland. A pretzel with salami and cheese??? Could life get any better?
We sat outside for a few hours enjoying our wine and beer and people watching, not to mention the gorgeous view. One thing that we love to do is see how other people interact with one another. After our drinks, we went back to our hotel to relax for a while. We are very laid back when we travel, but all the hiking from the days prior started to catch up to us. Ken took a nap and I sat on our balcony with the iPad and got caught up on the news and read a few blogs that I like to read.
After relaxing, we set out to wander around the city. Lucerne was such a charming city! It seemed very Italian to both of us and we really liked it. We wandered around and did a little shopping. For dinner we ended up going to the Italian restaurant along the water. We enjoyed our pasta very much along with our wine. Our waiter had a different accent than others we had come in contact with. I asked him where he was from and he was from Berlin.
We walked around a little longer and ended up finding the Co-Op where we bought a bottle of wine and more chocolate. We made our way back to our room and sat on the balcony enjoying the wine. A storm was rolling in, and it was really cool to watch the clouds come in and cover the peaks.
After enjoying some wine, we walked back downstairs to wander around the city while the sun was setting. I may have also wanted to stop for dessert as well. We took several pictures of the Chapel Bridge and of the waterfront. We stopped by the brewery for one last beer and for apple strudel. It was such a wonderful last day!
http://girlgonerunning.blogspot.com/...-9lucerne.html
5/23
We woke up and it was raining on our walk to the train station. We had a long day ahead of us to get back to Kansas City, but our travel day was without issue. We cannot wait until we have the opportunity to go back to Europe! We loved everything about our trip!
Thanks for reading!
Aug 4th, 2014, 12:40 PM
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Thanks for stopping back to post Keri! I leave for my ?12th trip to Switzerland in 6 weeks! As much as I love the Berner Oberland, I keep "trying out" different corners of the country to experience something new. I haven't been disappointed! Although, Hotel des Alpes in Luzern was Totally Booked for my dates late September 
.
Your room view looks terrific
(jealous)!
.Your room view looks terrific
(jealous)!
