lovetotravel27

We will have 2 days to explore BOB, coming from Montreux by Golden Pass, staying in Lauterbrunnen (1/2 day + 1 day + 1/2 day). We love nature, but not BIG hikers due to a bad knee. We can walk for a long time (3-4h), just not up the hill.

How would you distribute this short time? What is a must to do that is time efficient?

How long would it take to go up Joungfrau, is it almost the whole day? Is Eiger as good, takes a little less time, maybe? What if it's not sunny in the morning? Shall we still do one of those? We have a France/ Switz-d pass. How much does it cost to go up Eiger?

Will we have time to take a boat on Thun? We are leaving around 2PM from Interlaken on the 3d day.

In case it rains, shall we go for a day to Bern or Luzern? We are not taking hiking boots.

Thanks a lot. I always get great advice on this board.

enzian

It doesn't need to take a whole day to go up the Jungfrau; half a day was plenty for us. It depends on how crowded it is, and how much you want to do there. We enjoy the ice cave with its carvings, and not too many people go in there. As for sunshine, our best time up there ws a cloudy day, where it was actually snowing (a blizzard) on top. There was an international group of kids playing in the snow, and ours had a lot of fun. But we had been up there before to see the view; if it's your first time up it's best on a sunny day when you can enjoy the view. But expect huge crowds.

I'm not sure what you mean by "is Eiger as good"; you actually go through the Eiger in a tunnel on the way to Jungfraujoch. You can see the base of the Eiger from Kleine Scheidegg (without paying for the expensive part of the trip all the way to the top of Jungfraujoch). But the hike on the Eiger trail would be too much for a bad knee. The hike out to Mannlichen along the ridgetop is a possibility for you, and you get great views of the mountains from there.

A good rainy day activity is to visit Trummelbach Falls and take the tour inside it. The walk up the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Stechelberg along the river is also very nice, and doable for bad knees.

nessundorma

Just for another perspective, I found the Trummelbach Falls quite boring. On a rainy day, I'd head to Bern. But I second the recommendation for a walk through the Latuernbraunnen Valley by the river is just fantastic and TOTALLY flat.

If you don't want to hike at all, you can keep taking cable cars until you get all the way up to the top of Piz Gloria.

If you would like a pretty walk in the mountains, get off the cable car in Murren and take the funicular up the side of the hill (it's right in the middle of town) and stroll around up there. Really lovely views and the Alpine meadows.

Enjoy your trip!

enzian

nessundorma--did you go inside the falls? Perhaps I misspoke in my recommendation then. I haven't actually been in there because I was leery about my claustrophobia. But the rest of the family went and really enjoyed it.

kopp

Hello lovetotravel27 - I took my mother into the Trummelbach Falls last summer. She has a bad arthritic knee, and she was able to slowly navigate all the steps (and there are many - I'm thinking a couple hundred). But it's quite a site indeed, the loud rushing water with the great photo spots along the way.

It was mentioned that you could take the funicular up to Murren. However, that is now closed as they are putting in a new tram or something. But you can still get to Murren (and then up to Piz Gloria, the Schilthorn) by tram on the other side of town. Once you are in Murren, you take the tram up to the Schilthorn. There would be very little walking for this excursion, and the views on a clear day are unbelievably beautiful at the top. Plus there's a lovely restaurant (Piz Gloria) that revolves while you're dining on Coupe Denmark! Gets no better than that.

The views of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau are outstanding when you take the Manlichen to Kleine Scheidegg walk (pretty flat, well trod, about 1-1/2 hrs depending on your speed).

If you're thinking of going up to the Jungfraujoch, many hotels (and the local TI's) have a television that shows the weather on top of the mountain. If it's all clouded in, don't bother. The price is pretty steep to get up there and have a whiteout (speaking from experience).

You can make an entire circle route without much walking at all, if you need to, by train, gondola, and tram. Just be sure to bring enough film in your camera!

Auf weidersehen!

BillJ

Dear lovetotravel27; My wife and I fondly recall our time in Muerren and make this recommendation. "Do" the Jungfrau trip no matter what. From Interlaken drive (or train?) up to Lauterbrunnen and start the train circuit up through Wengen then to Kleine Scheidegg where you will change trains to go to the top. When you return from the top, at Kleine Scheidegg, take the train down to Grindelwald. There is an easy walk down the hill to Grindelwald from Kleine, but that depends on your knee. We couldn't walk it either.
If you start early in the am, bet Grindelwald would be a great early lunch stop. A neat little town. Then train back over to Lauterbrunnen for a neat circular tour. It might take several hours depending on crowds, the earlier the better. But definately a "MUST DO" in our opinion.
For a half day, try the Schilthorn gondola up to the revolving tower. See this web sight.
http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/gui...and/muren.html
My wife said that if those were the only things she did while in the area, she would be very happy. This is one of the most favorite of all of the spots we've been to around the world.
Enjoy.

enzian

Kopp,

You are correct that the funicular up TO Mürren is closed, but I believe Nessundorma is referring the the Allmendhubel funicular that goes up FROM Mürren to a lovely little alp. A good choice for a half-day.

There is a great list (with descriptions and photos) of easy walks in the area, including from Allmendhubel, on the Gimmelwald website:
www.gimmelwald-news.ch

and click on "Activities".

Have a wonderful time, lovetotravel27.

taxatty

We've been up to the the Jungfraujoch twice, and enjoyed it much more when the weather was nice. Skiing on the top in summer was fun! Between the round trip train trip, ice caves, having lunch, and wandering around at the top, it does take several hours, and the trains can be very crowded. The Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike is very easy (barely a rise) and sneakers will do fine. On a nice day, take the train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, the lift from there to Mannlichen, and the hike from there to Kleine Scheidegg to pick up the Jungfraujoch train. This will collectively take most of a day (including the train back down to the bottom) but it's some of the best scenery and the best easy hike in the whole world.

If you have time, I do recommmend the Trummelbach Falls--once you go inside, it's cold and damp but a great set of caves with the water gushing through--bring a warm jacket and a hat for both this and the Jungfraujoch.

If the weather is really bad--Bern and Luzern are both worth a day of wandering--Bern is only an hour away train, Luzern is 2 hours or so (and the train ride there on the GoldenPass route is magnificent)--I do like Luzern more--see the threads here as to what both cities have to offer.

nessundorma

Yes, yes, thank you enzian. I was talking about the Allmendhubel funicular, whose name I never would have recalled in a million years.

If you take the gondolas up from the Lauterbrunnen valley floor, you first arrive in Gimmelwald, and from there you can take one to Murren. In the middle of Murren (an extremely small, flat town) you can take the Allmendhubel funicular and have gorgeous views and some moderate walks, and there are places to sit down.

Or, if you prefer, you can continue to take gondolas from Murren (2 more) until you reach Piz Gloria.

kopp, yes, I did go inside. What can I say? I preferred being outside, walking on the valley floor by the river, and seeing how the people lived and the cows.

kopp

enzian, thank you for that correction.

And nessundorma, my mistake in correcting you. I should have known better!

I just get so excited when I talk about Switzerland. I love it so much, especially this particular area. Makes me melt into a dream world.

Happy travels y'all!

ronkala

t

enzian

Dear Kopp,

All is forgiven--I love this place too, and love to talk and dream about it. We don't get to go this year, so I have to see who is going and help them plan.

Next year will be better.

suzInOhio

There are several hikes around Kleinne Scheidegg that do not require too much uphill or downhill. Just hike as far as is comfortable, and return to the town. We enjoyed this as much as the train trip to the top, taking each route for a short distance.

Only spend the extra $$$ to go the rest of the way to the Jungfraujoch station if it is clear and you want to spend lots.

Another good hike for bad knees is on a ridge along the Lauterbrunnen valley. Across the street from the train station is a funicular. Take it to the top, to Grutschalp, the get off and take the path across, through Murren, then down through Gimmelwald. You can take a gondola down to the valley, then either walk or take a bus back to Lauterbrunnen. We have also done this trip by bike - take it up the funicular and down by gondola. The view of the moutnains - the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau - from this route is spectacular.

cod

SuzInOhio, you can't do the Grutchalp trip this year. The funicular has been dismantled for repairs, so the only way to Murren now is by gondola from Stechelberg.But there is still a train from there to Grutchalp, so you can take that, and walk back to Murren if you want a walk.