My husband and I and our three boys (ages 17, 15,and 9) are scheduled to leave Friday for Europe and will be in Grindelwald on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week. The forecast for each day calls for showers. I am so disappointed, as we wanted our boys to see the beautiful mountains and were looking forward to hiking some of the great trails recommended to me on this forum.

I am hoping the forecast changes, but if it doesn't, does anyone have any great recommendations? We will have train passes and thus could do a day trip. Thanks!!

Fingers cross, it probably won't rain all day long. Bring ponchos and wear shoes that don't slip easily. You should still be able to do some hiking.

I was in the Salzburg area two weeks ago and had the same weather...when the sun peaked out, we celebrated and took pictures. When it rained, we just walked around with rainjackets and enjoyed what we could see. And when it really poured (we had a few cloudbursts), we ducked inside a cafe for pastries and wrote postcards.

Good advice from BTilke IMO..be prepared for less-than-optimal weather where you ARE. It would be a shame to take a day trip only to arrive and find out it was raining there also.

We had the same forecast for our trip last month to Switzerland and Lake Como. Mostly we had gray, overcast skies, but very little rain. I used my umbrella once for five minutes. Stay optimistic.

We spent a week in Grindelwald the last week in May and the weather called for rain and the mid-50's almost every day. When we got there, it was in the upper 60's, a mix of sun and clouds, and we only got a little drizzle one afternoon.

There's also a sports center there for indoor activities. You can even take up curling.

If you have rain, just remember, there's never bad weather, only bad cloths.

Enjoy Grindelwald and the surrounding areas!!

Hopefully "showers" in the forecast there means the same as it does here in Seattle---occasional light rain. But if it rains and rains, do as Budman suggests and put on your raingear and have a good time anyway.

Trummelbach Falls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley is a good rainy-day activity, since you might get wet in there anyway. Also, the walk along the river from Lauterbrunnen up to Stechelberg is lovely in the rain (been there, done that!)

And I am definitely in the minority on this one, but I prefer the Jungfraujoch on a rainy day. No views, but rain turns to snow at the top. Our teenage kids loved snow-sliding on saucers with an international bunch of kids. WE didn't hike out to the Mönschsjoch Hütte because we didn't have warm enough clothes, but had we been prepared that would hve been a great time to do that (so long as the visibility is good at ground level). And everything inside is much less crowded.

Good advice from everybody. Right now we are going through a heatwave and it's GREAT!

I thought it was to stay around for awhile. Let's hope so.

Digbydog:

Swiss TV predicts thunderstorms for the week end with better weather from Monday (scattered clouds; upper 70s in the plain).

I think you will be fine.

Enjoy your trip

Phil

If the rains insist on coming, I have a few suggestions, provided you have rain gear.

Trommelbach Falls in the Lauterbrunnen valley are worth the trip. You can take the train to Lauterbrunnen and ride the Post Bus to the falls.

Or, if you have a car there is some parking around the entrance.

The Museum of Swiss Life, an open air collection of Swiss farm buildings, is near Brienz at a location called Ballenberg. I think you would enjoy it more on a clear day, but it the day is cloudy with light showers occasionally, it would be fine, provided you had an umbrella.

If the predicted rain is too heavy for Ballenberg, a trip to Luzern might be rewarding. The transportation museum there is very, very good. The old town part of Luzern is picturesque as well.

Again, if you have a car, there is a cheese making demonstration shop near the village of Affoltern near Bern.
We went one year on just such a day and stumbled into a cow judging contest.

Brienz is known for its woodcarvers, and their shops are interesting to visit.
Meiringen has a small Sherlock Holmes Museum. Small? Miniscule might be better.

The Falls of the Reichenbach are near Meiringen. This early in the year I think they will have quite a bit of water in them. If you recall some of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson described Holmes as ostensibly plunging to his death in that churning cauldron.
Of course, Doyle has to ressurect Holmes a little later.



Other than that, I must admit that rain and the Alps are not a good combination.
Having been there and done that, I can sympathize with you.

REI sells raincoats that fold up into a very small bag. They are more comfortable than ponchos.

Our first day in the Grindelwald area, it was quite overcast, but we enjoyed hiking and seeing the cattle and the wild flowers. When the clouds cleared the next day, we couldn't believe the stunning mountain views that we hadn't been able to see the first time around.

Thanks everyone for your positive replies! I am still hoping weather.com is wrong. I have been to this area before, and I just want my kids to get a glimpse of the stunning views. Thanks for the suggestions. I've been to Lucerne before, but not Berne. Does anyone know whether it's worth a visit?

Bern on a rainy day might be worth a trip. Otherwise, depends on what you like to look at. It is a small capital city.
I think I enjoyed driving around housing areas seeing how the people lived more than seeing the downtown part. The bear pit is sort of a grubby hole in my opinion.

I think Lausanne is a prettier city, but it takes a little longer to get there.

Oh Digbydog, I hear you! I am not usually a weather dependent person when I travel, but I have to say I am a bit concerned for the weather this week in the Berner Oberland. We will land in Zurich on Saturday morning and will spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights in Wengen, leaving early Tuesday morning. None of the 4 of us (me, DH, and 2 boys 12 and 15) has ever been to this area and I am so hoping for some hiking and views!

Let's hope for the best! Happy travels!

Good luck to you Fun! Here's hoping we both have at least one day to see the views.. We will be gone 18 days, and I have no problem with rain on any of the days except when we are in the BO. Bob--thanks for your thoughts on Berne. Sounds like you like Lucerne the best. Maybe if we decide to leave the BO, we'll just head there again.

I thought Luzern was a charming city to visit.

You can drive it from Interlaken fairly easily because once you ascend the Brünig Pass, the road is much better than it was a few years ago. We drove it last summer returning from Schaffhausen and were surprised at some of the new tunnels that had been installed and other road improvements.

We have also visited Thun and Spiez, which are in the direction of Bern from Interlaken West. I am not sure that there is enough there to be that attractive.

There is a "mystery land" near the Interlaken Ost train station. You will see it from the train or from the highway. I have never gone there so I have no first hand knowledge of the place.

Here is the English version of the website location. You can read it and see what you think.

http://www.mysterypark.ch/index.php?id=20&L=1

There is also a tin figure exhibition at the Interlaken Castle.
Here is the web page, in English.
http://www.zinnworld.ch/ProgrammZinn...es/FRAME_E.HTM

I am interested in this one for myself.
It looks interesting. The problem is the limited hours that the exhibition is open.

Bob--Thanks so much for the suggestions and providing the links! I am just praying for the best possible weather. During my past two visits to Switzerland, I found the countryside so much more enjoyable than the cities.

If you are interested in Swiss folklore music, etc., check out this website to see if there are any events near an area that you'll be.
http://www.stubete.ch/agenda.php?XI=...ile=17.06.2006