First Dinner in Grindelwald
 

Hi - looking for suggestions for a dinner in Grindelwald, Switzerland. We are staying at the Hotel Belvedere. We didn't get half board with our hotel, only breakfasts, but we hear the dinner is good there too. But we are looking for other suggestions - perhaps a good fondue place? It will be our first night in Europe.

Also, we get into Grindelwald about 5 p.m. on May 16th. Will there be anything we can "do" that night as far as sightseeing? We only have one full day Thursday and then the morning on Friday in the BO, so we want to make the most of our time.

Hi jenblase,

Two pieces of maybe-bad news --

Not sure you'll have a lot of daylight after 5 pm in the middle of May. I was going to suggest you sway over to Wengen to see the village and have dinner, but I'm not sure how much light you'll have. Maybe you can find a site that lists daylight hours.

Second, you *may* have trouble finding fondue in mid-May. Fondue is considered a winter dish and, outside of Gruyeres, is hard to find year-round. Maybe you'll find some if May is cold-ish.

Good luck!

s

What about Raclette - same thing, won't be able to find it?

Yes, probably. Raclette is offered much less frequently, so I would assume it drops off even more as the weather warms.

s

Dang, I just want some melted cheese! :)

Oh, I do SO know what you mean. I was travelling solo in Wengen in January and tried TRIED T R I E D to get some fondue but couldn't. They simply wouldn't sell it to a single diner, even when I told them I'd pay for two portions (a single portion will burn in the pot). I must have tried four or five restaurants. I had a bad jones for that melted cheese! Finally just had to settle for gruyere sandwiches. shucks!!

Good luck!

s

Swandav must be getting confused with his months, because you will have a good bit of daylight left in mid-May in Switzerland, even in the mountains. May is one of the longest light months there is, June being really the longest. Take a look at sunrisesunset.com for timings. The sun won’t set until almost 9 pm and it will be light until close to 10 pm. Even in the mountains. Assuming the sun is out (see below), it may go behind the mountains by 7:30 or so, but it will still be quite light.

I agree that fondue is primarily a winter food, but the mountains are one place you can find it in the spring and summer months, and esp in the tourist areas like the Jungfrau. I have had in Wengen in June. I don’t think you would have trouble finding it, but you also could have racelette as well. If you want to go up to Wengen, I know you would find it at the Hotel Eiger (http://www.eiger-wengen.ch/) but you might want to make a reservation. You also should check to see that the Eiger is open, as many hotels in the mountains close from early April until early June.

I will say that May is not generally a great month weather-wise for the mountains, and while it may be light, there is a very good chance it will be foggy.

Swandav, love the story about the fondue for one. That is the Swiss and their rules. That is why I am glad to be living back in Asia where there are no rules.....organization can be carried too far sometimes.

We had several great meals in Memory Bistro in the Hotel Eiger. My favorite was the Rosti made with smoked Grindelwald sausage.

http://www.eiger-grindelwald.ch/content-n59-sE.html ((b))

Hello jenblase,

The Hotel Derby is adjacent to the train station. We've eaten there a number of times. If you go there, be sure to say hello to Paolo from his friends in Texas!

In the lower floor of the hotel restaurant is a fondue bar!

There isn't a whole lot to do in Grindelwald at night, other than roam the lovely street, perhaps do some shopping if the stores stay open.

But to give you a small glimpse of how high you can go by train, you should check out the 3 lights waaay up on the mountain at night. This is the route you will take to the Jungfraujoch. Awesome!

And don't forget to try the apple strudel with vanilla sauce - OMG, so yummy!

Auf weidersehen!

You'll have plenty of daylight in May, plenty, after 5:00. Right now the sun isn't setting until nearly 7:00 at night and May is one of the longest daylight months, as someone else pointed out.

Also, you will have no problem finding a fondue in Grindelwald. I've eaten one in Grimentz in August. Raclette is a specialty of Valais so you might not find that there, but fondue is pretty much eaten throughout all of Switzerland nowadays.

Is there any meat served with fondue or raclette?

I know Switzerland is expensive but I couldn't see paying $40 and up for cheese, bread and veggies.

Rosti is like a stew or soup with potato?

I didn't see too many menus with just good old steak from that expensive Swiss beef.

When we go out for fondue or make it at home we always have viande sechée (dried beef) that comes with little pickles and onions first. Rosti is hash browns basically, not stew at all.

Our cows are milking cows, not eating cows so you won't find a good steak here. You have to go to France for a steak from their Charolais cows for that.

My husband and I stayed in Grindelwald when we walked from Meiringen to God knows where on a 6 day Alpine Pass Route hike. We ate at our hotel, can't remember what we had, just that it was delicious. My husband always orders the plat du jour when we go out because it's guaranteed that the food will be freshly bought that day, it's not something that is always on the menu and sitting waiting for you in a freezer.

scrb, you will find plenty of meat in Switzerland. Veal and venison are very popular, and let’s not forget the bratwurst (primarily made from veal, not pork). Then there is all the air cured beef. I agree you may not see a lot of steak, but will find plenty of kinds and cuts of meat on the menu. I think you will find fondue more in the US$20-25 range (and as Swandav knows, that is for 2 at least). A burger, fries and a coke will run you about US$14 at McDonalds, so just bear that in mind when looking at menu prices....

And if worse come to worse, you can find one portion size fondue pots at Migros or Coop and warm it up in a microwave. They aren't too bad!

Hey guys,

Quite happy to find my doomsday predictions wrong!!

As you know, I qualified my responses a lot: "not sure" about the sunset and "*may*" about the fondue (and I suggested the op check the sunset times on one of those sites which Cicerone provided). So my post was not definitive at all -- more like some musings.

You know, I've been disappointed sometimes in travel, and I was trying to help the op get prepared lest s/he be disappointed.

s

Hi there scrb,

Rosti is not a stew or a soup. It is potatoes, grated, sort of like hash browns in the U.S. but soooo much better! They are served with many different types of meals: chicken, meat, bratwurst, etc. Also can be topped with an egg or ham, bacon, cheese, just about anything. But think of them as Swiss hash browns.

For a bowl of something hot, be sure to try the goulaschsuppe (sp?). Loaded with meat and potatoes, it's very hearty, great after a hike to warm the tummy!

Another traditional food is -- and I'll be blasted for my spelling on this -- geschelschnetz (just try to pronounce it, let alone spell it, lol!). Made with veal slices and a cream sauce, served with noodles. Oh my heavens, this is a delight!

All this food talk before I've even had breakfast. Think I'll make some rosti!

jenblase, my husband and I traveled to Grindelwald in August last summer and found plenty of Fondue. We had it almost daily. Have fun .. Grindelwald is a beautiful place!

Thank you all for your responses. I think we'll try out the Memory Bistro the first night since we won't get to Grindelwald til later and will want to check out our hotel room first. :)

Onkle Tom's Hütte has wonderful pizza (thin crust, as I recall) and a nice selection of salads.