What to do in BO if it's raining?
 

I'll have either 1 or 2 nights in Gimmelwald next week, and looking at the forecast, it looks like it will probably rain the days I'll be there. :( I was hoping to do a couple of easy hikes, but if it's raining I don't know what we'll do.

So, aside from Trummelbach Falls (which I think is a must-see regardless of weather) and just wandering around the streets of Murren and Lauterbrunnen, what are some other options if it rains too much to hike?

Thanks!!

tsrapp:
Thun has arcaded shops and a castle to tour out of the rain. Be aware that most shops are closed Mondays. Brienz has the open air Ballenberg museum-a collection of many old, typical-style Swiss dwellings moved there and set up in many-acred wood--its outside, but no difficult hiking paths, and plenty of opportunity to meander inside the many buildings. Ten minute bus ride from Brienz's train depot. What about a lake tour on either Lake Thun or Brienz?
Sit on the inside cabin and bring a picnic lunch.
You're not all that far from Bern either-excellent arcaded shopping for more than a mile!

Bring a rain poncho and hike in the rain! We were in BO for 3 days last week. It rained for a few hours one afternoon but not enough to alter our plans. There is not much to do in Gimmelwald besides hiking. If you don't want to hike, I suggest taking the cable car/train to Lauterbrunnen and then taking the train around through Wengen and Grindelwald and back through to Lauterbrunnen to see the area. Stop along the way for lunch in Wengen or Grindelwald.

Related to that -- when it rains, *how* does it rain? Is it a gentle shower, typically brief, that doesn't muddy up the trail to make it dangerous?

See, I'm from Houston, where when it rains, it'd wash us down the mountain. :p I don't mind hiking in a gentle brief rain, but if it's raining all day or heavy...

The summer thunderstorms can be rather wet. There is really no way to tell.
Another option would be to visit Meiringen and the Sherlock Holmes mini museum. It is tiny but well done.
The valley itself is full of waterfalls.

The easiest hike I can think of from Gimmelwald is to the Kilchbalm. The end of the trail is when you reach sheer mountain walls in a glacial bowl.
Waterfalls everywhere and in late JUne there will be plenty of snow.
If the cows are there, you may need to detour around them. They are docile and will not bother you if you don't bother them.
I know the first time I was there, one young bossy was lying in the trail chewing away. No choice but to go around her, usually to the rear, because she was too big to step over!

That's exactly the hike we were wanting to do, actually.

And/or the small section going up to the Sprutz waterfall (ending there)

If you do the Kilch, go as far in to the bowl as you can. And gaze up at those sheer mountain walls.

Second the Thun idea. We were shut out of the Jungfrau by fog (it had been gorgeous when we left Lucerne) and went on to Thun to explore. Touring the castle and exploring the town and shops made a nice rainy day - and we stopped at Brienz and a couple of other smaller towns to just wander around on the way back to Lucerne.

don't get to worried about the weather reports. everytime I go anywhere those reports turn out to be wrong. So prepare, but don't stress. Good luck and happy travels!

Why would you not dress appropriately and do whatever you would have done had it not rained. When I travel in Europe I never allow weather to interfere with my plans. Too much money and too little time at stake to let rain interfere.

Larry J

But, Larry, as Bob (I think) says, Swiss rains are sometimes very wet and relentless. (tsrapp, I'm from Louisiana, and I've been in a couple of Swiss rains that felt just like home.) Sooooo, I second Thun and Bern (with the arcaded streets, and Thun's interesting castle/museum), and a boatride. There is a chance, of course, that the rains will not last all day, and then you've got the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I don't know anything about hiking; can you hike on slippery terrain?
We'll be keeping our fingers crossed for you. J.

That's my concern about hiking in the rain. I don't want either of us to slip and fall, get caught in a mudslide or landslide or flash-flood, get stuck on the wrong side of a creek because of a flash-flood....

But I don't know what the trail looks like, either. We're going to see how it looks and what the weather report says when we get there. :)

And I think if it's raining and we don't feel like chancing the trail, we'll probably go to that open-air museum in Ballenberg -- that looked cool too!

It may be a stretch for some people, but we during prior visits we kept Luzern in reserve for just such a rainy day.

The main attraction in Luzern for me is the transportation museum. (Was might be better because I have seen it twice.)

You can leave as late as 19:34 and get back in 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Going up, you can leave at 8:05 and arrive at 10:24. Earlier trains involve longer times and more changes.
For example the 6:05 departure involves a round-about route via Bern, but it does get you there at 9:03.

It looks as if several posters have given some pretty good suggestions on what to do if the weather is rainy.

Doing walks in the lower altitudes where the footing is reasonably decent is pretty good idea, but I would no attempt to do any hikes in higher altitudes when the weather is not good for mountain hikes or walks.

In September 2001 (who could ever forget that time), I was stuck in Wengen in some pretty bad weather. It rained buckets in Wengen, but across the Lauterbrunnen valley in Murren and Winteregg, that rain turned to snow. That particular system dumped about 12 inches of snow up in Kleine Scheidegg; however, at Wengen and lower altitudes it was just wet, sloppy rain.

I spent one day down in Interlaken. I took an umbrella and walked all through Interlaken. I walked along the water that is between Lake Thun and Lake Brienze and cut over to Unterseen.

I window shopped and finally had lunch in Interlaken.

You might want to travel to Bern. It is about 45 minutes from Interlaken Ost as I recall. That could also be a great way to spend a rainy day.
Anyway, here is hoping that the sun shines on you and the skies above you are baby blue.

Easy answer: have a Plan B BEFORE you ever get there such as a city you can get to easily by rail (if that is how you are traveling).

Rain in Switzerland is WET just as it is in Louisiana..OK, so it comes down "gentler" "esier" "happier" "sadder"..you stay out in it LONG enough and you won't care how sweet or gentle it is..you'll be soaked.