MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 8 great days Bernese Oberland in September
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Hello! My husband and I just returned from a wonderful eight-day vacation in Switzerland. I began researching for this trip in 2019 in hopes of getting there in 2020 but that got put on hold until this year. I primarily used this website and forum to research our trip, as well as some YouTube videos. For the last two year and a half years I read the weekly e-mail containing all the forum posts. I collected everything I thought we might like to do in a binder and then, of course, had to narrow down our itinerary. Although we were primarily visiting the Bernese Oberland region, we decided to purchase the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass so we could be flexible and be able to go outside the region if the weather didn’t cooperate. We did receive the 50 percent discount on the mountain excursions and we were fine with that.
We flew in and out of Milan due to getting a direct flight from the USA to Milan and also because we were extending our trip to Florence for four days after visiting Switzerland. We were able to take the TILO S50 train directly from Malpensa Terminal 1 to Lugano and switched trains to our final destination of Lucerne. We only needed to purchase the Italian portion and our STP took over at the border. It all worked out very smoothly. We originally planned on staying two nights in Brig and going up to Zermatt two days and then take the high speed train to Italy but in June we learned that there were no fast speed trains going out of Brig due to engineering issues so we extended our stay in the BO one more night and then a night in Zurich in order to take our 6:30 a.m. train to Milan. The closure of the Gotthard Tunnel put a slight kink in our plans but the forum was very helpful with keeping us informed of that as well.
We stayed at the following hotels (with breakfast included), all of which suited our needs just perfectly:
One night at Hotel De la Paix in Lucerne
Four nights at Hotel Silberhorn in Lauterbrunnen
One night at Hotel Post Hardermannli in Unterseen/Interlaken
One night at Courtyard by Marriott Zurich North (perfect location — just one stop away from Zurich HB. No breakfast included, but we picked up a few items at the local Coop)
Wednesday, August 30 – After a great night’s sleep, we visited the Lion Monument, Chapel Bridge, walked along the Musegg Wall and climbed up the clock tower. We then collected our luggage and took the train to Lauterbrunnen. We wasted no time in walking into the valley. We immediately fell in love with the view and waterfalls.
Thursday, August 31 – We picked up some energy bars at the local Coop before taking the cable car up to Grutschalp. Our first full view of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau was just breathtaking as the sun was beginning to break through the clouds. We took the train to Murren and as we walked past the Coop we picked up some fresh strawberries to eat with our energy bars for lunch. We then walked down to Gimmelwald, stopping to take lots of pictures along the way. Such an easy trail down to Gimmelwald. We took the cable car down to Stechelberg and began the valley walk back to Lauterbrunnen, again taking many pictures along the way. We picked a bench along the walk to have our lunch. And, oh, the strawberries were wonderful! We made a stop in to see Trummelbach Falls and it didn’t disappoint. We took the funicular up, climbed up to the 10th level and then walked back down to the bottom. It was amazing! We continued our walk in the valley until we reached our hotel and decided to celebrate our fabulous day with a nice dinner in the hotel.
Friday, September 1 – We decided to head to Zermatt today. Even though it was a three-hour train ride, who could get bored with all the gorgeous scenery going by. The train connections were flawless. The SBB app was an invaluable tool throughout our entire trip since we could plan our trips and check platform changes so easily. We did check the Gornergrat webcam before purchasing our tickets and thought it would be safe to go up. We enjoyed the trip up and the first glimpse of the Matterhorn as we were leaving Zermatt was so exciting. Once we got up to the top we took lots of pictures and then decided to have lunch on the patio. It was crowded but we sat with another couple who shared their table and we enjoyed talking with them and hearing of their travels. We took the walking path up to the highest point and were just so amazed at the views. The longer we were there the more clouds appeared around the Matterhorn so we decided to skip the hike to the lake and just took the train back down to Zermatt. The Gorner Gorge was on our wish list for Zermatt, but we decided we wouldn’t have enough time so instead we found the bridge by the church and got a fantastic picture of the Matterhorn with barely a cloud around it. It was very warm in Zermatt and so we decided to grab a gelato and took the next train back to Lauterbrunnen. We had a light supper and then walked down into the valley a bit and waited for the sun to set so we could get some pictures and then waited a bit longer until Staubbach Falls were lit up. Another fabulous day in Switzerland!
Saturday, September 2 – We picked up some more energy bars and fresh strawberries at the Coop and took the train to Grindelwald, walked to the Grindelwald Firstbahn station where we bought tickets to go up to First. It was another beautiful sunny day. We arrived to the top of First and was just blown away at the views. We enjoyed the Cliff Walk and then started the hike to Bachalpsee. We had read that the first 15 minutes would be mostly uphill and then the trail would level off, but we found the trail to be mostly uphill. (It did take us about an hour each way.) But once we got to the lake the view was worth all the effort of getting there. We enjoyed our lunch by the lake with the cow bells in the background. We returned to the restaurant and had a soft drink to cool off before heading back down to Grindelwald. We decided to take the cable car from Grindelwald to Wengen via Mannlichen. It was such a relaxing ride, just watching the scenery and the Eiger North Face appearing as we approached Mannlichen. We got off at Mannlichen and took the Royal Walk trail. Again, labeled as an easy hike but we found it mostly uphill and difficult. We arrived up to the top and were rewarded with outstanding views. We then walked back down to the station and continued on to Wengen by cable car. We then took the train back down to Lauterbrunnen where we found dinner at one of the local hotels. Another outstanding day!
Sunday, September 3 – Before leaving the Hotel Silberhorn we decided to go back to Wengen and find that iconic photo of Lauterbrunnen Valley that we had seen on some videos. Just down from the church we found a bench and that perfect view of the valley. We sat there a bit and just reflected on this beautiful corner of the world. We retrieved our luggage from the Silberhorn and took the train down to Interlaken West and dropped off our luggage at our next hotel, just a 5-minute walk to the train station. We decided to go up to Harder Kulm. It was an hour wait for the funicular, but we enjoyed visiting with the British couple behind us. It made the time go by quickly. The view of Lakes Brienz and Thun and Interlaken from Harder Klum should not be missed. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We then decided to take the train to Thun and wander around there a bit and find some dinner before returning to Unterseen. We had dinner at Ribs Steakhouse Restaurant. They had a 2-for-1 rib dinner special, so it made it one of our cheapest and tastiest dinners while in Switzerland!) We enjoyed watching the river surfers and getting a glimpse of Thun Castle. We found Thun to be a charming town.
Monday, September 4 – Our last full day in the BO and we knew we had to spend some time on Lake Brienz and visit Giessbach Falls. We took the train from Interlaken West to Interlaken Ost and took the first scheduled boat. The boat stopped at Bonigen and Iseltwald before stopping at Giessbach. We took the funicular up to Giessbach Falls. The falls were just spectacular in every way. We took the trail up to the first bridge and then up to the walkway behind the falls and then back down again. We then took the funicular back down and waited just a few minutes for the next boat to arrive, which turned out to be the nostalgic paddle steamer Lotschberg. What a wonderful extra bonus as we travelled the short distance to Brienz. We took the train back to Unterseen so we could retrieve our luggage from the hotel. We were then off to our hotel just outside Zurich. It was just a 5-minute walk from the Zurich Oerlikon station and a nearby Coop where we bought some breakfast items. We also took the train into Zurich HB to get a little supper and walk around to get a taste of Zurich.
Tuesday, September 5 – We were up early to catch our EuroCity train to Milan with a further connection to Florence. Again, we used our STP for the Swiss portion and purchased tickets from Chiasso to Milano Centrale through ItaliaRail website. We just made sure it was the same train number as on the SBB app and arriving and departing Chiasso at the same time. We arrived at Zurich HB as the train was pulling in and we asked the SBB personnel how to find the carriage that our Italian reserved seats were on and she was very kind and told us to go to the front of the train and we would find the specific carriage number that was on our reservation. Again, it all worked out very smoothly.
We had carried our passports with us the entire time and was only asked by the SBB personnel to see it once and that was on the EuroCity train from Zurich to Milan. I’m not sure if it was due to crossing the border or if it was just by chance.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Switzerland and it was worth the two and a half years of planning. We definitely had a list of places and hikes that were on our must-do list, but we knew we needed to be flexible in case of bad weather, but the weather was just perfect. We took umbrellas and, thankfully, we never had to use them. The only time we used our rain jackets was while we were visiting Trummelbach Falls where it was definitely needed.
Thank you again for giving us resources to plan and execute a wonderful vacation! I have attached some pictures as well.
Beth and Brad
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Hi Beth and Brad,
Thank you so much for your trip report and beautiful photos. I enjoyed the lake photos in particular – very therapeutic and serene.
Some great tips which will definitely help fellow travelers to Switzerland. I think I need to find these strawberries and pay a visit to the Ribs Steakhouse 🙂
Thank you again and I hope the jet lag is being kind.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
I’m adding another picture…can’t believe I forgot to include this in my initial post, but it’s the shot from Wengen looking down into the valley.
Attachments:Yolanda,
Thank you.
And as far as the strawberries, we just couldn’t get over the wonderful flavor and ripeness of those berries. Our local strawberry season here in the midwest is a very short season in June. So it was such a nice surprise. We also bought some wonderful strawberries from a street vendor in Florence.
Beth
Thanks Beth,
Another stunning photo. All postcard perfect!
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Dear Beth
Thank you for your detailed trip report, very useful for me as I’m planning a trip too to visit Luzerne, Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt (in late May)
Weather wise you have been really lucky to enjoy the swiss nature at its best 🙂
Amazing pictures and you have captured it all!
Thank you so much for the information
Chinthika
You’re welcome. We did have exceptional weather. I wish you happy planning for your trip in May.
Beth
Hi BALucas,
Currently, I am 7000 feet up, on Mt Pilatus, where I am spending the night, and just finished reading your trip report. Sounds like you had a great trip, and those pics are beautiful. I’m envious, as my weather has been pretty lousey so far, save for some beautiful pics of the Lauterbrunen valley. Tomorrow morning is supposed to rain, so I doubt I’ll see the sunrise over the lake. I must have brought the clouds on my back this trip. My last trip was just like yours. Win some, lose some. Glad you had a great one.
Regards,
Danielsan.
Thanks. We feel very fortunate to have lucked out with such great weather. It’s always a gamble, I suppose. Enjoy your trip.
Beth
Hi BALucas, it always brings back fond memories of our past trips whenever we read such great trip reports like yours. Great that you managed to grt those nice shots too.
Wengen has a special place in our hearts. And oh I agree the swiss strawberries 🍓 are really yummy. We tried it last June.
Glad you had a wonderful time😁Thank you for sharing.
Loved your trip report and pictures. Thank you so much for taking the time to share.
Thanks so much. We miss the beautiful scenery already.
Beth
Thanks! We miss the beautiful scenery already.
Beth
Thank you for writing about your trip and for sharing your photographs too. The shot of the Chapel Bridge has to be one of the nicest ones I’ve ever seen – just gorgeous! So glad you had such great weather for this long awaited journey.
Thank you for your kind words about our Chapel Bridge photo. I will pass that along to my husband who took most of our pictures, including that one.
It was a fantastic trip and I’m missing the beautiful scenery of Switzerland already.
Beth
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