Ah, schuler, now you've made my day! To gain your respect is a very good thing! I love reading your wonderfully detailed and intimate posts about living in your Swiss town -- the customs and habits and sights -- and most recently your posts on Christmas customs all over the country. No, you are the one who is the invaluable poster here. I hope one day to meet you and buy you a drink for thanks for all you've given us.

BTW, I'm planning to sell my condo this spring and move to Germany for good. And, hee hee hee, kiss my car goodbye!

s

Salü Swandav:

Abgemacht! Wishing you a smooth move to Germany.

Happy Halloween!

Danke! Jetzt ich lerne Deutsch. Ich moechte mit sie in Schweiz Deutsch sprechen --

s

Swandav, as I stated, my husband is very keen on photography (have you seen any of our travel albums on Webshots?), and it is important to him to be able to stop when he sees a photo op. This simply can't be done on a train, no matter how wonderful or efficient they are.

If he ever gets tired of taking his beautiful pictures, then we might give the trains a try.

Karens,
We stayed in the BO last year with two children. We also had a car (although we did use the trains within the region as well - search PRLCH and you will find my trip report). We stayed in an apartment rather than a hotel and opted for the valley rather than the car free villages. We loved the location and would do it again - see an extract of my trip report below.

Our home for the next 7 days was the delightful “Breithorn” apartment in Chalet Barli just outside Lauterbrunnen (http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/ind...operty/19719_1). The English owners, Wilf and Wendy Hume are a charming couple, always ready for a chat. The apartment only had one bedroom, but a sofabed and fold down bed in the living room worked really well for us. The kitchen was compact (one person in there at a time) but functional and very well equipped – right down to the fondue set complete with burner, instructions, recipes and where to buy the ingredients in the village! The apartment is set in the Lauterbrunnen valley in a tradtional Swiss Chalet. Looking out of the side windows one looks at the towering cliffs that form the valley – a wonderful view and amazing feeling. The view from the front windows shows the snow capped mountains – perfect! People had recommended we stay in the car free villages higher up but we found the valley to be a magical place. Car parking right beside the chalet made using the car very easy too. It was an ideal base to visit the Junfrau region and we would not hesitate to stay there again! On a couple of occasions we returned from a long day sightseeing to find a bowl of freshly picked strawberries left for us by Wilf and Wendy – they grow their own and were happy to share. The girls also loved going with Wendy to feed or play with their kid goats – a real Heidi experience!

karens--Just a thought about cars in the BO. Husband and I did a car trip through Switzerland last year and stayed 3 days in Lauterbrunnen at Hotel Staubbach. It was at the end of the village with wonderful views of the valley. It was so convenient to drive up to the hotel, park for free, and unload your luggage right into the hotel. From Lauterbrunnen you can go anywhere after that. Now whether they have rooms for 4, I don't know. I know that kids have alot of stuff with them so maybe taking it on a train is not so convenient.

Hi Karens, we did BO this August with our 2 boys, 18 and 13. Drove from Bellagio to Grindelwald. It was cheaper and more comfy as a family of 4 to drive rather than train.

After much research we opted for Grindelwald and have no regrets. I would choose this village again.

Stayed at Residence Grindelwald. accomodation was 2 bedroom 2 bathroom suite , with a kitchen. Breakfast included.I have a review on Tripadvisor. Mr. Rentsch the manager and all staff were awesome. View from our balcony was of the Eiger. Just spectacular. Free parking. Walkable to train station, restaurants and supermarket, bakery nearby. Gondola to First literally around the corner. Close to Gondola to Mannlichen.

We opted for Grindelwald as we felt that if we had a rainy day it had an indoor pool and would at least offer something for the teens in addition to being able to drive to see Trummelbach Falls.

We did the walk from KS to Wengen, loved Wengen, but at night it would have been too quiet for our kids.

Lauterbrunnen is also a quaint town, nestled in a valley. I found it ok for a look see but would not opt to stay there. I felt a bit claustrophobic, just mo.

The Jungfrau was expensive , but one of those once in a lifetime experiences I would do it.

We do hope to do BO again and our choice next time would be same hotel, same town. We loved it. Wherever you stay I am sure you will have a wonderful trip.

Hi all. I have priced the Alpenrose and for our family of 4, it will be $500/night.

Another more reasonable options in Wengen anyone can recommend?

Thanks, k.

Shhhh---Karens---just for you: try the Bären. For our family of 5, it was much less expensive than the Alpenrose. They have a family room on the top (2d) floor which is great---2 separate rooms with a bathroom between. The one drawback is that neither room has a balcony, which I really enjoy. If that is important, you could ask about 2 double rooms (with balcony) on the first floor (first European style, which it the second floor as Americans designate). Or they have a separate chalet/apartment, the 'Kleiner Bär' (Little Bear). This was not available last summer due to roof repairs. It should be in 2008.

The food there is wonderful.

You could also try the Edelweiss, which is very moderately-priced and family-oriented.

Karens,

Might want to check out vacation apartments as an alternative to a hotel. See this apartment in Wengen at Interhome.com which is $837 per week.

http://www.interhome.us/ObjectDetail...e=CH3823.110.1

PS: Interhome.com has many more options in other villages; especially in Grindelwald.

We stayed in this apartment (the one bedroom) overlooking Grindelwald. If you have a car, it is ideal. They have a two bedroom which we looked at that was really nice. There's a place just down the bottom of the hill to get your provisions, fresh baked goods, etc. I highly recommend it especially since you will have a car. We spent a week there.

http://www.grindelwald.com/index-en....assification=5 ((b))

enzian- thanks so much!! I just confirmed our reservation there this morning.

BoBin and Budman - thanks also for your insights. We are not going to be in the BO for a whole week, so that's why I didn't consider an apt.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions.

I am really looking forward to our trip! (Only 6 months to go....)

If you do the math, sometimes renting an apartment for a week and only staying for 4-5 days would still be way less expensive than what the hotel charges. Just a thought. Worked for me on several occasions. ((b))

Yes, the trains are wonderful in Switzerland and fun every now and then. However: having said that...(and there ARE train people and car people),,,We think the car with a family is the ONLY way. We did it with children, and now retired we rent a car for the two of us.
YOu can stop in small villages, walk the streets with the kids, get a snack. When one arrives at a train station you have with walk, with luggage, to where you are going (or taxi), ...it's just not practical.
Yes, karens, you seem to be doing the best thing in choosing to rent a car.
Lauterbrunnen is interesting, but really a hub for getting the cog train to Wengen, the funicular to Murren etc.(the car park at the station is very convenient) You could base there and take day trips to these towns.
You'll really only be a few minutes to Interlachen if you'd want to base there. We spent a night in Grindelwald....and lovely, interesting town.
Learning that you will be going to Munich, Salzburg (LOVE IT), etc the convenience of the car will be wonderful. Sounds like you will be flying into Munich and picking up the car when you leave there to go to Salzburg. (a beautiful drive).
What ever you do, it will be a fabulous trip....(though July will be fairly crowded of course).

Hi Karens,

Lauterbrunnen is one of our favourite places in Europe. We have been there 3 times and are returning this year in June. Each time we have travelled with our two sons and we have stayed at Camping Jungfrau, a fantastic, well-equipped camping ground at the end of the village. They rent out cabins which are great for a family. Our boys will be 15 & 13 this visit. It is very easy walking distance from the campsite to the village, and the campsite has it's own mini-supermarket as well as a cafe/restaurant and bar.

We have always had a car for our European travels, however we tend not to use it when we get to Lauterbrunnen, using the trains instead.

We have visited Wengen, Grindlewald and Murren - all lovely little villages, as well as the Jungfrau and Schilthorn.

You can look up more info about Camping Jungfrau at http://www.campingjungfrau.ch/

Enjoy your stay in this beautiful region - I certainly can't wait to return this year.