I have gained so much information from this discussion group and from Ed's website, but I am now in a dilemna. <BR> I will be staying in the Jungfrau region in late August for a week and am not sure of the best location to base myself. We are after a scenic area, which is quiet but not isolated, where we can do lots of hiking, but not too far away from other areas in case we want to do day trips on rainy days. <BR> It appears that Murren is a favourite for many and appears to be the most scenic. Is it too far 'up' though to be convenient to get anywhere else for the day? Should we instead trade off our scenery for convenience. <BR> How long does the trip up to Murren take from both Interlaken or any other convenient valley areas? <BR> Thanks for all your help (albeit unknown) over the past few months!

Sorry, I neglected to add that we will not have a car and will be hoping to get a Swiss pass or equivalent for visits to scenic areas. <BR>

Hi Barry, <BR>the trip from Interlaken to Mürren takes about an hour. To Wengen it's about the same. To Grindelwald it's slightly less, about 35 minutes. You could check the rail timetables yourself at www.rail.ch to compare times for day-trips. I think in this concern you could chose either of the three places - it takes about the same amount of time to get somewhere, e.g. about 2 hrs to Bern. I personally like Mürren the most, followed by Wengen and Grindelwald as third. But staying in either one of them, you could easily visit the other ones as well. - Besides: good choice not to rent a car. Public transport is really quite good here in Switzerland and you couldn't take the car to Mürren or Wengen anyway.

Fodors refuses to accept my longer post. <BR>There are many beautiful walks in the mountains around Murren, and around Grindelwald. If the day is clear, you will have some spectacular views.

Seems like the new format accepts only very short responses. So I will try to post my response in sections. <BR> <BR>Hi Barry. When you put the qualification of "lots of hiking" on the your list of ambitions during a visit to the Berner Oberland, the selection of a place to stay for a few days takes on a different set of criteria. <BR> <BR>Having been there twice, for one week each time, I have had a little experience with the trails in the area. <BR>If you go to Murren, you are somewhat limited in where you go without descending to the valley floor. Murren is on the west "shelf" of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, which is a glacial trench, 1,500 feet deep. Yes, you do indeed have stunning views of the Jungfrau - Moench group, but the very geological feature that provides those views is also a barrier to transportation: namely, the sheer-sided Lauterbrunnen Valley. To reach Murren from Interlaken Ost, you must change your means of transportation twice, i.e. <BR>Interlaken Ost via BOB train to Lauterbrunnen. Then, either furnicular to Grutschalp and trainlet to Murren, or <BR>post bus to Stechelberg and Luftseilbahn to Murren. <BR>End Part 1.

Part 2. <BR> <BR> <BR>From lodging in Murren, you can essentially go north along the level side of the valley to Grutschalp, about 4 K distant, and on to Isenfluh and the Sulwald (reachable from Isenfluh by cable lift), or you can go east. Going east, there are several major destinations including: the Schilthorn via a steeply winding trail, the Sefinenfurka., and the Kilchbalm. The steep Sefinenfurka trail continues on to Griesalp on the Kandersteg and Kiental side of the ridge, and then there is the path from Gimmelwald (not to be confused with Grindewald!) that leads to one of my favorite places: the Kilchbalm. <BR> <BR>You can also go south toward Obersteinberg and the Oberhornsee, which is deep in the heart of the Berner Oberland, but that walk involves a lot of up and down. <BR> <BR>To reach the Kilchbalm, go downhill from Murren to Gimmelwald (not to be confused with GRindelwald). From Gimmelwald take the Sefinental trail to the Kilchbalm. The Kilchbalm is a glacial bowl set deep into the sheer cliffs of the Gspaltenhorn. It has ice patches clinging to the rock, snow fields, water falls streaming down the cliffs, secluded alcoves carved into the rock, a bubbling stream that even in August should be quite full of water, and that essential ingredient of any Swiss alpine hike: cows, and lots of them. <BR>End of Part 2. <BR>

Now lets continue this posting silliness with Part 3. On to Grindelwald for a classic hike. <BR> <BR>To reach Grindelwald, descend to the valley floor to Lauterbrunnen and take the train via Zweilutschinen. From the train station in Grindwald, walk up the main stree to the First Gondola station, located a little off to your left. (First has nothing to do with Second.) The trip up alone is enough to be a highlight of the visit, but if you are game for more, walk from the First station to the Bachalpsee and then continue on toward the Faulhorn Hotel. If the day is clear, you will enjoy a most magical view of the Berner Oberland Range. All of the giants are to the south: the awesome north face of the Eiger, the Wetterhorn, the Finsteraarhorn, the Schreckhorn, the Jungfrau, and the Monch are well within view. <BR> <BR>Also from Grindelwald, you can take the lift up toward Stieregg, which has a restaurant. The trail is on a high ledge above the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher. The trail continues beyond the restaurant toward some imposing cliffs known as the Rotesgufer. Not far uphill from the restaurant, you must use a fixed cable to traverse a gulley cut into the lateral moraine of the glacier. Even if you don't ascend the cliffs, the sight of the glaciers pouring off the side of the mountains is inspiring, even a little awesome. You know what it is like to be deep in the heart of the mountain world. <BR> <BR>There are other hikes in the valley, but if you do this collection of walks, you will be fulfilled, and even a little tired. <BR> <BR>Because of the variation of walks and destinations, and the relative inconvent location of Murren, despite its views, I have opted to stay in Lauterbrunnen where I rented an apartment for a week on two occasions. <BR>The merits of the situation essentially focus on two issues: scenery and access. <BR>I opted for access, but I do not deny that the views from Murren are virtually without parallel in those mountains. I think it all depends on what you want to accomplish while you are there. <BR>But if I had to take two of these walks: I would do the Kilchbalm, with a side trip up out of the Sefinental to one of the view points, and the trip up to the Faulhorn. I could talk about others, but this posting silliness is getting old. <BR> <BR>Good luck with your planning.

Good morning, Barry <BR>My choice is the touristy town of <BR>Grindelwald with its tourist buses <BR>and many tourists. however not because <BR>of that reason, I have two, first if <BR>Grindelwald First from its top and <BR>from Egg. Bort and Oberhaus, trails <BR>lead east to the Grosse Scheidegg <BR>and Lauchbuhl, to the west as far <BR>as the Schynige Platte, Fauhorn and <BR>Bussalp. Most all returning down into <BR>the valley and Grindelwald. <BR>From Grindelwald the Mannlichen Bahn <BR>take you up Mannlichen from there you <BR>can hike to Kleine Scheidegg. Back <BR>down to Wengen, or take the cable car <BR>from Mannlichen Station to Wengen <BR>and then rail down to Lauterbrunnen. <BR>A very heavily used trail goes from <BR>Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg, Very <BR>Good ristorantes atop Grindelwald First <BR>and Kleine Scheidegg in the Bahnhof. <BR>Once atop at Murren there are trails <BR>leading up and down the Schlithorn, to <BR>Gimmelwald. But am not aware of any <BR>trails leading from Murren down into <BR>the valley and Lauterbrunnen. <BR>Would suggest you look into a Berner- <BR>oberland pass which you can purchase\ <BR>in Interlaken at either Est or Ost. <BR>Check into www.bernerobereland.ch. <BR>www.grindelwald.ch, www.wengen.ch. <BR>www.murren.ch/ www.schlithorn,ch/ <BR>www.jungfrau.ch for additional information. <BR>Richard of La Grange Park, Il..

For the record, there are trails from Murren to the floor of the valley, but they are steep and indirect. <BR>One route is to talk along the trail from Murren toward Grutschalp. At a location known as Mittelberg, a trail branches off to the valley floor. <BR>Also, from Murren, there is a trail to Gimmelwald, with a winding continuation to Stechelberg. And, for a real lung buster, calf abuser, take the trail up from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp. Then you can walk another 2.5 miles to Murren. Easy to see why most people take either the "elevator" up from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp and the little train on to Murren, or take the Luftseilbahn from the Stechelberg valley station.

OOOOps. Walk not talk. Talking helps, too, particularly when your knees are hurting or your thigh muscles are burnsing.