The Shortest European Trip Report Ever!
Jul 9th, 2013, 03:21 PM
#64
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I'm reading and enjoying too! I agree that Wengen is a lovely place to stay, and the views are incredible. So glad you are having a good time, and I look forward to the rest of your report (which is no longer the shortest European trip report ever!)
Jul 9th, 2013, 03:57 PM
#66
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> On to Lauterbrunnen ... and the waterfall...that thing never ceases to captivate me for whatever reason
Me, too ... I was enthralled. Every moment seemed to differ from the last. Awesome!
Sounds like you are having a great trip, despite a few unexpected moments. Looking forward to hearing more!
Me, too ... I was enthralled. Every moment seemed to differ from the last. Awesome!
Sounds like you are having a great trip, despite a few unexpected moments. Looking forward to hearing more!
Jul 9th, 2013, 10:58 PM
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Thanks for your reply re the seats for Opera in Verona. I have now changed hotel bookings, arriving in Verona one night earlier for AIDA!!. Can't wait. Tx for your description of the seats - it really helps. I am curious - you long did the trip from Verona to Grindelwald take you? I originally wanted to start in Wengen and then move on to Venice, before going to Vernona, but thought the train trip would take too much time. Maybe I was wrong?
Jul 10th, 2013, 06:35 AM
#70
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Re the rail route from Verona to Grindelwald: We started out by taking the train from Verona to Milan which took about an hour. Waited there for an hour and took the train to Brig (perhaps 2 hrs max); changed in Brig for a train to Spiez and changed there for a train to Interlaken Ost and changed there for the trip to Grindelwald.
We left Verona at 10:02 in the morning and arrived in Grindelwald a little after 4 PM. It sounds complicated but it really isn't. HOWEVER, I've taken the train in Europe a lot so the whole routine is pretty much second nature to me.
As to today: this is our last full day in the area so after breakfast (not as many flies in the breakfast room this morning) and under partly cloudy skies and short sleeve temps we took the train to Lauterbrunnen.
The cable car station for Grutschalp is connected to the Lauterbrunnen rail station with good signage. Cable car trip is fairly short but just when you think you have seen every possible view you get even more of them!
At the top we left the cable car and got onto the railway to Murren and the one-coach train left immediately for the short ride. This thing is kinda like a "Toonerville Trolley" in appearance and the windows all roll down and despite the printed warnings on the sills about not lesning out, people did it anyway with cameras clicking away. Lots of wildflowers, grazing cows with the huge bells, and plenty of hikers along the route.
Murren sits perched on what seems like the edge and although it is not car-free as its more or less opposite number Wengen across the valley the town was very quiet. No big buses, etc. We walked about ten minutes or so through the town; lots of flowers in bloom and several vegetable gardens along the way. Plenty of overstocked flower boxes and immaculate streets. No trash, no grafitti, etc., it almost looks fake!
We opted to take the cableway up to the Schilthorn which ascends in two stages. The first stage is to Birg where you change for the second phase which ends at the top.
This is, as I am sure many know, the same cableway featured in the James bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and the cableway people have maxed that entire concept out. When the cablecar leaves the James Bond theme starts playing. There are James Bond silhouettes at the top you can use for pictures; there is also something called "Bond World" or something similar which capitalizes on the theme.
Did I mention there are a lot of tourists from the Far East here? Many in tour groups. Some of them went crazy with the Bond silhouettes...will that movie ever get too old to remember? The cableway people are obviously betting that it won't.
There is a revolving restaurant at the top with a pricey buffet, lots of stuff for sale, the usual deal. Unfortunately the top was totally shrouded in clouds We were told this when we bought the tickets and the ticket office has a livecam so you can make a decision to go up or not. And these trips are not cheap: we paid about 160 Swiss francs for two round-trip tickets (you get a discount with certain rail passes and we are not traveling on rail passes this time around).
All in all we felt it was worth the money and time and we enjoyed the ride up and down as much as the less-than-optimal view at the top.
We returned to Grindelwald over the samwe route. We could have taken the cableway from Wengen to Mannlichen and then another to Grindelwald (Grund) but decided against it.
Overall this has been a very worthwhile couple of days and despite having been to Switzerland several times over the past years we didn't feel as if any of this was some sort of a repeat of the "same old scenery."
Tomorrow morning we will take the train to Fribourg where a friend of ours is retired and will spend a couple of days with her before heading to Basel for our trip on the Rhine.
We left Verona at 10:02 in the morning and arrived in Grindelwald a little after 4 PM. It sounds complicated but it really isn't. HOWEVER, I've taken the train in Europe a lot so the whole routine is pretty much second nature to me.
As to today: this is our last full day in the area so after breakfast (not as many flies in the breakfast room this morning) and under partly cloudy skies and short sleeve temps we took the train to Lauterbrunnen.
The cable car station for Grutschalp is connected to the Lauterbrunnen rail station with good signage. Cable car trip is fairly short but just when you think you have seen every possible view you get even more of them!
At the top we left the cable car and got onto the railway to Murren and the one-coach train left immediately for the short ride. This thing is kinda like a "Toonerville Trolley" in appearance and the windows all roll down and despite the printed warnings on the sills about not lesning out, people did it anyway with cameras clicking away. Lots of wildflowers, grazing cows with the huge bells, and plenty of hikers along the route.
Murren sits perched on what seems like the edge and although it is not car-free as its more or less opposite number Wengen across the valley the town was very quiet. No big buses, etc. We walked about ten minutes or so through the town; lots of flowers in bloom and several vegetable gardens along the way. Plenty of overstocked flower boxes and immaculate streets. No trash, no grafitti, etc., it almost looks fake!
We opted to take the cableway up to the Schilthorn which ascends in two stages. The first stage is to Birg where you change for the second phase which ends at the top.
This is, as I am sure many know, the same cableway featured in the James bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and the cableway people have maxed that entire concept out. When the cablecar leaves the James Bond theme starts playing. There are James Bond silhouettes at the top you can use for pictures; there is also something called "Bond World" or something similar which capitalizes on the theme.
Did I mention there are a lot of tourists from the Far East here? Many in tour groups. Some of them went crazy with the Bond silhouettes...will that movie ever get too old to remember? The cableway people are obviously betting that it won't.
There is a revolving restaurant at the top with a pricey buffet, lots of stuff for sale, the usual deal. Unfortunately the top was totally shrouded in clouds We were told this when we bought the tickets and the ticket office has a livecam so you can make a decision to go up or not. And these trips are not cheap: we paid about 160 Swiss francs for two round-trip tickets (you get a discount with certain rail passes and we are not traveling on rail passes this time around).
All in all we felt it was worth the money and time and we enjoyed the ride up and down as much as the less-than-optimal view at the top.
We returned to Grindelwald over the samwe route. We could have taken the cableway from Wengen to Mannlichen and then another to Grindelwald (Grund) but decided against it.
Overall this has been a very worthwhile couple of days and despite having been to Switzerland several times over the past years we didn't feel as if any of this was some sort of a repeat of the "same old scenery."
Tomorrow morning we will take the train to Fribourg where a friend of ours is retired and will spend a couple of days with her before heading to Basel for our trip on the Rhine.
Jul 10th, 2013, 02:23 PM
#71
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This latest report makes me slightly homesick. I'm not Swiss but part of my family is and lives there and I've been many times; this region you describe is one of my favourites in the country. We first visited the Schilthorn, Grindelwald and Murren when I was 13 but haven't been back to that area so your report (Revolving restaurant, Bond and all) brought smiles. Same for the picture (and almost impossibly) perfect villages, cows and scenery you describe all around. No one does nature like the Swiss, do they ?
In the years since, I've pretty much visited or spent time in all the corners of the country, but your frank and honest report now suggests perhaps it's time to revisit some of them.
Danke vielmal.
In the years since, I've pretty much visited or spent time in all the corners of the country, but your frank and honest report now suggests perhaps it's time to revisit some of them.
Danke vielmal.
Jul 10th, 2013, 03:49 PM
#72
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> Tomorrow morning we will take the train to Fribourg
If you have any interest in such things, there is a small museum of marionettes in Fribourg's lower town with some wonderful examples of puppets and marionettes from around the world.
If you have any interest in such things, there is a small museum of marionettes in Fribourg's lower town with some wonderful examples of puppets and marionettes from around the world.
Jul 10th, 2013, 04:42 PM
#74
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Dukey,
How did I miss this? Oh well, I'm caught up now...
Very evocative writing - good work.
You left DC just in time, it's been a typical DC July here since your departure - daily oppressive humidity (80%+) with daily afternoon/evening showers. Yuck!
DW and I leave Friday for Tallin and St. P. - I can't wait to escape this hellhole.
Keep it (prodigious reporting) up - it sounds like you two are having a wonderful time.
How did I miss this? Oh well, I'm caught up now...
Very evocative writing - good work.
You left DC just in time, it's been a typical DC July here since your departure - daily oppressive humidity (80%+) with daily afternoon/evening showers. Yuck!
DW and I leave Friday for Tallin and St. P. - I can't wait to escape this hellhole.
Keep it (prodigious reporting) up - it sounds like you two are having a wonderful time.
Jul 10th, 2013, 09:07 PM
#75
Original Poster
Kja,
Thank you very much for the recommendation; Bardo1, appreeciate your comments and hope you enjoy your trip. Love both those cities and all i can say about St. Pete is see as much as you possibly can.
Mathieu, I understand exactly what you mean and it is one of the reasons we keep coming back. Thank you for your kind remarks.
Thank you very much for the recommendation; Bardo1, appreeciate your comments and hope you enjoy your trip. Love both those cities and all i can say about St. Pete is see as much as you possibly can.
Mathieu, I understand exactly what you mean and it is one of the reasons we keep coming back. Thank you for your kind remarks.
Jul 10th, 2013, 09:33 PM
#78
Original Poster
Thanks again for the kind thoughts. We will be leaving Grindelwald in about two hours from now. I am going to miss getting up in the morning and looking out the window at this Eiger "wall" with its sheer face and waterfalls, etc.
Looks as if we are going to have another good weather day as the sun is out and there are few clouds.
More after we get to Fribourg.
Looks as if we are going to have another good weather day as the sun is out and there are few clouds.
More after we get to Fribourg.
