[Anonymous]

3 August 2019 at 18:01:38 #823220

We will be visiting Switzerland from 14 September to 30 September, and will use the Swiss Travel Pass. For 8 days we will stay at a hotel in Muerren. I’ve read some posts about getting around in the Muerren- Gimmelwald-Lauterbrunnen-Wengen-Grindelwald area using various modes of travel (train, cable car, hiking), and would like to experience that too. To visualize what we have to do to get from Point A to Point B in each segment of our day, I’ve tried getting information using maps and the SBB timetable. However, I have a problem specifying the name of a location on the SBB timetable. For example, to get a cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen, what should I enter? I entered ‘from Wengen to Mannlichen’, and tried ‘Mannlichen (Luftseilb. Wengen). But when I looked at the journey information, I read that this ‘Operates 3. Aug until 15. Sep 2019 daily (Wengen Wengiboden -> Männlichen (Luftseilb. Wengen))’. What does this mean? What about from 16. to 30. Sept? That’s the time we will be there.

Here’s the sequence of what I would like to do in a day : 1.train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen; 2. cablecar from Wengen to Mannlichen; 3. Hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg as far as we can take it (we’re not seasoned hikers; we just want to do some light walking, and rest every now and then; is this something you think can be done by a casual walker? is there a train that comes along that will pick us up at any point here? ). Can we even aspire to somehow get on the Eiger Ultra Trail and enjoy the view, and eat there at Grindelwaldblick? 4. Train to Grindelwald Grund; eat at Pizzeria Grund; 5. Return from Grindelwald Grund to Muerren (via Lauterbrunnen?)

Does this look reasonably doable in a day? I would appreciate getting your feedback, and any words of wisdom about this plan. Thank you very much.

💡 Save time and get daily forum questions & answers by e-mail

[User]

Reply 1 of 4 • 4 August 2019 at 0:07:03 #919278

One of the drawbacks of computer ‘point to point’ journey planner type timetables is that the computer is not a human brain and therefore sometimes picks up odd information and presents it to the viewer in a confusing way. I think that you are getting that in this case. If you look at the official timetable PDF (a facsimile of the century-old iconic Swiss ‘Kursbuch’ ) you will see the service changes slightly from 16 September but not significantly

There is no “train that comes along” between Mannlichen and Kleine Scheidegg (KS) as it is away from railways.

An easier walk for a non seasoned hiker might be to walk from KS to Grindelwald, on the normal path that parallels the railway, not the Eiger trail (in this case there is a ‘train that comes along’). You still get the ‘beneath the north face of the Eiger’ feeling on the normal path. If you have had enough you can curtail the walk and get on the train at Alpiglen (there is a cafe there)

[Annika]

Reply 2 of 4 • 4 August 2019 at 7:24:29 #919279

Hi Jopie,

You’re certainly planning well, using both the timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable) as well as maps. Now, as for what to enter in the timetable:

• main rail stations simply go by the name of the town, e.g. “Wengen”, “Mürren”, “Grindelwald”. Bus stops may have more complicated names, but I don’t think you’ll be using them for the plans you described;
• “Männlichen (Luftseilbahn Wengen)” is indeed what you should enter to find connections from Wengen to Männlichen. It indicates the cable car (Luftseilbahn) from Wengen as opposed to the other cable car from Grindelwald. “Wengiboden” is the name of the valley station down in Wengen where the cable cars leave;
• the mentioned time frame August 4-September 15 just means that this exact connection will be available during this period, but it doesn’t imply that cable cars won’t be running after that. There will just be some minor changes. You’d best enter your specific travel dates when searching for a connection, so anything between September 16-30 (or, even better: the exact date for which you’re planning this day trip, if you already know that). In case of doubt, consult the separate mountain transportation timetables, such as this one: http://www.maennlichen.ch/en/ summer/information/tim etable.html.

Yes, I think your plans for that day are doable if you leave early. The Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg hike is described at http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg. I’m not sure about the Eiger Trail though, if you’re not experienced hikers.

[Mark]

Reply 3 of 4 • 4 August 2019 at 16:57:50 #919280

Hi Jopie

If you want to experience some of the Eiger Trail I would suggest taking the train from KS up to Eigergletscher and walking part way then turn around and return to Eigergletscher. The top part of the Eiger trail is not very steep so you should be able to walk for 15-20 minutes then turn around and return. To hike the whole Eiger trail would take almost 3 hours.

You don’t need to be an experienced hiker to enjoy the Mannlichen to KS walk. It is slightly downhill and wide and well traveled and should take only about 1.5 hrs.

Mark

[User]

Reply 4 of 4 • 4 August 2019 at 18:33:31 #919281

Thank you very much for your prompt replies, 1960man, Annika, and Mark. I will take your advice and “go back to the drawing board” to get a better picture of what to expect of my day of adventure in the Wengen area.