Dark Shadows! How appropriate. Some of the guests even looked like they came from that show.

It is creepy and musty but quite beautiful in its setting. They have an incredible whiskey selection in the lobby bar.

Reichenbach Falls off Lake Brienz also has an eerie feeling as it twas here that Sherlcok Holmes tangled with Prof Moriarity, with one falling into the roaring cascade to his presumed death. Near Meiringen, a nice town to include on a Lake Brienz boat ride (bus from Brienz or Geissbach Falls also I believe - we walked from Geissbach Falls to Meiringen - Meiringen gave its name to meringue, still a local delicacy.

When we stayed in Murren we stayed at Hotel Alpina. I wouldn't consider this 4/5 star or classy boutique...but it's got the best view you can imagine. The hotel actually sits on the very edge of the towering cliff. The staff there are wonderful and the hotel has a very nice Swiss feel to it. Just make sure you get a room on the valley side of the hotel. One note is all rooms are at least up one flight of stairs...up to 4 or 5 flights up. I don't recall seeing an elevator.

Murren is great if you just want to explore the immediate area but as a base for the Interlaken/Jungfrau Region in general it is rather isolated - having to spend up to an hour getting down to Lauterbrunnen just to connect with trains and gondolas to other places. But Murren's location is stunning, for sure!

Hi again,

Quick correction on the above post.

The trip from Mürren to Lauterbrunnen is only 20 minutes in one direction, not an hour. Mürren is somewhat isolated, but it's not a huge deal -- and your rewards are all your mornings and evenings looking at stupendous views!!

s

it can be IME longer than 20 mins, an optimal time if there are lines to board the cable car at Grustchalp (sp?) IME. Murren is too isolated IMO if your goal is to use it as a base for the great Jungfrau Region.

It DOES NOT take an hour to go from Murren to Lauterbrunnen via the Grutschalp Cable Car. It takes about 23 minutes. Even if there were lines to board the cable car (which I have never seen goin DOWN--and I was just there last week), add another 10 minutes for the cable car to go down and back. That is about 33 minutes, definitely not an hour.

But, I do agree that Murren is not as good as Wengen if your main objective is to visit the Jungfrau.

If I was going to the BO and my aim was just to visit the Jungfrau, I would stay in Wengen or Grindelwald as they are both one train stop away from Kleine Scheidegg.

If I wanted to shop, have multiple restaurant venues, and some sort of nightlife, I would stay in Interlaken.

Just my two pence,
Pippy--tschuss

Great conversation everyone, thanks! Can you recommend a good website with the local transportation options - train schedule, cable car access, etc... through BO?

Train schedules can be found at www.sbb.ch --Click on English option.
Input your homebase and destination with date to see travel options and prices for that trip.
www.berneroberland.ch has a wealth of information in GERMAN if you can read deutsch.
Otherwise, just do internet searches for specific lifts that you plan to use.
----bahn stands for that particular travel stretch ie: Jungfraubahn or Titlisbahn, and Fahrplan is the operating schedule.

www.bahn.de the German Railways web site has schedules for all of Europe and IME it is the easiest to use.