MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 2 weeks across Switzerland by train in Sept-part 4
-
Hello forum folks,
Here ispart 4 of my trip.
>>>>Day 5: Zermatt to Wengen.
Leaving one beautiful region (Zermatt) for another (Jungfrau), my original plans were to take advantage of all the sending of my luggage ahead and the hop on/hop off that one is afforded by STP, and see Oeschinensee on my way to Wengen. That was until the weather dictated otherwise. So I decided to head to Bern instead. However, once seeing some sunny skies on Speiz, I decided to just head for Interlaken Ost. I’m glad I did. After arriving in Wengen, picking up my bag waiting for me at the station, checking into the Edelweis hotel after the downhill walk, chatting with friendly staff members and settling in, I decided it was early enough to go into Grindelwald for some dinner. (Hop on/hop off.) So back up the hill I went, and to the cable car in the middle of the village. The cost was $29.00 with the STP that was for the cable car up to Mannlichen and the gondola down into. Grindelwald. (See pics). This was fun and very rewarding since the skies had mostly finally cleared, and the scenery was just breathtaking. Then we hopped on the gondola down to Grindelwald. The peaceful 20-minute ride was full of beautiful scenery, pasing the Eiger and down to the mountains surrounding the village. Upon reaching the end, I bought some souvenirs and hopped on the train for one stop to Grindelwald…the end. I walked around a bit, found a quick cafe for a burger and dog, and continued on. I came across a tourist info adjacent to the bus stop and inquired where the Grindelwald First depot was for the next day or the day after. After a while and some picture taking, I hopped the train to Zweilutschinen and then back to Wengen. I dropped off my bag at the hotel and closed some pubs to finish a great day.
>>>>Tip: Grindelwald can be confusing. Basically, there is a Grindelwald Grund, a Grindelwald Terminal, and a Grindelwald. Unless one is actually going to Grindelwald Grund, try to put it out of your mind,as It is just a stop on the way to Kleine Scheidegg.
>> If one is going to ride the new Eiger Express up to the Eigergletscher, OR the gondola (that I took down) up to Mannlichen, they are located at the Grindelwald Terminal station. (That is the second to last stop before Grindelwald.)
>> The Grindelwald station (end of the line) has two basic tracks. One is into and out of Grindelwald from Zweilutschinen, and the other one goes to Kleine Scheidegg (via Grindelwald Grund).
>>>> Day 6: Schilthorn and Murren
After hiking to Murren from Grutschalp last time here and missing the last cable car up, I was really looking forward to the Schilthorn. So up we went, admiring the scenery, switching at Birg, and finally seeing the Schilthorn in person. I was able to get some nice photos before the clouds rolled in that were hovering over the Jungfrau. I walked around the different levels, had a bite to eat, saw all the James Bond material, and then had my “summit beer.” By now, unfortunately, the clouds had rolled in. So I headed back down to Birg to check out the Thrill Walk. Wow!! That was a total blast! Even with a slight drizzle, it was fun. To walk on that ledge just hanging over…..nothing……was incredible. Then, the actual tight rope itself was pretty neat. A bit scary since it was wet, but we got through it in one piece. Then I headed back down to Murren and walked over to Allmendhubel funicular, and went up there for a while. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I walked around for a bit, took some pics, and had another summit beer. (Will go back here again, next time around.) At this point, some of the clouds were passing, and the sun was in and out. On the way from the Allmendhubel to the Murren train station, I was intercepted by an old, retired, cable car called the Gondelbar, where I had a beer while chatting with some folks that were on a tour together from the States. Then, finally, I made my way to the train back to Grutschalp, Lauterbrunnen, and then finally to Interlaken Ost. From there, I went up to Harder Kulm for the sunset. I was a tad bit late, but I enjoyed a nice juicy steak whilst up there. A nice way to finish my days excursions before finishing my long day closing another pub in Wengen.
Sorry for so many pics, folks, but last time I went, I lost lots of pics and also had trouble loading them before that…
More to come.
Regards,
Danielsan
-
More pics from Part 4, enjoy.
Regards,
Danielsan
Attachments:
Hi Danielsan,
Wonderful write up. Thanks for sharing. Going through the pictures now …
Anna
More pics part 4
Attachments:
More pics from part 4. Enjoy
Danielsan
Attachments:
Thank you (again) Danielsan,
Terrific selection of photos! Good tips regarding the different Grindelwald stops (yes, they can be confusing).
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi there Danielsan,
I agree the Birg Thrill walk is amazing! That’s the one activity I always suggest for those who are going to Murren. We did stay in Murren on our 2nd visit and had a nice time. But my favourite is still Wengen.
The ride up from Wengen to Mannlichen and onwards by cablecar to Grindelwald Terminal is another favourite mt ride. We have done that several times 3 out of our 4 trips (the 4th was to the Engadine area where we stayed at Pontresina and Sils Maria so we skipped the Bernese Oberland area). The Jungfrau Travel Pass is value for money as we took as many rides as we wanted using that (we didn’t use the STP but bought Saver Day Passes in advance for the main journeys and also used the Half Fare card).
Did you ride the Eiger Express? We were so impressed with these cable cars and it was our first time trying it out last June. That was also another wow ride – stopping for a Lindt yummy huge chocolate ice cream soft serve at their chocolate boutique at Grindelwald Terminal – before carrying on to Mannlichen was the icing on the cake. We took the ride 3x because of the ice cream treat. LOL.
How was your stay at Hotel Edelweiss and would you recommend it? It’s on the same path towards Hotel Alpenrose which has remained our fav accommodation in Wengen. But that walk up the hill back to the station can be tiring esp for seniors – good exercise tho. I assume you didn’t have a problem with that and they offered a buggy ride when you needed to bring your bags to the station.
It’s always exciting to relive memories from trip reports and it’s wonderful to hear from you.
Regards.
Hi traveljet,
Sorry for the delay, I was writing part 5 of my report.
To answer your question, I loved everything about Edelweiss except for the long walk up/down the hill. I didn’t realize that it is a two star hotel until way after I booked it. But it was still a wonderful stay that I would consider again, but the hill does make a difference. After I returned home and looked at google Maps, I realized that the Alpenrosewill just past
it by maybe just a block or two. Very close by. I very much agree with many of your posts that I have read about the burden of the walk up the hill. And for that reason alone I will not stay there again as much as I would very much love to. The staff and owner were absolutely wonderful. The one and only drawback (other than the hill) was that Edelweiss didn’t have any buggy service. It cost Chf18 francs for a cab to bring me to the station, (which is also when I sent my big bag on to Lucerne). Last time there, I spent 3 nights at the Victoria Lauberhorn (now the Arenas Victoria Lauberhorn), and it was perfect. About a ten meter walk from the train station. But the price went up considerably since Arenas took it over, which is why I ended up at the Edelweiss. So next September I will be looking for something “above” the station which shouldn’t be a problem, it’s just amatter of choosing one.
I did ride the Eiger Express, as mentioned in my latest trip report, that I just finished. What struck me most was the sheer size of it. The continuous gondola like the G-wald First, or the gondola from Mannlichen to G-wald, but just bigger. Very impresive Swiss engineering. I did the opposite, I believe, of what your son did. He went up to the Eigergletscher from Kleine Scheidegg (as I recall), and I went down to Kleine Scheidegg from there.
Your next trip is coming up soon, just around the cirner. I hope you have great weather. Don’t miss the Gornergrat. That is simply spectacular. Enjoy it.
Regards,
Danielsan
HI Danielsan,
Thanks for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. I am glad you agreed that the uphill walk from Hotel Edelweiss or Alpenrose to the Wengen station is not as simple or easy as what some mentioned before – I was starting to wonder if we were really that unfit. One simply cannot tell from google map most of the time. Hotel Alpenrose does offer free buggy services thankfully.
Glad you experienced the Eiger Express – travelling around the regions of Switzerland really leaves us awed at swiss engineering. There is a little town in Japan called HAKUBA and that whole area with their mt cable cars was assisted by the swiss. There’s an olympic ski jump in that area too. Unfortunately I think in winter, Hakuba only allow skiers in their cable cars. No problem during spring, summer and autumn subject to opening times. You get a touch of swiss surroundings infused with japanese ambience in Hakuba.
Danielsan – are you part japanese by any chance? The word “san” is usually used by the japanese when addressing a friend.
Yes we will be arriving in Zurich 14 Nov next month. Was a little concerned about any protests or unrest due to the ongoing Israeli Hamas conflict. I read that France closed some smaller airports and several places in Europe had huge demonstrations. In fact, there is a travel directive for US citizens to avoid overseas travel for the moment. Hopefully Switzerland is less impacted although I read there was 6,000 demonstrators in Geneva and some in Bern (where the Jewish embassy and consulate are). I think they are going to ban such demonstrations (hopefully).
I was not planning for Bern and will skip Geneva, stick to the little town of Nyon where we are based after Zermatt. Then do day trips to Lausanne, Morges for the museums and lake and Montreux for the christmas market. Thereafter to Basel for the markets.
It’s a long trip 14Nov – 6 Dec because the great airfare we managed to get 6 months ago, required a longer stay. Having done our previous trips in June and Sept and now Nov. We will definitely not visit in the summer as it’s just too hot, this may be our last trip to Switzerland. It’s getting tiring flying 12hrs + jet lag. It remains to be seen if we will plan a last future one for winter but we aren’t skiers.
Going to read your 5th report now.
Take care!
- The thread ‘2 weeks across Switzerland by train in Sept-part 4’ is closed to new replies.
