2 days in Wengen, Lauterbrunnen in late October

Lodging: Hotel Victoria / Pasta & More Bed and Breakfast in Wengen.

Cost: 3-nights, 376 CHF ($380 USD)

Travel pass used: Jungfrau Travel Pass / 3-days / 2 people (360 CHF / $363 USD)

Dates: October 25-28, 2019

Friday, October 25:

Arrived in the early evening, weather was clear. We found the parking garage in Lauterbrunnen, took the train up to Wengen, checked into the Pasta & More Bed and Breakfast (the main Arenas Victoria is closed during this time). We ate in their restaurant downstairs for dinner, and that was it for that day. The B&B is a separate building (but attached). We had a 3rd floor room with a balcony overlooking the train station down into the valley, and we could see Mönch & Jungfrau from our balcony.

Saturday, October 26:

Weather: 100% clear skies all day

Train to Jungfraujoch

We bought our tickets to Jungfraujoch at the train station in Wengen first thing in the morning. The price was 71 CHF ea. (61 + 10 reserved seats) with specific train times up & down. I’m pretty sure you could take any train down, but I think the reserved seats were only for the specific train on your ticket. Not sure about that.

If the day is sunny and/or a weekend, it’s worth it to pay the 10 CHF to have “reserved” seats. What that gets you isn’t a specific seat, but a separate queue that boards first, leaving the mass of tourists behind in their own queue to wait until all the reserved group is on board. This is a good thing. Be sure to look for the “shorter” line as this would be the one you want to be in. It’s not always obvious where it is. In the station at the top, it enters closest to the tracks. Don’t be afraid to push your way to get where you need to go. It’s kind of how things work.

Jungfraujoch trip was awesome! The ice palace is a highlight for sure and must be experienced. Yes, you’re walking on ice, but there’s no melting, so it’s not slick. It’s more like walking on glass. Hand rails are everywhere, and it’s even wheelchair accessible. There’s plenty to see up at the top (assuming weather is cooperating), an the views down the glacier are awesome. We spent a total of 2 hours up there and saw/did everything that was available without feeling rushed.

I walked the trail from Kleine Scheidegg up to the man-made lake (Fallbodensee) in about 20 minutes. The views are totally worth it! Great views of the north face of the Eiger, and the other two mountains. Lunch was outdoors at the end of the KS station, and they make some really good wood-fired pizzas which were tasty and cheap (relatively for this area, 12 CHF I think).

Sunday, October 27:

Weather: 100% clear skies, very high thin clouds in the afternoon. Great visibility.

Cable cars to Schlithorn/Murren – (note: there was only one way to Mürren due to scheduled maintenance of the lift/train option, so we had to take the bus to Stechelberg. We purchased two tickets from the driver (4.40 CHF ea. / one-way – cash only CHF or Euro is ok)

Again, this was a sunny weekend, so the crowds were in force. You felt like cattle being loaded into the cable car. There was a long line at the ticket counter in Stechelberg, as we didn’t have reserved tickets. I decided we’d only to go to Mürren, instead of all the way up to Birg/Schilthorn as we had done Jungfraujoch already, and the JTP only gave us a 25% discount. Our tickets to Mürren (with the Jungfrau Travel Pass discount were 33.60 CHF for 2).

We walked around and took tons of pictures in the town, bought some souvenirs. Even on Sunday, most of the shops were open (I think). We had our obligatory fondue meal (plan on $25-28/person for this meal) at StägerStübli (http://www.staegerstuebli.ch/ en). We ate outside as it wasn’t too cold, and enjoyed the meal.

My wife took the cable car down to Gimmelwald, and I walked the trail down there. I highly recommend this short easy hike (~30 minutes, gentle downhill grade) You’ll have some of the best valley pictures of your trip, and lots of cows and farms on the way down. After we got down to Lauterbrunnen, we walked that town for a bit, and then took the train back up to the hotel.

Monday, October 28:

Weather: Mostly cloudy, with light rain off and on.

Breakfast downstairs, checked out of hotel. Purchased 2 train tickets (6.80 ea.) down to Lauterbrunnen as the JTP had ended/expired on Sunday the 27th. Paid the parking machine (42 CHF), and drove back to Munich.

Things we’ll have to do on future trips: Cable car up to Männlichen, and Mürren-Schlithorn.

Thanks to all the people who make this site easier on us first-time travelers to this area!