Ok, the two are not the same. But the train stops at both Grindelwald and Grindelwald Grund. I just have to make sure to use the right one for the cable car. Thanks!

There's more to see at Spiez than Merligen if you're choosing between those two (although I liked Oberhofen more).

Okay, I get it. So no hiking. That makes sense, just to do a nice circular tour.

<Is Grindelwald Grund the same as Grindelwald?>

No. Grindelwald Grund to Grindelwald is another less-than-5-minute train ride up a hill.

When you get off the 30-minute lift from Mannlichen to GG, you'll be in a huge parking lot. Walk thru the lot to the street, turn right, and you will see the small GG train station around the corner on your left. (Total walk time only 5 minutes)

From here, you catch the trains either (a) up to Grindelwald or (b) up to Kleine Scheidegg. Two different directions.

Great, thanks!

Yes, I am just a lazy bum, plus I'll be with my mom, so we are just planning to go for the scenery with no hiking. :)

Any interesting dinner options?

I was thinking Schynige Platte, but the last train down leaves before 6 pm.

Maybe something in Interlaken after some excursion, or something on Lake Thun (maybe boat trip in the afternoon with dinner)? If the latter, then maybe it's fine to go as far as Oberhofen, since the return bus runs quite late.

Of course I am happy with having dinner in Wengen as well, but just asking in case there are some other choices.

We love the dinner cruises! Of course, there are the naysayers who criticize the food quality, but there's just something special about a lovely sunset dinner cruise in Switzerland. When we took my parents a few years back, this was a highlight for them, along with the Jungfraujoch excursion.

While I cannot speak for Lake Thun, the sunset dinner cruise on the paddlesteamer from Luzern is a favorite of ours. I would assume Lake Thun has similar opportunities.

"What's at Schynigge Platte? Should I plan to visit?" Loved, loved loved this place. Just going up in the "train" (cogwheel) was a treat. The mountains were in your face and fab. (Note - The place to roam - "garten" when you get on top requires a very small fee. It's not a garden in the usual sense - it's miles of open plateaus between mountains. With cows.)

I encourage you, if you can go, go.

I think you got everything sorted out in the meantime, while I was away playing tennis. Swisshiker was of excellent help as I see (Hey!) ;-)

If you want to do the boat cruise on Lake Thun a half day trip then get off in Oberhofen, see the castle, hop on the next boat (or the bus which runs every half hour or so) to Thun. The train station is right next to the boat stop in Thun - and the trains back to Interlaken Ost are frequent and fast.

Schynige Platte is one of my favourite excursions. I wouldn't do both Mürren/Schilthorn AND Jungfraujoch but go to Schynige Platte instead. Fantastic ride with the antique cog train, spectacular views.

I can't help with dining options since we had booked half board (breakfast and dinner) at the Silberhorn.

The boats on Lake Thun have two offers for dinner: the lounge boat and the "Feierabendfahrt" (after work trip), the latter sounds better (Swiss Pass accepted, on the lounge boat not). Tuesdays through to Saturdays, leaving Thun 6.40 pm, back in Thun 9.24 pm (but you can get off at any stop).

I.

Thanks everyone!

I reviewed the options here, and I don't see any dinner options that will work out for Lake Thun, since we are there Sunday and Monday. It's odd that the dinner cruises run Tuesday-Saturday.

http://www.bls.ch/e/schifffahrt/events.php

I'll probably have more questions before I leave. I'll priortize Schynige Platte. I don't think I went there ten years ago, so that will be new.

The forecast is not good:

"At present it’s overcast with poor visibility and a raw wind."

http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/desktopdef...spx/tabid-184/

I checked the forecast for Zurich and there's rain through Sunday. Same for Basel.

Which excursions are least affected by weather? When the bad weather is bad, do you think Schnyige Platte is better?

I guess I'll have to plan another trip in ten years. :)

Another question: Is afternoon usually better, or it doesn't matter?

Maybe I should have some backup plans, like not go at all. But then I have to book other hotels, etc., and rethink this trip and that's problematic as well.

We found that the morning to early afternoons were usually better on the mountains. But you never know. Last year in the Dolomites, we went up to some mountain by a scary two person cable car, and when we got there it was partially shrouded in mist which made it unbelievably atmospheric. The mist would then clear and come in again. It was great.

Hopefully, the forecasts are wrong (which they often can be).

I wouldn't bother with Schynige Platte on a rainy/cloudy day. Or any other mountain excursion (Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn) for that matter. Yes, the early morning sometimes works best, but sheesh, it's such a disappointment when you take all the time and money to get "there" and it's blanketed by clouds. I'd agree with kenav that it can be "unbelievably atmospheric" in the mist, but then in a moment, it's gone. Just depends on what you're after.

One example of a nice backup plan would be to take a walk thru the valley of Lauterbrunnen. You can start at either end (from Stechelberg or the train station), and take the Postbus the return direction (or walk both ways if you like). The flat walking trail is packed with waterfalls along the way. If the weather improves, you'd get a nice view of the mountain peaks even for a moment of clearing.

Thanks! How long does the Lauterbrunnen walk take?

"At present it is snowing. There is also extensive fog and there is strong wind."

Actually this here doesn't look so bad:
http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/DesktopDef...px/tabid-138//

I can actually *see* something. :) I wonder what the first webcam is actually showing though. It seems like there's nothing.

<i>"How long does the Lauterbrunnen walk take?"</i>

Plan on a couple hours. For me, however, I'm an avid photographer, so it always takes me longer than that.

You can take a detour off the trail to visit Trummelbach Falls, then continue on the trail after if your mom is still doing okay (and the bus also goes straight to these falls if that's all you can manage). If you visit the Trummelbach Falls, know that there are lots of steps inside the falls. So if this is something you're wanting to avoid with your mother, probably best not to take this detour, just do the flat trail thru the valley.

There's also a map you can get that lists the many falls along the valley trail. I can't remember where I got ours, but perhaps someone else here can help out with that. I would assume the train station or even at some of the hotels.

This might be helpful:
http://www.mylauterbrunnen.com/en.cf...ge-330326.html

As far as cloudy days, it really helps to check out a TV monitor (either in your room or at the stations). They've got this channel that shows the webcams at the various areas. Sometimes the clouds you see only go up so far, and above the clouds it is crystal clear.

Agree on the Trümmelbach falls - a very good idea for rainy weather. Definitely do the valley walk in direction Lauterbrunnen - Stechelberg because so you have the high mountains in front of you and don't have to turn your head all the time ;-)

I was in Lauterbrunnen in 1998 and it rained three days, one of them it even snowed down to Wengen (in July!). We explored Thun on one of those days. Loved it. The medieval castle is fantastic and the weather added to the ambience.

Hm, right now the webcams show clouds and rain ...

I.

Oops, I forgot: calculate between one and two hours for the valley walk. We did it in less than one hour.

Thanks!

"At the moment it is snowing here. There is extensive fog and there is strong wind."

:)

I'll just have to see what happens when I get there. It definitely doesn't look good. In the meantime, the weather in NYC is *fantastic*!

There is a lot of great info in this thread. I'll be studying it more closely as we prepare for our 2011 trip.

This trip is not meant to be! My flight was cancelled and I am back home. Because it was so short in the first place, I couldn't reschedule it, as flying a day late would be pointless. I think Delta is having a lot of issues. I'll post on the Airlines forum.