Comments on trip to Switzerland
 

We just returned from a wonderful two weeks in Switzerland, and want to thank everyone here who took time to answer my pretrip questions.

This won't be a detailed report, but will certainly fill in gaps for anyone who may also have questions.

After arrival in Zurich, we spent 4 nights in Engelberg. This was a new area for us, and I appreciated not being engulfed in the large tour groups that we encounted later. Stayed at the very nice Hotel Catherin, where a new born black and white lamb and mom were a constant sight from our balcony. Amazed by the intricate inlaid woodwork through
out the Benedictine monastery in town.

Did several good hikes to Brunni and Lake Trubesee. Loved being surrounded by cowbell music. The most we encountered on our trip.

Chris--wish I knew we'd be passing through Stans so often on our trips into Lucerne and back. Would loved to have met up with you.

Spent the next 3 nights in Zermatt at Hotel Welschen, which was a great choice. All rooms were large with balconies overlooking the Matterhorn. Loved seeing the rosey glow of the mountain at 5:45 am each morning.

Did two relatively easy hikes here. One to Zmutt and the other from Blauhard to Riffelalp. One of my trip highlights was sitting on the deck at Fluealp enjoying coffee, apple kuchen and a magnificent view of the Matterhorn and area. In fact, stopping at the many mountain restaurants we encountered, was always a special treat.

The heat was starting to get intense at this point, but I was still surprised to learn that the Matterhorn was closed to climbing shortly after we left.

Something new for me was encountering the "bread machine" of hand washers at a small restaurant near Grunsee. Just insert your hands and you get first hot water, then soap, cold water and finally hot air to dry. Just one of many examples of the efficiency we observed throughout the country.

Our trip continued with 5 nights in Grindelwald at the Hotel Sonnenberg, which was up a very steep walkway. Even sans luggage, we found ourselves huffing our way up each trip. (By now, most of us had acclimented our sea level lungs and out of shape muscles to the vigors of Swiss hiking, but that hill remained a killer.)

Having visited this area before, and following Bob Brown's lead, I insisted that everyone had to experience First and Bachalpsee. We all went as far as the lake for lunch; some then returned to First, but others contined on to Bussalp. Last time we did this, we took the trail to the right towards Faulhorn, but this time I let others check the signs, and we went to the left. This was much tougher and took us through many rocks and along exposed ridges, but what a view! I'll always remember the feeling we had as we finally reached the top of the rock wall and looked over at a view that went on forever.

jmw--Thanks for your suggestion of Iseltwald. At the info center in Interlaken, I asked about it and was told it was really tiny and nothing to see. She suggested going to Thun instead. We thought, "Well, okay," but as we were walking towards the Thunersee, working our way through the crowds, we thought,"Why would we want to go to a place larger than Interlaken?" Only spent a brief two hours in Iseltwald between boats, but it felt very magical. I felt as though I was experiencing a Saturday afternoon with the Swiss people instead of the tourists. Just wish I'd been more prepared to get into that blue lake higher than knee level. Also think I'd preferred to have eaten at one of the places further away from the boat dock, but didn't realize that til it was too late.

Also did a gentle walk from Grutsalp to Gimmelwald, gondola down and walked back to Lauterbrunnen. A day well spent.

Last day, I definitely wanted to be out of the sun so took the gondola to Pfingsegg and walked for an hour towards Stieregg. Didn't make it all the way there, but did hear the glacier cracking in the heat. Imagine this may have been the one that broke off the day we left. Reversed our path, and continued down via Milchbach and grabbed the bus at Hotel Wetterhorn.

Not handling heat well, I died in Zurich the last day. Stayed at the Hotel Walhalla, which probably would have been okay if we could have closed the windows, but it was very noisy with them open.

As several of you assured me, the trains were very efficient and we had no problem getting seats together. Perhaps it was because of my inexperience 10 years ago, but I remember them to be much more crowded and panicked about finding seats.

A wonderful trip in a wonderful country!

Clousie,

Enjoyed reading your report. We will be staying in Lauterbrunnen for 3 nights in September, and would appreciate any input as to suggested day trips in the area. We like GENTLE walks, as my husband's knees aren't the best, and are hoping to see the highlights. If it's clear, we'd like to do the Schilthorn. I'd also like to see Grindlewald and First, as that seems to offer great views. Don't know how much time we'll have to do anything else, but we're very open to suggestions!

This isn't going to help much, but I'm almost certain there is a level walking path that begins in Lauterbrunnen and follows a river or stream. Sorry I don't remember the name of the river.

There is a level walking path by a rushing river in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. The Staubbach waterfalls are in full view all along the path. My husband and I went last summer and found the valley to be the most relaxing, breathtakingly beautiful spot around. In the days, we walked in the early a.m. when the temperature was brisk. During the hot afternoons, we toured via train and saw the sites, such as the touristy and crowded Grindlewald. Back near the leveled path in the evenings, cool again, we'd take a night walk watching the waterfalls all lit up. The sheep with their bells were a trip! We live in Chicago, so finding a spot with villages only reachable via cable car or walking paths was amazing! Even though we stayed cheaply, at the Hotel Staubbach (highly recommend for those who don't mind bare bones with awesome view). If walking uphill is a problem, I suggest taking the gondolas to villages like Murren, Wengen... Some of the paths do get moderately difficult to walk up, but there are so many shops and restaurants to see every step, that you can rest along the way.

Hagan

One of my fondest Christmas memories is walking through the magnificent Lauterbrunnen Valley on a warm and wonderful day with giant icecycles crashing to the valley floor reverberating throughout the valley.
It is an easy and gorgeous hike past the Staubbach and Trummelbach Falls (don't miss)to the cable car station where you can catch a bus back to Lauterbrunnen if you wish or the cable car up Murren.

My husband and I will be staying at the Chalet Abendrot in Grindelwald for a week in September and are looking forward to visiting our favorite places in the Bernese Oberland once again.

We wish you a delightful holiday.

Hagan:

As Douglas and Teachersue mentioned, the walk along the Weisse Lutschine River from Lauterbrunnen to Strechelberg is almost level and quite pretty. Trails in Switzerland are described by hours rather than distance, so I don't know how long it is, but it was rated at 1 1/4 hours. If you only want to go one way, there is a postal bus that can be taken in either direction. Trummelbachfalls are about halfway out on that route and worth seeing. I was disappointed that the Staubbachfall didn't have much of a flow, but perhaps that was due to low snow amounts last winter.

If you take the funnicular from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp, it's a very easy and level walk to Murren with amazing views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Again, if you don't walk to walk back, you can return to Grutschalp by train. Another alternative is to take a gondola to Gimmelwald and then another to Stechelberg. If the feeling of falling off of a cliff doesn't bother you, definitely stand in the front of the latter gondola as it descends over a rock cliff.

From First to Bachalpsee there are some hills, but most are fairly short. However, just the view from First is quite good.

Question to Bob Brown: After we returned from Pfingsegg, we had considered taking the bus to Grosse Scheidegg for the view, but the heat changed our minds. From the maps it appeared that there might be a good view from there and some gentle trails to just wander on for a short distance. Yes? No?

Not Bob Brown, but may I reply? Yes, gentle trails from Grosse Scheidegg, but I like the views from First more.

Thanks to all for your excellent suggestions! I'm printing them out to take along. TeacherSue, we started to make reservations at the Staubbach Hotel, but we were unsure if they had private baths, so opted instead for the Hotel Silberhorn. Glad you enjoyed it! Margielou, we'll be there from Sept. 8-11 - let's hope for clear blue skies! So sorry to hear the waterfall isn't in great form, but I'm sure we'll still think it's beautiful! If you have any other suggestions, e.g., good little places to eat, keep posting. Thanks.

Thank you, Clousie, for your report (more details later,perhaps?) and for beginning the good exchange about easy walks in the Oberland. Copied and pasted!

I'm beginning to think that all my future trips will have to be up into the mountains, if I'm to avoid the heat. Yes? Affectionately, J.

Thank you for the report, Colusie!

We did the hike from Pfingsegg to Stieregg last June. We left in the morning so the majority of the trail was in the shade. We laugh because our most expensive lunch of our trip was a "wrust" of some sort and a cold drink at Stieregg. While we were eating lunch, a piece of the glacier broke off and fell to the valley floor - everyone was so excited to witness the event.

Sorry not to reply sooner, but Ingo knows more than I do about many parts of that area, so you got a better answer. (I was out in Canada wandering around Lake O'Hara in BC.)

The stream that runs through Lauterbrunnen is the Weisse Lütschine.
The Schwartze Lütschine flows down from Grindelwald. The two meet at Zweilütschinen, where the train line branches with the south fork going to Lauterbrunnen and the east fork going to Grindelwald.

The views from Grosse Scheidegg are muted because the approaches are so gradual -- made so by Pleistocene glaciers the remnants of which we see in the heights. First gives a better angle on the giants of the Berner Oberland.
However, there is a trail from the hotel on the Grimsel Pass that leads to some awesome views as well.
You can do most of the climbing in your car.
I hear from my contact in Lauterbrunnen that it has indeed been ungodly hot.
I hope it cools off by the time I get there in September.

Bob Brown: Lucky, lucky you being able to spend time in both Switzerland and Lake O'Hara this year. Please tell us more about your trip to the latter spot (perhaps on the Canada board?) We thoroughly enjoyed the hiking we did there quite a few years ago and must return some time. Did you have other destinations in the Rockies?

Ingo and Bob: Thanks for the comments on Grosse Scheidegg. Due to the heat the afternoon we thought of going there, we cancelled and were concerned that we had really missed a great spot. Your comments have reassured us that we hit the winner wiht First-Bussalp.

ttt for pat2003

Margielou; We (2 adults, 3 kids 14,12,10) will be staying in Chalet Abendrot in January for 10 days. When you come back at the end of September, will you post a note about it, so as we know what to expect, please. I know where it is, but I have never been inside it, and would welcome your views/review. We have been in Grindelwald in the summer - you will have a lovely time.Good luck.

cod, you got caught in a time warp! Notice the date (year) of Margielou's post LOL!!

Certainly if she reads this she'll already be able to fill you in!

Having just returned from Grindelwald, however, I can tell you that the Chalet Abendrot looks very nice from the outside. We stayed in a chalet ourselves, but it was not that one.

I don't know where you booked from, but the grindelwald.com site has photos of many of the places, including yours. Perhaps that will give you some insight.

Happy travels!