switzerland_ltaly

The vacation of great vistas -
Switzerland and the Italian Lakes

Grindelwald and the Berner Oberland

Day Four – Luzern to Grindelwald

Armed with cash, we somehow managed to get our car out of the parking
garage near the Luzern train station without further incident. I'm sure that
we spent much more than we needed to, but it was time to move on, so we
did.

We very much enjoyed our time in Luzern. Yes, it is a little Disney-ish -- that
is, almost a little too perfect and picturesque. But there are many things to
do in the area, and we just scratched the surface. We easily could have
spent another day driving along the towns on the north side of the
Vierwaldstatersee, or taking the cogwheel up Rigi. It is a beautiful, relaxing
area, and we look forward to returning some day.

We left Luzern and headed toward the Berner Oberland on an incredibly
scenic drive that crossed the Brunig Pass and then along the north shore
of the Brienzersee. Without stopping, we crossed through Interlaken
(Marisa has been there before) and drove on to Grindelwald. Once you
cross into the valley south of Interlaken, you really do begin to feel like you
are in the high Alps. The road begins to climb and the Eiger, Monch and
Jungfrau come into view.

We arrived at our hotel, the Gletschergarten, just before lunch time. As
expected, we were in before check-in time and our room was not ready. We
actually had a choice of rooms, and decided on one that was a bit more
expensive than we'd planned, but the view was just too good to pass up: a
view right up the Gross-Fiescherhorn.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and we planned to take a gondola up to First
station above Grindelwald and walk to the Bachalpsee. The pictures of the
Bachalpsee in our books and on the Internet were stunning, and this
looked like the perfect day to do the hike. While our room was being
readied, we wandered toward the center of town to find the lift and to pick
up some pic-nic supplies for our trip up the mountain. By then, our room
was finished and we were able to change and prepare for the hike. This
was another big moment of the trip for Allie. Her prize for learning some
German phrases in advance was a pair of matching American Girl hiking
outfits for her and her doll, Kirsten -- black hiking shorts, white shirts,
fuschia fleece vests and yellow bandanas. Off we went.

This was our second trip up a Swiss gondola, and it didn't disappoint
either. We were in an individual car that moved up over the trees and
grassy meadows, with a variety of hiking trails down below. Within a short
time, we were up at First Station. This is one of the premier paragliders
locations in the Alps, and on this fantastic afternoon the conditions
seemed perfect. There were many paragliders up at the top preparing to
take off over the valley. Not only did we get to sit on the grass, eat our pic-
nic lunch and take in the amazing view of the Fiescherhorn and the Eiger;
we got to watch parasailers take off and then soar over the valley and up
around the mountain peaks. Absolutely memorable. One of those spots
where you just don't want to leave.

But we knew we had a bit of a hike out to the Bachalpsee and back, and
that the last gondola down would be at 6pm, so we set off. The trail climbs
gently past cow pastures and picturesque streams. Well, it is probably a bit
more of a climb than Allie was planning on, so it took a bit of work to coax
her on -- anything we could think of, including visualizing the pretty lake at
the end and counting every 10 steps. Eventually, we got there, and it did not
disappoint. The majestic snowy peaks reflected in the clear water of this
10,000 ft. mountain lake, with green hills rolling around it on both sides. If
we didn't want to leave our perch on the hill watching the paragliders, we
really didn't want to leave this setting to walk back the gondola. We spent
about an hour here, walking around the lake and just generally taking in
the beautiful setting.

Did I mention there were cows all along the route, and our trip up to the
lake was sereneded by gently tolling cowbells of all tones. Several cows
were hanging out right at the lake, and one decided to nibble on a t-shirt
that one hiker set on a rock. Watching the hiker extract the now-green t-shirt
from the cow's mouth provided the afternoon's comical moment.

Reluctantly, we left to walk back to First Station; don't want to be stuck on
the mountain after 6pm now, do we? We cleaned up and had a nice dinner
at the hotel. The half board is moderately priced, probably comparably
priced with other hotels around. We did it twice in our four nights, opting for
something a little more casual on the other two nights. After dinner, we
took a walk through the town before calling it a night.

Day Five -- Schilthorn

It was another beautiful day; an incredible string of luck, with five straight
sunny days. We'd debated about taking a trip to the Schilthorn or the
Jungfraujoch, both among the highest observation points in the Berner
Oberland. It was a tough call. In the end, we opted for the Schilthorn,
perhaps because it was a little cheaper and offered the opportunity to see
Murren and do a little hiking on the same excursion.

For the Schilthorn, we drove all the way through the Lauterbrunnen Valley to
Steckelberg. The Lauterbrunnen Valley, by the way, is very dramatic, with
steep cliffs rising up both sides of the valley and tall waterfalls cascading
off at various points. Looking straight up, you have a stunning view across
the faces of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

To get to Piz Gloria -- the station atop the Schilthorn made famous by the
James Bond Movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- you must take a
series of gondola cars, each perhaps more breathtaking than the one
before it. The first climbs out of the valley, up a seemingly sheer cliff to the
town of Gimmelwald at the top. The next takes you up another cliff to the
traffic-free town of Murren. Then a couple more take you up over deep
valleys, finally to the Piz Gloria station. If your knees haven't buckled by the
time you get there, then they might just as you walk around the outdoor
observation areas onto rocks that seem to drop down out of site. For the
not so faint of heart, you can climb down a ladder onto the top of the
mountain and walk around on the rocks; in fact several hiking trails start
here and head down toward Murren. Chris and Allie decided to explore on
the rocks and had a mini-snowball fight with the one small patch of snow
accessible. Marisa opted for the observation deck and studied the 10,000+
foot mountain peaks all around.

We headed back down to Murren and enjoyed a leisurely outdoor lunch
with the Eiger in the background. Once our (okay, Marisa's) legs had lost
their wobble from the incredible heights and views out of the gondolas, we
set off on a beautiful walk from Murren to Grutschalp. We knew from the
books that this would be a nice, gentle walk with no climbing involved. Still,
it took a little convincing to get Allie to go along, particularly after the
previous day's walk. Soon, the trail out of town turned into a beautiful
mountain path with flowers, trees and meadows spreading out in front of
the face of the Eiger across the valley -- a postcard at every turn, like the
house with a whole row of cowbells on the roof. Unlike yesterday's walk,
there were very few people on this trail. So quiet that we did take a wrong
turn off the trail once into someone's small farm.

We took the quick cogwheel train down from Grutschalp to Lauterbrunnen,
did a little shopping (Allie decided to pick out a doll from each country),
then took a bus back to our car. For a little pre-dinner diversion, we played
a game of mini-golf at the game center back in Grindelwald. It keeps the
kids happy, but there is something kind of nice about gazing at glaciers
while lining up your putt. We had dinner back at the hotel, then strolled
around town for a bit.

As we arrived back in the hotel from our walk, we noticed music coming
from the hotel's piano room. We wandered back to find several people
there -- a Japanese couple, a Dutch couple, another man from the
Netherlands, and a couple from New York (one of whom was Japanese).
The Japanese woman was playing piano from a book of music, and others
were suggesting things for her to play. Soon, Finn Breitenstein, the Danish
proprietor, joined us, and it wasn't long before he broke open a bottle of
wine -- the first of many. Over the course of the next few hours, we drank,
we ate (also offered were a few cookies and treats), we sang, we laughed,
we compared notes on our travels, we annoyed the other guests, and we
sang and drank some more. Between the Japanese woman and one of
the Dutch men, there were piano skills resident for virtually anything we
could think of. A most memorable night shared with an international group
of like-minded travel lovers. One of those little things that makes you love
traveling even more.

Day Six -- the Mannlichen hike

Our string of sunny days had to end some time. Well, today was the day.

After last night's festivities, we slept in a bit. This was a vacation, after all.
We lingered over breakfast, then decided to hit our third-priority hike -- the
walk from Mannlichen to Kleine-Scheidegg. The gondolas up to
Mannlichen leave from a point near the Grindelwald Sud train station,
which was all the way across town from our hotel. Although it was overcast,
we set out on foot across town to find the lift. Rather than walking right
through town, we decided to walk along the river to get to the gondola
station. It was a nice walk; a bit of a contrast to the very alpine-feeling
center of Grindelwald. Along the river, there are numerous camp sites, so
we essentially were walking among tents, trailers, and a few small homes.

The clouds continued to lower as we took the gondola ride from
Grindelwald to Mannlichen, making the view a bit on the hazy side. By the
time we reached the top of the ridge, the wind had picked up and the
raindrops were starting to fall. The walk from Mannlichen to Kleine
Scheidegg is fairly level and takes only about an hour or so, but it is every
bit as scenic as our other hikes so far. If you walk it in that direction --
recommended -- you are walking straight toward the north face of the
Eiger. Stunning. Despite the cool, windy, drizzly weather, there were quite a
few people doing the same that day. We stopped for lunch at the restaurant
just before the end of the trail, where Allie had what she declared to be
absolutely the best pasta marinara of the whole trip -- remarkable,
considering that was the dish she had once, sometimes twice, per day for
the entire trip.

There is a hotel, a few restaurants and not much else in Kleine Scheidegg
-- except for a handful of goats wandering the town and the hills right
around the train station. We chased the goats around a bit, watched a horn
player, then boarded a train back to Grindelwald. Our timing was
remarkable. As the train started down the mountain, the skies opened and
it proceeded to pour; as we exited the train at Grindelwald, it stopped. It's a
bit of a hike up from the Grindelwald Sud station to the main part of town
and then on to the Gletschergarten. Tired and wet, and with the rain
starting up again, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the hotel
-- enjoing some leisurely drinks on the hotel's front porch while doing our
laundry. We never did tire of that stunning view from the Gletschergarten.

While we enjoyed the hotel's dinners, we wanted something a bit more
simple and informal on this night. We found a very good pizza restaurant in
the center of town, then did a little shopping. We'd promised Allie a Swatch
watch, something available in virtually every shop we'd seen to date on the
trip. She decided on a nice sky blue, travel-themed watch, and she still
wears it to this day. Although we were fading fast after the late night prior,
we did manage to stay up and enjoy some conversation in the bar with a
family from Italy -- they spoke almost no English, and we speak almost no
Italian, but somehow we were able to talk for almost an hour.

Day 7 -- Gruyeres and Fribourg

This was our last full day in Switzerland and, unfortunately, the worst day
weather-wise. It was raining in the Berner Oberland, with a low cloud cover.
We decided to start our day by visiting the one spot in the Berner Oberland
where it doesn't matter if it is wet or dry -- Trummelbach Falls. It was a
quick drive over to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, where we found the car park
for the Falls. You take an elevator up, and then walk down along the falls,
which are located inside the cliff. Very interesting and unique setting. Big
tip: don't wear loose-fitting sandals. There are various stairs along the way,
and the walkways can get a little wet from the rain and the falls,
themselves.

From there, we drove out through Interlaken and across the Vaun Pass to
Gruyeres. The weather was much better here: some clouds, but also a
little sun. Gruyeres is a picturesque little town on a hill known for its
cheese. It is cute, maybe a little too cute. We didn't do the touristy cheese
factory thing (it was already well established that Allie does not like the
local cheese), but we did take time to note some of the very old buildings,
have a little bite to eat, and visit the castle.

After lunch, we literally flipped the coin between Bern and Fribourg, and
Fribourg won. It took a little doing to find parking near the city center, but we
managed to do so in a car park near a grocery store. From there, we visited
the [name of church], climbing the bell tower for an excellent view of the city.
Then we walked down through the old part of the city, along the river and
near the old bridges, before taking a funicular back up to find our car.
Firbourg is a nice, non-touristy city and worth a stop.

The drive back to Grindelwald took the better part of two hours. The
weather had cleared somewhat, enough to enable us to walk in town a bit.
Before exiting Switzerland, we decided to try the raclette. We picked a hotel
restaurant with outdoor patio, right in the middle of town. The food wasn't
memorable, but the view was. We arrived right in time to watch a local
folklore show/festival out in the street. A fitting end to our stay in Switzerland.
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