day hiking in Switzerland
 

After some intial research, it seems the Oberland area is a good base to stay for a week to relax and do day hikes for our family of 2 teenagers during next summer (07).

I am looking at Wengen because many trails seem to start there,and we can return daily to an accommodation in the evening.

Please advise whether my impression is correct.

Also would appreciate suggestions on accommodations for 4 of us- parents and teenagers, either modest hotel (2 rooms) or a self-catering, access to small kitchen, for example. We would choose comfort and location over style, glitz, etc.

I appreciate your help.

Hello okoshi,

You and your teens should love Switzerland. We took our girls (13 and 17) last summer and they (and we) can't wait to return. We'll be going in 2007 too.

I would say many hikes start near, rather than in, Wengen, but that's OK; if you are spending a week there you will take short train rides or lifts to reach different trails no matter where you stay. Wengen gives you very easy access to Kleine Scheidegg and the Mannlichen area for some wonderful walks.

I am sure others will speak up about hotel recommendations, but I came across this chalet with self-catering apartments in Wengen:
http://www.vrbo.com/63684

We haven't stayed there ourselves, but it seems attractive and well set up for a family. WE always prefer an apartment over two hotel rooms for our family. I was considering it myself, but we will probably split the week between Grindelwald and Mürren instead of staying in Wengen.

Hi Okoshi, are you the same Okoshi (your mother's maiden name) on Asia forum?

Wengen seems very popular on this board. If you stay in Wengen, obvious hiking trail is Mänlichen (accesible by gonadola) to Kleinescheidegg. That trail is easy and very popular. You will meet many Japanese hikers there. I stayed in Wengen once a long time ago. Also I stayed a few times in Mürren and other few times in Grindelwald. I cannot give you a first hand experience about accmodation with self-catering facility but if your are not set to stay in Wengen, do a search about Mountain Hostel in Grindelwald Grund. I think it has self catering facility. Also from GRW-Grund departs the gondolas to Mänlichen. Also from Grindelwald, First - Bachalpsee hiking trail is easy and popular. I loved it. I liked all three. Each has its own advantages. Also if you have enough time all are connected by railways + post bus (if you will be driving then that's ok too). How many days are you considering to stay?

Hi Kappa- how funny to run into you here !

I think the most we can stay is a week in Switzerland.

Enzian - may I ask why you have elected to split your time between Murren and Gindelwald instead of Wengen ? Perhaps I need to be enlightened.

I'd just like to add that I think there is a distinct advantage to staying at the lower elevations, instead of the peaks (like Muerren). If you get a rainy or foggy day, and thus would prefer to spend the day touring a town or city, or else would like to spend the day on a lake even if it's sunny, it is much easier to get there.

> a distinct advantage to staying at the lower elevations, instead of the peaks (like Muerren). If you get a rainy or foggy day, and thus would prefer to spend the day touring a town or city ..

Well, that's an advantage if the weather is bad.

If the weather is good, by staying in Mürren, you can watch Eiger and Mönch in beautiful sunset color like this photo ( well, I took it a bit too late though - 15 minutes before it was better). From Mürren Jungfrau is hidden behind.

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...fert050026.jpg

Kappa -do you have a preference of Murren or Grindelwald over Wengen ?

Hi Okoshi, yes, actually I have a slight preference of Grindelwald and Mürren over Wengen. Grindelwald because it has more to offer in a sence as a bigger village, Mürren as it is slightly more out of the way than Wengen that is on the main moutain railway. Depending on the mood, if I want a bigger village, I would go to Grindelwald. If I want more secluded area, I'd go to Mürren that seems to be a bit less crowdy. And I like the view from Mürren and Schilthorn better than from Wengen (or that from Grindelwad. But as I said each has it's own advantages. All has possibility to numeroud hiking trails, of course. Wengen and Mürren are car free. Grindelwald has a bit easier access by train (no change when you come from Interlaken)

I just saw a thread that should interest you. If you have not seen it yet, I recommend you to read through it.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...48&start=0

Hi okoshi -

We stayed in an apartment in Wengen called Chalet Forsthaus. The owners have a family apartment that might interest you. FYI - this particular apartment owner charges a cleaning fee and she rents by number of DAYS instead of number of nights. Just be sure you're clear on what you're booking so there are no problems later. Apartments in Wengen also charge a visitor's tax.

www.wengen-chalets.ch/

There are many good hikes near Wengen as well as near Murren and Lauterbrunnen. You can get from one to another via train easily enough and therefore make day trips to different areas without having to change hotels/apartments.

There's a nice walk that starts at Wengernalp (train stop right after Wengen) and leads back to Wengen via Wixi, Bigernalp, Mittlenalp and Allmend (well marked). You can then take the nature trail above Wengen and end your walk at the Mannlichen Luftseilbahn (cable car to Mannlichen) - very near the above mentioned chalet.

This is a nice walk with great views of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch. If you want a bit of an adventure, instead of returning to Wengen you can continue on to Upper Preech, Lower Preech and over the upper Trummelbach Falls, then back to Lauterbrunnen. This one is a killer. Take lots of water and hiking sticks really come in handy.

Okoshi I forgot say :

1. My preferences above are of course personal. And if I go to the BO area, I will not stay there for a week but 2-3 nights. Only I can do that more often than you would since I live in Geneva Switzerland. One(long) weekend I can pick Mürren, another weekend I can stay in Grindelwald. So actually if it's an option to split your week in 2 places, I might do Grindelwald for one and Mürren for another. Then again you might prefer staying in 1 place for the whole week. That sounds relaxing.

I have found Lauterbrunnen to be a better hiking base because it offers easier exits to other areas.

Wengen is a good area also. In any event, you must leave Wengen to take advantage of a wide variety of destinations.

From Wengen, you can take the train Kleine Scheidegg where more trails lead off into the terrain north of the Eiger, and the Jungfrau.

The Eiger North Wall trail has entry points at Eigergletscher and Alpiglenn.
From Alpiglenn, the route is up hill.
Going down from Eigergletscher can be a little dicey because some of the path is both steep and gritty, hence unstable at times underfoot.

I think it is a function of how long you are there and what you intend to do while you are there.

I rent an apartment in Lauterbrunnen that offers free parking if I have a car and easy access to the train station when I want to go to Wengen or Grindelwald or Interlaken.

I think you will be more satisfied in an apartment if you can find one with two bedrooms.

Thank you everybody for many thoughts and suggestions.

Is there a Hotel Eiger in both Grindelwald and Murren ?

Logistically Murren, Wengen, Grindelwald and Lauterbrennen appear to be so close to each other- getting around from one to the other should be simple ?

If you had an apartment for a week and wanted to shop for groceries, etc, which town would you say is the best ?

Yes, there's a Hotel Eiger in both Grindelwald and Murren. The one in Grindelwald has apartments - we rented one a few years back. It was okay, but wasn't much more than a room with a fridge and cooktop.

Grindelwald, Murren, Lauterbunnen and Wengen all have COOP grocery stores. They vary in size, but you can get the basics at any of them. Wengen also has a small store that sells fruit, veg, wine and other items.

Grindelwald is the biggest of the four villages, and therefore has more in the way of stores, restaurants, entertainment, etc.

Personally I like Murren and Wengen, but I don't have kids. The sleepy, quiet atmosphere of Murren and Wengen is a big draw for me, but with two teenagers, you might prefer Grindelwald. There's absolutely no nightlife in Murren and Wengen other than a few pubs.

Yes, all four villages are close to one another and it's relatively easy to get from one to the other, but it can be time consuming. It can also be expensive unless you have a train pass.

To give you an idea of what's involved, here's an excerpt from one of my Switzerland trip reports (winter time, so trains weren't running as often as in summer). Grindelwald-Wengen

We left Grindelwald and caught the 9:50 am train to Interlaken, and the 10:35 train to Lauterbrunnen. Actually, we stayed on the same train. The train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen is actually the same train, it just separates at Zweilutschinen. One end of the train heads to Grindelwald and the other heads to Lauterbrunnen. Each section is well marked at the Interlaken station and on the train itself, so it’s easy enough to figure out.

We could have gotten off the train when it separated at Zweilutschinen, then re-boarded it when it came back through, but we chose to just stay on the train instead. We just jumped off to make sure we were on the end headed to Lauterbrunnen once we arrived in Interlaken.

Once in Lauterbrunnen, we caught a train to Wengen.

Like I said, time consuming.

It's possible to get to Wengen from Grindelwald via the train to Kleine Schiedegg, but this is expensive, as it's part of the Jungfrau Railway.

You can also get from Grindelwald to Wengen via the train to Grindelwald-Grund, the gondola to the Mannlichen and then the Mannlichen down to Wengen. I seem to remember there being a walk involved somewhere between Grindelwald-Grund and the cableway, but can't swear to it.

BTW this particular gondola is the longest cableway in Europe. It covers 6.2 kilometers and takes about 30 minutes. This route isn't cheap, but discounts are available with certain train passes.

If you plan on basing yourself in one area and taking day trips, Lauterbrunnen would be a good choice. All trains go through Lauterbrunnen. Until it was closed, you could also get from Lauterbrunnen to Murren easily via funicular and train. You can still get there, but you have to take the cable car up from Steckelberg.

Okoshi -

Sorry for the long post - also, I was assuming you're traveling by train, which may not be the case.

Will the funnicular be resumed in the future ?

Will the funnicular be down all summer?

Wow, if this is the case, travel to Murren wil be very crowded this year.

Even in past years when that system was running, travel by the cable system just down the valley was crowded.

This might prevent me from traveling over to Murren this summer. I always enjoyed going to Gimmelwald having a coffee at Walter's place and then walking around the area's trails.

Bummer man :(

Okoshi, they are replacing it (found a ground too unstable for funicular track) with Mürren like gondola that is supposed to open already this winter.

Stechelberg-Mürrren route seems ok fo now. Just spoke with somody from the area. Maybe it would be hard a bit later. Gondola is ok but postbus between Lauternrunnen and Stechelberg runs only once every hour. If you depend on public tranportation, that infrequent postbus may be a bit inconvenient.

Okoshi---the funicular to Mürren is being replaced with a cablecar; it is scheduled to be in service by spring of 2007 so next summer should be no problem. Bobdownunder just posted a report on the "Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Murren" thread saying that getting to Mürren last week was not a problem; they saw longer queues waiting at Lauterbrunnen for the train up to Wengen---and some people getting left at the station to wait for the next train.

We divide the week between Grindelwald and Mürren because there are hikes I love starting in both places, and because I love the views from both villages so much the I can't decide between the two. But if I had to pick just one it would be Mürren because I like the car-free villages and being up high. On rainy days when we can't hike, we would just ride the cablecar down to the valley for other activities.

There is a long and lively discussion on the differences among the villages on that thread I mentioned; I don't know how to create a link to it but you could type it in the search box, or click on my name and scroll down to find it.

The short version is, Grindelwald is in a valley, looking up at peaks and glaciers. It is a larger, bustling village with cars and tour busses, more shops and restaurants, etc. Wengen and Mürren are both car-free villages perched high on benches above the Lauterbrunnen valley; the views are down into the valley and up at the Jungfrau and other peaks there. The Schilthorn, another famous peak, rises behind Mürren. A number of great hikes start from Mürren; fewer from Wengen but there you have good access to Kleine Scheidegg and nice walks.

Some people say that with kids you should stay in Grindelwald because there is more to do in the evening, but our teenagers love Mürren and don't go out on their own in the evening anyway. We had some great chess games in the evening on the large outdoor chessboard (with pawns 2' high and bishops, queens, etc. 3' high).

A fourth option, as Bob_Brown mentioned, is Lauterbrunnen, situated in the next vally over from Grindelwald, and with good access to everywhere. The views of cliffs and a waterfall are lovely, but only one trail, up the valley, actually originates there.

There are self-catering apartments available in all four towns, and wherever you stay you will likely travel to the other areas for hiking and sightseeing. On advantage of staying up in the high villages (Wengen or Mürren is that if you are traveling to another place for the day, you will be going against the flow of traffic, so you won't face large queues in either direction. This is something that Bobdownunder mentioned (they spent a week in Mürren).

Basically, they are all good options; you could consult a map and a hiking book (and the transport schedules at www.sbb.ch) for more guidance, and get some recommendations here for specific apartments. Hopefully that will make things clearer.

Hi okoshi2002,

I think it might help you decide if you knew the altitude & population of the villages, so here they are:

Wengen 1274m, pop 1,050
Muerren 1650m, pop 450
Grindelwald 1034m pop 3,733
Lauterbrunnen 797m pop 2,663

So this way you can get a more clear picture of these towns.

s

Hi Swandav2000

Thank you for more details about the altitude and population- interesting numbers.

Enzian

My vision of an ideal vacation is to have a quiet base with convenient access to amneiites. Staying in at night with the family after a day of vigorous hiking sounds perfect.

I haven't found that apartment in Murren bobdownunder describes at the sites he mentions .

So the funicular is being replaced ? Are there funiculars elsewhere in the area ? It seems so quaint- had really wanted to get on one at least once .

Hi again,

okoshi2002, I wonder if you're confusing a funicular with a cable car? A funicular is just a train (on special tracks) that runs up a very steep incline. It's neat but not really that special.

A cable car, of course, is where you're in a small metal case, dangling by a thread over a huge gorge or monstruous valley thousands of meters below you : )))

Lots of cable cars in the area --

s

Actually, a funicular is a "cable car" on tracks and wheels (Standseilbahn in German)---the cable pulls it up a very steep incline. The cable connects two cars, one going up, one going down, so there is no danger of either one slipping back (unless the cable breaks!)

I found a whole website for afficionados of funiculars:
http://www.funimag.com/suisse/Funimag-Suisse.htm
but it appears a little out of date because the one up to Mürren is still listed.

The Allmendhubel funicular going up from Mürren is still running; that is probably the closest one for okoshi.

But if it is old-fashioned and scenic railways you seek, there are also the cogwheel (rack and pinion) railways. A nice one nearby goes from Wilderswil up to Schynige Platte, for beautiful views back to the lakes and out the the peaks in the area.
http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/pho...tte-train.html
There is a famous Alpine garden up there, and hiking trails, including a very long one all the way back to the First gondola above Grindelwald. (One can of course walk this partway and return back to the train). However, this is a very popular excursion with tour groups, and the train can be very crowded!

Okoshi---there are two apartments on the website that bobdownunder mentioned; I don't which they had but you can see them both here:
http://www.holiday-rentals.com/Murre...fa/find.squery

Like most "by owner" rental apartments, they are only available by the week (so they won't do for us, but they might for you).

enzian just for the record, as I wrote, LTB-Cable car is supposed to open (they are hoping at least) in December for the ski season already.

Thanks, kappa---I knew it would be open "sometime" before next summer, and was too lazy to Google and find out exactly when. But it certainly makes sense they would have it up and running for the next ski season. I wonder if the tourist facilities in Mürren are suffering a bit this summer?

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