Am going to spend two weeks in Meiringen area Sept 26 to 10 Oct. Any comments on things do do, sites to see, weather, your experiences in this location etc. Greatly appreciated. Am sure that any response will engender further questions.

Jim hi: The area Brienz-Meiringen-Hasliberg have a real nice website with a lot of useful information for tourists, also in English. You might find it interesting to check that one out: <BR>www.alpenregion.ch <BR>Just click English version. <BR>The weather is extremely unpredictable for that time of the year. It will not be hot anymore, but it will not snow either. In between, everything is possible. Highest will be around 15°C. <BR>Enjoy your stay!

I stayed in Reuti, directly above Meiringen, last June. It's a beautiful area! Meiringen is the home of Reichenbach Falls, where Sherlock Holmes met with Moriarty, and there's a great hike up around the falls as well as a small Sherlock Holmes museum in the old English church. It's a great hub for travel to Interlaken and Luzern--but check your trains carefully, as they come in on the same track. You can take a tramcar up to Reuti; we really liked the food at Hotel Viktoria and there's a lot of nice walking, even down to the other Hasliberg towns. I'll be happy to try to answer any specifics--it's a great location!

From Meiringen you are in a good position to explore other areas. <BR>If you decide to rent a car, you could take the highly scenic drive over the three passes of the Grimsel, Furka, and Susten. That route starts from Innertkirchen, which is just down the road from Meiringen. Taking the 3 passes forms a loop that will take about half a day to drive, depending on how much stopping you do. <BR>The Grimsel Pass is spectacular, as is the Furka pass. <BR>You will also want to visit the Lauterbrunnen Valley while you are there as well as Grindelwald. <BR>My favorite gondola ride is from Grindelwald to a station called First. <BR>The views from there are absolutely stunning. I have done it twice on a clear day and would gladly do it again. <BR>I fear you will be disappointed in Reichenbach Falls. It was hardly the "... creaming, boiling pit of incalculable depth ..." described by Conan Doyle in "The Final Problem" from the "Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes." <BR>Perhaps is is that awesome in the spring because of the melting snow, but not in September. <BR>Trummelbach Falls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley are a different story. <BR>The falls are fed by melt water that drains from the glaciers on the north faces of the Jungfrau and the Mönch. <BR>The cascades thunder in a way that lives it to their collective name. <BR>

Moriarty could not have survived the falls.

Just to let you know, as Bob says the Passes are a nice drive but by Sept. 26 they will very likely be closed for the winter.

Hi Jim: <BR> <BR>We stayed in Hasliberg Wasserwendi (there are a number of villages with Hasliberg as the first of two names) and had a marvelous experience. From what we could tell, all rooms (certainly ours) have balconies directly overlooking the Jugen range: Eiger, Mitterhorn, etc. There are numerous walking trails and many gondolas/lifts operating throughout the year if you want to ride to the top and walk from there. <BR> <BR>Our hotel is run by Mrs Ruth Conradie, who oversees everything herself. This past weekend when we were there, she hosted a large wedding reception and still managed to serve us a fabulous, fresh meal despite all the other goings-on at the time. We were surprised at the inexpensive rate (CHF 44 per person) for the room, having spent triple that in the town of Brienz just days before for a room with a blocked view in a hotel with no atmosphere whatsoever! <BR> <BR>The best recommendation is perhaps the fact that we would go back in a New York minute! Have a great trip. CC <BR> <BR>Ferienhaus Wasserwendi <BR>6084 Hasliberg Wasserwendi <BR>Ruth Conradie <BR>Tel. ++41 (0)33 971 33 36 <BR>Fax ++41 (0)33 971 33 90 <BR>[email protected] <BR>www.restaurant-wasserwendi.ch

Hello! What a kick to read about a couple of alpine (yes?) towns other than Murren. Thank you, Jim, for starting this thread, and thank you, Ursula, for your web clues -- I've always loved Breinzersee, and now I've got two nearby places to explore. Thank you, CC, for the recommendation of Hasliberg Wasserwendi; it sounds delightful! As you can see, I've nothing of consequence to add to this thread except that I'm looking forward to hearing more. p.s. to the person who mentioned the trains: I am guilty of hopping on a Swiss train too quickly, not realizing that two trains are using the same track two minutes apart -- and ending up where I didn't expect to -- oh well, in Switzerland you cannot go wrong. All part of the delightful adventure that comes with using a Swiss Pass. I'm taking up too much space, but at the risk of really horning in -- has anyone visited Ardez or Soglio in the south-eastern part of Switzerland? Apologies to Jim. Feel free to ignore me.