Today we ended up in God's country: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. The Bernese Oberland in Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It was the perfect place to slow down and settle in for Christmas. Lauterbrunnen has remained one of our favorite trips and I wondered if we would have an opportunity to visit again.
View of Lauternrunnen valley from the cable car up to Grütschalp
My favorite hike from Mürren in summer 2015
Our morning started when Jeremy and I left for the bakery at 7am to discover a line of 25 people waiting for it to open at 7:30am. "Well, that was crazy," I commented an hour later - having expected our outing to take maybe 15 minutes. "But fun," replied Jeremy. Easy going, he appreciated absorbing the local life for a minute before we rushed off to the next place.
The line of locals in Saint Louis waiting to stock up on their freshly baked Christmas treats.
Traveling again by train, when we crossed over to Switzerland, the bright sun blinded us. "What is that," exclaimed Greg. "I've never seen it before," Chris jested. Sunny skies are a welcomed change for us from the wet and gray we've had so far.
On the train, watching the beautiful winter wonderland fly by, Jeremy looked like he was doing everything he could not to burst. I think for the past year he has been anticipating this part of the trip the most. And now that we were actually getting closer, the snow-covered majestic peaks were screaming his name. He has some feet itching to get themselves onto some skis and down those Swiss alps. In fair warning, he has already decided he wants to invest in a home here; if you get an email pleading for money, it's real.
Jeremy in his happy place
Having purchased an all-day Swiss train ticket, after dumping our bags at our chalet, we got our money's worth by going on a snow hike. Taking the cable car up from Lauterbrunnen, the plan was to walk 2.7 miles along the trail from Grütschalp to Mürren but Mother Nature had better plans in mind. Yesterday's 24" of snow meant half of the trail was closed. We were still able to take the BLM (train) to Winteregg and complete the remaining half of the hike from there.
The makings for another cool jigsaw puzzle on the cable car up to Grütschalp
At the Grütschalp station posing in front of Jungfrau's three famous peaks: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau (cut out)
I expected stunning panoramic views of the mountains along our walk but this forested section's views were only at the beginning and end. Still beautiful!
I'll trade the powder for the open trail segment any day!
It is so cool to me that you can literally ski through the car-free mountain village of Mürren
Mürren sits on the cliff overlooking the valley
The brand new cable car, just opened December 13, connecting Stechelberg - Mürren is claiming to be the world's steepest. It climbs 2500 feet up in only four minutes - at an incline of 159%!
Dropping straight down into the valley on the new cable car, I was hoping the Swiss engineers had perfected their craft and we weren't the guinea pigs.
It is Christmas Eve. We are getting texts from family about their delicious homemade meals, like Salmon Wellington and ravioli and meatball, while we are appreciating our jarred marinara spaghetti sharing stale crumbs of a baguette. And beer.
Too lazy to go to the fridge
Logistics:
Mürren ski and trail map
We walked along the purple trail lining the rim of the valley
I don't know if anyone out there agrees with me, but I think Switzerland's network of transportation and hiking and skiing are challenging to figure out. I wish someone would just send me a personalized, detailed guide instead of having to decipher everything myself.
Our train tickets for today were cheapest in advance, and it was cheaper to buy the day pass rather than the point-to-point pass. But when we leave in a few days, though cheaper in advance, the point-to-point pass costs less than the day pass.
Our travel time took 30 minutes longer because we couldn't figure out the train to Lauterbrunnen, even though it is supposed to be obvious. We didn't get on since the cars were labeled Grindelwald. However, there is a stop after Interlaken where the train cars disconnect; you have to be in the last few cars in order to continue to Lauterbrunnen.
Later we saw this obvious sign during our stop at the middle transfer station (Zweilutschinen).
Watch Chris's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8NKjQCb/
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