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Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 1. Train travel advice.
> IMPORTANT: BEFORE you arrive in Switzerland – download the very useful sbb mobile app and explore all the functions as it can be a great help during the journeys. Eg how to save the specific journey (date and time and route) you intend to take so you can check the train formation for the 1st and 2nd class sectors etc etc. it will journey with you each step of the way. Another advantage is that the sbb app will notify us if there is a last minute change of platform for the connecting train. That happened twice during our trip.
TRAVELLING WITH LARGE SUITCASES ON SWISS TRAINS: By large suitcases, I mean anything larger than handcarry which are not allowed on the planes. This is by far the biggest challenge and stress we faced.
SHORT TRANSFER TIME: Technically, the transfer time given on the sbb app means it’s doable. Eg 7 mins transfer time. However it’s doable PROVIDED you are able to locate the lifts or ramps to get to the transfer platform fast.
Advice: Do some research on those stations where you have a short transfer time. This gives you an idea of the platforms and layout etc.
Eg. Transferring at Luzern is very simple as there are no ramps or lifts to take. However transferring at Bern or Zurich HB is not as simple because it’s a huge station.
The short transfer time can be challenging when you are lugging a big suitcase/s trying to figure out how to get to the next platform because you can’t find the ramps or lifts and having to weave through a sea of people on the platform or finding the right sector. This is more so if you are travelling in a group or with family.
This is what happened with us re the 7min transfer at Bern. My mistake was in not reading up about this huge station. Very stressful situation and too long to relate.
TRAVELLING IN 1st CLASS: We noticed that the 1st class on certain popular routes (eg Luzern to Interlaken Ost or Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen) was not as empty this time round as it was 6 years ago on our last visit. Thankfully we always make it a point to be early so we can enter and get seats even on 1st class. It wasnt a problem on the other routes but more at Luzern and to Lauterbrunnen when we noticed the 1st class filled up.
The Bernese Oberland esp the Interlaken area and Jungfrau region is getting so popular – we travelled in the 1st two weeks of June and it was already pretty crowded. If you have the luxury of choosing your months of travel, I would definitely say avoid July and August unless you don’t mind queues and peak crowds and the heat.
When we save our journeys on the sbb mobile app, we can see the train formation of the trains we will be taking. That’s really cool. Sometimes the 1st class carriage is at the end and you don’t want to be standing at the wrong end of the platform. Checking the app will let you know in advance where the 1st and 2nd class carriages will be even before you arrive at the station. Unless you are spring chickens, having to dash to get to the right carriage esp if the platform is crowded and it’s a long train is stressful with suitcases.
CARRYING SUITCASES UP/DOWN THE TRAINS: Some trains have steps and at times there may be a pretty wide gap between the platform and the steps – so the elderly need to be extra careful. Women should preferably avoid wearing heels when taking the trains. Sneakers or sandals with straps is more practical.
RACKS OR SPACE FOR LUGGAGES Most carriages have overhead racks for smaller carry ons. Depending on which carriage you get in, some have racks or space at the entrance for bigger suitcases and some dont. If it’s possible, try not to take too large a suitcase.
WHEN THE TRAIN STOPS BUT THE DOORS DON’T OPEN: There are round green buttons located at side of the train doors. If the doors are closed on the outside or inside , press the green button to open them. Also note that some stations are STOP ON REQUEST, so you will need to press the button when the train is due to arrive at that station or the platform.
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Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 2.
Ok, now that I have given some advice on train travel with large suitcases, I can proceed to share some of our activities. As it’s impossible to mention all the activities we did, I will just select some with some tips which may be helpful for 1st timers.
DOING DAY TRIPS HANDS FREE – Instead of checking in and out of hotels every few days, try to find a good base for a longer stay. Then do all your day trips hands free without having to push or drag the suitcases up and down.
This is what we chose to do rather than checking in and out of hotels every 3 days. We based ourselves 9N in Meiringen and 7N in Wengen and 3N in Winterthur. It made sense to plan a longer trip since we would have to deal with a 12hr flight to and fro. We wanted to take our time doing what we missed the last trip and have an easy pace, soak in the ambience and not be rushed.
The experiences are based on 2 seniors (husband and wife in their very late 60’s) and a 43yo son. Coming from a small city state Singapore which has lots of shopping malls and buildings and no meadows, blue lakes or mts. Hence, fitness level is average with a few aches and pains here and there which thankfully did not affect our enjoyment of beautiful picture postcard views during our walks in Switzerland. In fact, we found ourselves much fitter after all the walks.😁
We used the 10D Bernese Oberland Pass 1st Class and Half Fare throughout our stay in Meiringen and it was very convenient.
TICKET INSPECTORS ON TRAINS – When the inspectors came round, they always asked to see the Pass or ticket + the Half Fare Card and the Passport. Please take care of the QR code on the printed tickets to avoid creasing that portion. The inspectors will scan the QR code. It’s best to have the Pass and the Half Fare stapled or clipped together. The Half Fare card must be valid throughout the duration of the passes and tickets used.
What we did was buy the BO Pass and Half Fare card 2 weeks before we departed.
The advantage of buying the Pass and Half Fare card before departing for Switzerland is the ability to print a few extra copies of each. Just in case you lose them or it gets wet etc. If you buy it at the station when you arrive, there is no refund if you lose the original.
MEIRINGEN – We are glad we chose this nice town. Not too big nor too small – very nice people, shops and layout. Although it’s 30min train ride from Meiringen to Interlaken Ost, the views along the way are so nice because we pass Lakes Brienz and Thun before seeing the high cliffs of the mts. The scenic daily train rides was worth it and this segment of the journey was seldom crowded.
Our stay was at Hotel Meiringen which was a stone’s throw from the train and bus station.
Here’s my review if you are interested.
AARESCHLUCHT OR AARE GORGE: We had a great visit and highly recommend this activity. Enjoyable because there were no crowds on a Monday weekday 5/6/23.
The dedicated platform for the Innertkirchen rail was just beside the Meiringen train station where we took the 2 min ride to Aareschlucht West station around 10:45am. After alighting at the West station, we crossed the bridge and made a left turn to take a leisurely 10 min walk to the Gorge West ticket entrance. Thankfully no tour buses were in sight.
The BO Pass has a discount of 30% off the entrance fee so we showed our Pass and paid CHF 7 each. The ticket entrance to the gorge is just beside the ticket counter. The toilets are outside the building so use them if needed, before entering the gorge.
There weren’t many people on the day we visited and we were able to walk through at a comfortable pace. Entering by the West entrance gives you a view of the alps in the far distance as we walk towards the end of the gorge. If you enter by the East entrance, you won’t get to see the alps in the distance as it will be behind you.
Wow the massive canyon walls above and the rushing waters below was such a sight to behold ! What a divine engineering feat formed over hundreds of years coupled with amazing swiss construction of the walkways etc. It was most interesting and definitely impressive and a sight we highly recommend.
At the end of the walk from the West to the East, you can choose to backtrack to the West entrance or carry on to the East exit. We decided to exit via the East exit. That meant having to go up quite a few metal steps to the cafe above. Was enjoying a short break with a drink, admiring the view till someone decided to pollute the fresh air with their smoking. Ugh.
We exited the cafe and saw the main road – turned left and followed the road till we saw a sign pointing down to the East train station. If you choose to return or enter via the Aare Ost/East entrance, it’s advisable to wear sturdy sports shoes/sneakers for this path as some places can be a little challenging for seniors.
There are some parts with no railings and I had to hold on to my husband’s arm. It’s definitely doable for young people but we seniors needed to be more careful. I definitely would not choose this East entrance just after a rainy day because the path would wet, muddy and slippery.
After reaching the bottom of the path, we crossed the river and walked towards the Aare Ost station. The time taken from the cafe to the bottom of the path to the Aare Ost/East train station entrance was around 30mins for us because we took our time.
At the entrance of the East station, there is a button you need to press for the train to stop – whether in the direction towards Meiringen or to the West station. The doors will only open when the train arrives as it’s built into a tunnel.
Just give ample time for a visit to the Gorge so you don’t need to rush. We dedicated the whole afternoon for this and by the time we arrived at the hotel in Meiringen, it was almost 4pm. Definitely a 10/10 for us.
Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 3.
We took the train from Meiringen to Interlaken Ost and decided to arrive at the Cruise jetty early. That was a good decision because the queue started to get pretty long 15 mins before the boat was to depart and this was on a weekday.
Once we boarded, we had to show our BO 1st class before being allowed to go up to the upper deck. Found a good spot and thankful for the weather which was not too hot. Lovely breeze as we sailed along the lake. Our plan was to stop at Giessbach and spend some time up at the Grandhotel Giessbach outdoor cafe. The ticket inspector came round to check everyone’s tickets/pass.
On the way, we say many esp koreans alighting at Iseltwald which is the location for the jetty of the famous CRASH LANDING ON YOU when actor Hyun Bin played the piano. We decided to video on deck and played the screen music at the same time. The jetty for photos used to be free but they have since installed a turnstile where those who wish to take a photo will need to pay CHF 5 (cash only) to enter the jetty.
Anyway, we decided to give that a miss as it would be too crowded and there are so many other pretty towns to visit. Alighting at Giessbach, we then stood in line to take the little funicular up to the the Grand hotel Giessbach. With the BO Pass, there is a discount only if you buy a return ticket (to be paid in cash). I think we paid CHF10 for the return. The guy will come round to those queing – let him know you want a return ticket with a discount from the BO Pass. Some choose to walk down or up one way – in that case no discount for the one way.
Still getting used to the time zone and recovering from a long flight, we chose not to do any walking up or down from the Giessbach jetty to the hotel.
Instead, we found a nice table up at the Grandhotel Giessbach al fresco cafe, overlooking the gushing falls and enjoyed our bottle of wine with a dried meat platter. It was a real chill out time just relaxing and taking it at our own pace. Enjoyed the ambience as it was lovely weather. Two of us then took a walk to the falls where we could see the hotel from afar. Further up was the walk to go under the falls. Personally felt that bit was rather underwhelming. To me, the front view of the gushing falls seen from the cafe patio was more scenic. Time passed by so fast and to get a place in the funicular down and not miss the boat, we went to queue about 15 mins beforehand. I think we were up there for more than 2hrs.
By the way, when we were at the Giessbach jetty and I wanted to use the toilet (ladies) – it was locked and to enter one had to pay. So best to use the one up at the hotel before you leave.
The boat arrived on time and wow there was still such a crowd alighting although it was almost 3pm. We boarded and alighted at Brienz. It was getting rather warm and as we strolled along the promenade, there was a gelato truck where we decided to cool off with some great tasting gelato. It was quite busy at Brienz that afternoon and after our stroll it was getting pretty hot, so we took the train back to Meiringen around 4:30pm. Grateful for the attached restaurant at our hotel so we did not have to look for a place for dinner every night after a day of sight seeing.
Another fruitful satisfying day out. Cruising and chilling out at Giessbach was 9/10 for us. However, I do not think we would have enjoyed it as much if it was peak season with the crowds – esp the very long queues for the funicular and cruise.
Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 4
LAKE LUNGERN – There is a beautiful lake we see on the way from Luzern to Interlaken Ost and we discovered that it was Lake Lungern. It’s just 22 mins from Meiringen by train (2 stops) to Lungern.
We decided to give Elliot’s cafe a try after reading all the great reviews and had an early hamburger dinner on Fri 9/6/23. Do check them out on google map for their opening hours. We went on a friday as they had longer opening hours.
The beef burger was very good. As usual not cheap but we were happy to have tried it. The hamburger bun is crispy and very light whilst the cut fries are the real deal – hard to come by these days. The salt on the fries balances out the meat patty which is very clean tasting and yummy.
The owner recommended the fruit ice tea which was so refreshing, as was the beer. We managed to get a table outside with a great view of the lake as we were early. Good food, great view and pleasant service.
After the meal, we took a walk down to the lake where there were very few people. It was a pleasant stroll from the station to the cafe and later down to the lake. However, the walk back up to the station from the lake was pretty tiring for those of us who are not used to uphill walks. Suffice to say we likely did burn off some calories huffing and puffing at some sections back to the station. LOL.
This was more of a rest day for us where we decided to have dinner outside of the hotel. No regrets with the hamburger early dinner.. There is a circular hike around Lake Lungern which we did not attempt.
Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 5
ROSENLAUI
We took a bus 164 from the Meiringen bus station to the GSCHWANDENMAD stop. What greeted us when we alighted were gorgeous open views of the fields, with the wildflowers and rushing river against the backdrop of the mts ahead. Breathing in the fresh air and just appreciating the natural beauty of the place – we planned the trip in June to see some alpine wildflowers and this place was full of those white fluffy “pom poms” where you could blow the petals and they would would float like tiny feathers in the breeze. I think they are called “kiukkuinen”. I do not know if they can be seen during the other seasons but it was lovely during our visit.
From Gschwandenmad, we took a lovely walk to the Rosenlaui Hotel. There is a UNESCO heritage Rosenlaui glacier gorge behind the hotel, with about 200 steps that ascend 115 meters into the gorge. We decided to skip that (since we were more than satisfied after visiting AARE Gorge), so we carried on walking all the way to SCHWAZWALDALP. That took us about an hour. We decided to walk along the main road rather than the forest path because the latter was very muddy and there was too much cow dung on that path.
When we reached Schwazwaldalp, we had a drink at the cafe, hung around till we could take Bus 164 back to Meiringen. Apparently, you can do a challenging walk all the way to Grosse Scheidegg and take a bus with a twisty journey down to Grindelwald. As I get motion sickness with too many bends on buses, we skipped that..
Personally for us, the walk from Gschwandenmad to Rosenlaui hotel was wonderful with beautiful open views. No hiking boots or poles needed. This was an absolute picture postcard trip for us in early June. 10/10 because it was so easy to get to from our base in Meiringen. The sbb app will show the bus timetable.
Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 6
GELMERBAHN “ROLLER COASTER”
This was a ride we were unsure about because when we looked at the bus schedules and rides, I found it a little difficult to coordinate.
However, the chef at the hotel restaurant encouraged us to do it and eventually we managed to book the available last 3 tickets on our last day of stay at Meiringen. Be sure you buy the ascent AND descent or you will be stuck up there.
We took the 11:45am train from Meiringen to Innerkirchen Grimseltor arriving at 11:52am.
Then we were supposed to transfer to the 11:58am BUS 171 Innertkirchen, Grimseltor and arrive at the Handegg 12:20pm. (Handegg is the station of the Gelmerbahn)
To our horror, we realised that we did not alight when the train reached Grimseltor and we ended up at the Innertkirchen, Kraftwerk terminus station which was one station after Grimseltor.
The station master saw our dilemna and said that if we were to take the train back to Grimseltor, we would most certainly miss the 12:20pm bus. He redirected us to another bus stop which we could walk to across the road and he called the bus driver to expect 3 passengers waiting. That is the same bus that we missed at Grimseltor.
The bus arrived 3 mins after we reached the bus stop. PHEW!!
Had we missed the bus, our CHF 108 @ 36 pp for the 3 of us (return tickets on the Gelmerbahn ride) would have gone up in smoke as there is no refund no matter what the reasons are. These tickets are not discounted with any pass nor Half Fare from what I remember.
A nice 20min bus ride to the Handegg Gelmerbahn station. After we alighted at the Handegg bus stop, it was an uphill 10 min walk from the bus stop to the ticket office. We were instructed to arrive at least 30 mins before the ride, to exchange our paid voucher for the ticket time that we booked (in case of a queue).
Do check their website for the timetable and most imp the weather forecast (Gelmersee).
After exchanging the vouchers for the tickets, we managed to be at the front of the queue so we could get seats at the very front row. Each row seats 4px and I think the max is around 24px, that’s why advanced booking is advised as seats sell out quickly.
This was a really great slow ride and a little scary at one point. Being at the front allowed us to see the very very (and I mean very) steep ascent. I enjoy heights but even this was a little daunting at a particular section. Thankfully it was a slow ascent and not like the crazy roller coaster rides in the themeparks. It took 12mins to reach the top and because the weather was so nice, we had a beautiful view of the blue alpine lake Gelmersee at 1,412 metres high. We did a short walk to the dam and spent 45 mins up there since we did not intend to do the challenging steep hike around the lake. There is a portable toilet up there where they use saw dust to cover the bottom of the bowl.
It was such a lovely day to be at the top and the views were again simply gorgeous. You can choose to stay longer by choosing a later descent.
Our ascent was 13:00pm and descent 14:00pm. The bus back to Grimseltor was 15:33pm, giving us ample time to walk the suspension bridge nearby before catching the bus. It is important to plan carefully for this ride as the buses are not that frequent but it is definitely worth taking this activity if you are not afraid of heights.
After we descended, we took a walk on the suspension bridge (the steps leading to the bridge is very close to the ticket office). We walked to the end of the bridge and using the google map, found our way to the hotel cafe – had a drink and walked down to the main road to the bus stop for the ride back to Grimseltor. This is much easier than backtracking to the suspension bridge to the ticket station to the bus stop.
We returned by bus from Handegg to Grimseltor and transferred to the train back to Meiringen.
All in all a most interesting day with some moments of panic initially when we alighted at the wrong station. This is a 10/10 activity for us.
Here is a video of what Gelmerbahn ride is like:
Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 7
BLAUSEE & NIESEN KULM
This was a longer day trip for us but because we were hands free from luggages, it was not a problem at all.
We took the train from Meiringen to Interlaken Ost, transferring at Spiez to Frutigen. The bus 230 was already at the station waiting for passengers to Blausee. It drove off 2 mins after we boarded. Again the sbb app was a great way for us to chart our journey.
We paid the entrance fee (I think there was a discount with the BO Pass) and walked the short 200 metres to the lake. For some reason or other, it was a little underwhelming for us. Maybe because it’s small and in an enclosed area without much scenery around it – compared to so many other lakes with gorgeous views of mts etc, it was just ok for us inspite of the blue colour but we were not blown over by what we saw.
Personally it was a 6.5/10 for us but that’s just our opinion. I heard that it is gorgeous in autumn.
Maybe we should have gone to Oeschinensee instead but because we wanted to visit Niesen Kulm, there wasnt enough time.
So after a visit to Blausee, we walked out to the main road and crossed over to take the bus to Frutigen and boarded the train for a 6min ride to Mulenen station. From there it was a short 4 min walk to the Niesenbahn station. This ride up is covered by the BO Pass.
We queued at the ticket office thinking we had to show the BO Pass to get the tickets. But the lady said all we needed to do was scan the QR code on the pass at the turnstile to enter the funicular area. That’s how we found out that for all the rides covered by the Pass, we only needed to scan the QR Code – that was the same for the Jungfrau Travel Pass as well. Easy Peasy and such a breeze because we could avoid unnecessary queuing at the ticket office.
Most of the people going to Niesen Kulm were locals (I think). We were there on a weekday and there were already 20px ahead of us. They allowed quite a lot of people onto the small funicular and we had to stand as there were not enough seats. They allowed 5 to be seated and 6 standing in each carriage. That became a blessing in disguise as we could get better views standing than sitting during the 30 min fairly steep ride up and down.
There was a change halfway up at Schwandegg. It’s just leaving one funicular and walking across to the an identical one on the other side. We arrived at the top at 12:15pm.
At 2340 metres high, it was truly a panoramic breathtaking view of the surrounding region. Literally hundreds of peaks and views of Lake Thun and Brienz. The pics and videos we took simply can’t do justice to what we could see with our own eyes. Walk a flat 200 yards and the Berghaus restaurant comes into view and it was pretty packed with diners around noon.
It was a little chilly at 8 degrees outside so remember to bring something warm when you make a trip up. We spent about an hour enjoying the views – walking up to a higher viewing platform where there was a sign showing the names of the peaks in front of us.
Niesen Kulm panoramic views covered by the BO Pass gets a 10/10 from us. Just bear in mind that we were there on a weekday in early June and there were about 20 px infront of us queuing. Expect bigger crowds on weekends.
It was a long day for us and we decided to take it easy the next day.
Contd…Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 8
HASLIBERG MAGISALP
Our hotel gave us free tickets to take the ride up to Magisalp. It is a pity the ride all the way to Alpen Tower was not opened yet because the views on the way up to Magislp were also amazing. Mts behind and infront – another wow ride in the area. We enjoyed the ride so much the first time that we repeated in on another day.
It’s a 15 min walk from our hotel to the Meiringen Luftseilbahn. From there we took the ride up to Hasliberg Reuti and then a transfer to Magisalp. The views were nicer that we expected and the 2nd time we went, we did a 5km hike from Magisalp down to Hasliberg Bidmi.
That took around 2.5hrs through alpine meadows and pine forests. There was one section that was more challenging going downwards and definitely good sturdy hiking shoes to protect the ankles and hiking poles will be most helpful. This trail is not suitable for baby strollers and I rate this hike a 7/10 for walkers like myself in terms of difficulty.
Those who don’t wish to do the hikes, the rides itself are very nice for the views which I rate 9/10.
So that was basically what we did during our stay in Meiringen. With just one or two activities per day, we had enough time to rest and enjoy our visits to each place.
Trip Report 4June – 23 June 2023 (Bernese Oberland). Part 9
After our checkout from Meiringen, we based ourselves for 7N in Wengen. We still had 2 days of our 10D BO Pass left and after that, bought a 4D Jungfrau Travel Pass.
There was some train disruption when we arrived at Interlaken Ost to take the train up to Lauterbrunnen. Hence they dedicated a full train for Lauterbrunnen and another train for Grindelwald, hence the carriages didnt split into two directions. That was great because it meant more space for passengers with large suitcases.
The trains from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen are so much bigger compared to 6 years ago when they used the ones with the wooden seats.
The shuttle from Hotel Alpenrose picked us up since we emailed to give them our time of arrival. Check in these days are so easy because we can do it online when they send up the link. Got to our rooms and decided to take a walk through the town to the church at the far end. All this walking is really good exercise for us city folks.
Once again, we decided to choose the Half Board 3 course dinner offered by the hotel so we could have a good meal after a day out. We have stayed in this hotel for each visit as the views from the Superior Dbl room balcony are simply gorgeous as it overlooks the alps and the Lauterbrunnen valley. But this also means walking is an uphill exercise when you want to get to the station. Of course on check out day, we always reserved the shuttle but on the other days, we just decided to exercise albeit huff and puff at times.
We tried to repeat the Lauterbrunnen walk on this trip in June but the rays of the sun were pretty scorching and we turned back after walking a little further past the Staubbach falls. There were lots of cars and traffic at the beginning of the walk, with many people walking and pulling their luggages – what a difference when we did this walk 6 years ago in late September. This time the sun was really too strong even for us and it was good we didn’t continue. Our son had some sunburn on his face upon reaching back and I realised from the difference in skin tone where my watch was, that the UV rays were really strong. Sunscreen aside, it was the dry burning heat that day which we were not used to (14 June). It’s hot backhome but more the wet hot rather than burning dry heat.
Since we abandoned the valley walk, we went up to Murren via Grutschalp – great views as always. We thought we would repeat the Birg Thrill Walk (one station below Schilthorn) – as we were queuing, I decided to confirm that the BO Pass covered the Birg ride. Unfortunately it didnt and we decided not to carry on and decided to walk back towards the train station at Murren.
There is a lot of construction going on at the tail end of Murren leading to the Schilthorn station. Lots of trucks moving up and down so it was no fun walking that section. They are building a new cable car station I think and it was noisy – I pity any guests in those staying in that part of Murren..
On the way back to the Murren train station, we stopped halfway at Hotel Alpina for a snack at their outdoor cafe. That was the best part of the day – rosti and sausages, beer, ginger ale. Then we returned to Wengen – a little disappointed with the Lauterbrunnen and Murren experience this time round. So glad we had a wonderful time in our last trip 6years ago in late Sept.
As for the other walks/hikes – we repeated the PANORAMIC WALK from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. Still wonderful this time round. Beautiful weather with some cloud cover to shade us from the sun’s rays. Stopped at the Grindelwaldblick restaurant just before reaching K.Scheidegg. Had a beer, bitter lemon soda and delicious beef goulash.
At Kleine Scheidegg, our son did the walk up to Eigergletscher. Although I read that it was supposed to be “easy” – I changed my mind when we saw with our own eyes the long ascends up to Eigergletscher. So we took the train up to Eigergletscher and waited for him. After he completed it in 55mins, he confirmed that it would have been too challenging for us because there were lots of big loose gravel and it was tiring because of the long never ending ascend. If you do it the other way round, it can be a big strain on the knees and shin because of the long downhill walks with gravel..
From the Eigergletscher station which had impressive views from the huge windows, we took the EIGER EXPRESS to the Grindelwald Terminal. WOW what an amazing ride in this fantastic cable car. We had it all to ourselves and marvelled at the engineering skill and of course gorgeous views. We enjoyed this ride so much we did it twice during our stay.
When we alighted at the Grindelwald Terminal, right in front of us was the LINDT chocolate shop and my husband spotted the poster with the ice cream. We made a beeline for it and had 2 sccops each – they have 4 flavours – the normal milk chocolate, the dark chocolate, the vanilla with choc chips (can’t remember the name) and Hazelnut. CHF 4.90 per scoop which was ok because they were large scoops on a firm cone. Yumz!! We treated ourselves to this 3x during our stay.
After finishing our treat, we hopped onto the long cable car ride to Mannlichen and transferred to the gondola down to Wengen. Remember to check the sbb online app for all the last rides from Grindelwald Terminal to Mannlichen down to Wengen to avoid getting stuck up there.
Walk from KLEINE SCHEIDEGG TO WENGERNALP station – This was a lovely pleasant doable walk (no need for hiking boots or poles) where we saw lots of alpine yellow and white flowers in the fields. The backdrop whilst walking down is once again picture postcard perfect and the clouds gave us just the amount of shade we needed without obscuring our views. We did not do this in our last trip so it was such a treat to see the wildflowers in the fields – very pretty..
This is the easiest part of the walk and we did not want to carry on with the challenging walk back to Wengen. So we took the train back to Wengen when we arrived at the Wengernalp station.
JUNGFRAUJOCH – I didn’t plan for this 2nd visit but we decided to do it one last time since our son wanted to repeat the experience. It was pretty crowded (too crowded for my liking). There was a Bollywood restaurant with the smell of curry wafting through the area – something I don’t remember on our last visit. It’s likely a big hit for the many Indians visiting or perhaps the tour groups have some kind of arrangement for the restaurant to provide meals in the package.
We made our way out to the area where there was snow – taking extra care not to slip or fall as it was pretty icy. Unfortunately the excitement of this 2nd visit compared to the 1st was gone….just too many people and quite noisy this time round. .
We realised that it was getting warmer and too hot to do more walks as the week progressed. After 7N, we proceeded to Winterthur where we stayed for 3N before going to the airport. We like the city of winterthur and it’s vibe esp at the Oberer Graben al fresco cafes in the old town where we stayed. The only thing is the unsheltered walk to the bus stop or the station with luggages should it rain – thankfully it was ok during our stay.
Having visited Switzerland in Late September/Oct and this time in June – our personal preference will be Late September because it’s much cooler and less crowds (unless things have changed). The cows coming down from the meadows during that time are a sight to behold, with their pageants and beauty parades, loud cowbells as they walk through the streets. The downside is the cow dung that we have to avoid when walking.
In June, the wildflowers are nice. But we had this horrible annoying time with flies during meals in some places. Apparently this is something that happens at this time of the year and they just can’t do anything about it. This not such a problem in Wengen Hotel Alpenrose restaurant as it was in Hotel Meiringen which was more outdoors. We did try the pizza at Sina in Wengen – it was outdoors and there were the flies again. The pizza was good by the way.
The temperature was great when we were in Meiringen but when we were in Wengen, the sun’s rays were pretty intense eventho it was still around 19 degrees. I think being higher up in the mountains exposes us to the sun even more.
Inspite of that, we had a great time in Switzerland – I mean how can one not enjoy being in this lovely country, having the mts and lakes and easy transportation to these places.
The service we received whether in restaurants, train stations, hotels, tourist offices added to the charm of the place.. The staff were professional, friendly, helpful and so nice to chat with. Take time to smile and chat because that goes a long way in making friends along the way.
Switzerland is one country we would love to visit again. I have not had time to add any photos or videos but I think there are enough of those on the net. . I hope some have managed to find the tips helpful along the way. All that I learnt is also because of the great work done by the moderators on this website and fellow travellers who have helped to answer all our queries. All the best and thank you to those who were patient enough to read the reports
I forgot to mention that we visited STEIN AM RHEIN whilst in Winterthur. It’s an easy train ride from Zurich as well and worth a visit. Very picturesque quaint little town with interesting painted frescoes on the buildings – some of which look like they popped out of a fairy tale book. As we walked the cobbled streets, we came across a Nativity christmas shop which had a museum on the upper storey. Although we didnt visit the museum there were some interesting little nativity scenes from different parts of the world to look at in the shop. There were people enjoying their stroll, sitting at the outdoor cafes, taking pictures near the fountain. We passed by a gelato shop but also saw a vendor with his soft serve home made ice cream on the side walk – looking like jolly St. Nicholas, we decided to patronise his stall. Very friendly with a sense of humour – his strawberry and vanilla soft serve was very refreshing and light.
We spent about an hour walking through the town and down to the river where there are boats to Schaffhuasen. But the next boat was a long wait so we decided to take the train back. Walking from the station, the Old Town with the lovely painted exteriors is about a slow 15-20 min walk slightly uphill to the bridge over the river..enjoyed this visit as it is a contrast to many of the towns around Zurich.
We bought the tickets from the ticket machines that are also located at the bus stops. Since it had to be a return ticket, it showed a 24hr Day Pass for that particular number of zones to Stein Am Rhein and back to Winterthur. I made a mistake by punching 3 adults and then 3 Half fare tickets – which meant that 3 full fares and 3 Half fare tickets came out. No wonder I was puzzled at the price but it didn’t compute at the time. So we quickly went to the SBB train station counter and the lady who served us was very understanding and did the refund for the full price tickets. What a relief!
As for our flights: We departed Singapore at 01:40am on Sun 4 June 2023 and arrived in Zurich Flughafen at 08:05am. Took the sky train to Passport control where we were 2nd in the Queue. Cleared and collected our luggages, exiting the arrival hall at 08:50am. Went to the main building across and had a cup of coffee at the Springli cafe before taking our 09:48am to Meiringen via Luzern. Due to some construction going on that weekend, we could not get to Luzern directly from the airport. We chose the route that transfers at Olten because it gave us a longer transfer time compared to Arth-Goldau.
When we departed Zurich airport back to Singapore, we did a check in at the SIA counter which was on the 2nd Floor Row 1. No queues and straightforward. We heeded the advice from the staff to enter the departure gates early because of the possibility of long queues at customs and Passport control. Took the sky train to Gate E59 where the boarding was on time.
We shall be back for the Christmas markets and Zermat if all goes to plan.
Hi traveljet,
Thank you for making the time to write such a detailed report. Definitely enjoyed reading every bit especially your experience at Gelmerbahn. Bravo for taking the front seats on the slowest roller coaster in Switzerland 🙂
Appreciate all the tips you shared eg. SBB app, railpass, weather, luggage, etc. I’m sure these will be useful to our fellow travellers.
Best regards,
Anna
Thank you, traveljet, for that detailed and very enjoyable trip report! My husband and I stayed at Hotel Alpenrose a year ago in a superior double room and the view was truly awe-inspiring! And we also noted the fly situation, not just at restaurants, but also hotel rooms on occasion, with the windows open at night. We may have to go back in September at some point, since it sounds like they are not a problem then. 😊
Thanks Anna😁
Hi EASW, thanks for reading. Apparently the flies situation happens between late May till August during the warmer weather. We definitely didn’t have this annoyance on our mid September- Oct trip before. Strange that no one seemed to mention this in their reports Perhaps it’s because it didn’t keep them from having a great time.
By the way if you do return to Alpenrose, there’s a once a year Grindelwald Farmers market on the 1st Sat of October. We really enjoyed that 6yrs ago so maybe you can check if it is still around in your future trip.
Hello Traveljet – I just finished reading your comprehensive report – thank you for taking the time to write in such detail. I stayed two nights at the Alpenrose in Wengen last June (2022), and spent two nights in Murren as well. The flies were terrible at the hotel restaurant in our hotel in Murren, but we did not experience any at the hotel restaurant in Wengen, thankfully. One other place where the flies were terrible was the restaurant at Trummelbach Falls – they were all over the food in the display cases there! I’ve experienced the flies in Murren before in late July as well (and that was more than 10 years ago, so seems to be an ongoing problem.) Other than that, my Swiss experiences have all been wonderful and I hope to return next summer. Thank you again for your frank and detailed report. Lots of great advice for those of us getting up there in age!
Hi Lastlook, thanks for taking the time to read the trip report. So it looks like the flies are a real problem in the summer months, something I wasnt expecting as no one seemed to mention them. But after speaking to some guests and now yourself, I would definitely choose late September/Oct over June. It’s a tough choice because we loved the wildflowers in June and we didnt have to layer up so much as we did in the Sept trip. With the cows coming down, there was some dung to watch out for. So the funny part is choose between cow dung or flies. LOL!
We will choose the dung as its easier to avoid than the pesky flies – swatting them during meal times is no fun. Agree that we did not have the flies problem at Alpenrose at all. Phew! But once at Sina’s Pizziera outdoors, we did notice them again. Yet this pesky issue still does not take away the wonderful experience of being up there in the alps.
Let’s continue to enjoy picture postcard sceneries and hike or in our case walk as much as we can. All the best to your future travels!
Thank you – wishing you the same in your future travels. I will refer back to your report for some new (to me) ideas for some of the lesser known mountain lifts and walks for my itinerary next year. I will still probably stick to the last couple of weeks in June, running into early July, as I love the wildflowers and have been very fortunate weather-wise during that time frame through the years.
Attachments:Hi Lastlook, I understand your preference for the summer time and agree the weather is more stable. We did use some tea tree oil spray on our bodies at times and it helped temporarily to get them off us but not the food. My guess is these flies are the ones annoying the cows as we always see them swishing their tails at them. In late spring and summer the cows are much higher up on the mts and most of the flies prefer to stay down rather than go so high up. Hence with less cows to annoy, they start coming around at meal times and mess around us. However in the autumn and colder months, the cows are already down from the mts and these flies go back to annoying the cows. That’s why the problem only happens in the late Spring and summer. Hahaha. Just my crazy logic.
I will return in mid Nov going into the 1st week of December as we would like to visit the Christmas markets and also for the1st time visit Zermatt when it’s non peak. I also wish to view the Matterhorn when there is snow. Every blog says don’t come to Switzerland in Nov. because the weather is awful so it remains to be seen what happens when we do. There was a member who gave a trip report on his travel in Nov and it sounded pretty good esp the lack of crowds which is exactly what we like. Still doing up on my reading and trying to find less expensive places in Zermatt to dine out (hotel does not provide half board) which is almost impossible. Not sure if I will end up changing our itinerary but we do want to stay in Zermatt at least once in all our Swiss travels, something I avoided the past 4 times.
Great photos that you attached. We all just can’t get enough of these fantastic views! My phone is full of the photos and videos which I have not tidied up yet.😁
Hi, you state, “When we save our journeys on the sbb mobile app, we can see the train formation of the trains we will be taking. That’s really cool. Sometimes the 1st class carriage is at the end and you don’t want to be standing at the wrong end of the platform. Checking the app will let you know in advance where the 1st and 2nd class carriages will be even before you arrive at the station.”
I simply cannot find on the SBB app where the train formation is located. I have had the SBB app for two years and have an account. As shown at the enclosure is my best view of the trip from Zurich to Lucerne.
Can you or someone give me the steps to observe the train formation for a selected route like below? Thanks.
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Hi Swede4life,
Based on your screenshot, this is the connection screen. Click on the route displayed to get to the next screen which displays the journey information. At the top you’ll find the tab for the train formation.
Hope this helps.
regards,
Anna
Anna, i am on my logged in mobile sbb app, I am at the journey information tab. I do not see any tabs at the top for train formation. See enclosed. What am I missing?
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- The thread ‘Trip report Bernese Oberland in June part 1’ is closed to new replies.
