The Lauterbrunnen Valley and Gimmelwald

The Lauterbrunnen Valley is one of those achingly beautiful places.  The near endless sky, the cliff faces rising out of nothing, and the bright green pastures come together in such a way you almost need help convincing yourself that it's all real.  We visited the Lauterbrunnen Valley with my parents during their visit to Switzerland.  After seeing pictures from my sister and her husband's trip to the area, my parents decided that the region was a necessary addition to their itinerary.  We were not disappointed.

Our route took us through Interlaken on a train that originated in Frankfurt.

 We snagged a quiet compartment- prime real estate.

Once upon a time, my family spent the night in a converted train caboose for my birthday.  It had buttons you could press to play recorded train sounds.  This was almost as good.

 In Interlaken, we transferred to the Berner Oberland- Bahn, a cog-rail train.

We took this train directly to Lauterbrunnen.  Lauterbrunnen station is also a primary transfer point to reach the famous Jungfraujoch.

Welcome to Lauterbrunnen.  Yes my friends, that is bright blue sky, snow-capped mountains, timber chalets and a waterfall all in a single photograph.

We stopped for an early lunch before heading off on our hike.

Lauterbrunnen Valley is home to the highest waterfall in Switzerland,...  

but it also hosts sights extraordinary in their simplicity.

Farmhands were working the hay, residents waved as they drove down the dirt road in their tractors, and the sheep and cows seemed to soak up the beauty the same as us.

Sheep- living the good life.

This cow had a heart on her forehead.

We walked to Trummelbach Falls, a giant complex of subterranean waterfalls.

A special lift built underground took us inside the mountain.

You could hear the waterfalls before you could see them.  The Trummelbach Falls carry melt water from the Aletsch Glacier.  

Some falls carry up to 20,000 liters of water per second.

 

Deeper inside the mountain, the temperature dropped and the sound of the falls filled the small passageways.  

Overtime, the mountain has been sculpted by water creating some very interesting shapes in the rocks.

After leaving the falls, we walked to the very end of the valley but, we couldn't resist taking a cable car up to see the small towns at the top of the cliffs.

We made the quick trip up to Gimmelwald.  If you are familiar with Rick Steves, you know that this little village is his Swiss happy place.

It doesn't get much cuter than this.  Despite its relative isolation, every building, garden, pasture and pen was meticulously well-maintained.

The views alone were worth the trip up.

After taking the cable car down to the valley floor, we took the bus to return to Lauterbrunnen and headed back to Zurich.

Thanks for reading!

-The Merry Swiss Ms

Magical Matterhorn Birthday Weekend

The Matterhorn (that famous Swiss Peak which graces every Toblerone Bar and Swiss themed piece of memorabilia around) is located in the small town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais (southern Switzerland).  Despite being very touristy, it was an unforgettable experience and I would highly recommend that visitors to Switzerland make time in their schedule for a visit.

The trip from Zurich to Zermatt took approximately three hours, so we decided to spend an overnight for my birthday weekend.

"You can see Yak"!  (We didn't stay here.)

We stayed here...this was the view from our room.  The Matterhorn greeted us majestically upon arrival.  

The weather at the mountain top changes quickly and radically.  Clear skies can become cloudy in an instant, hiding the glorious view from the valley and at higher elevations.  We were checking the weather frequently the week before our trip and were crossing our fingers for good weather.  

We were fortunate to get discount tickets to Zermatt from Zurich because of a special monthly "RailAway" deal for June (before peak tourist season).  The deal also included a ticket up the series of gondolas to Klein Matterhorn.

The forecast called for just two hours of clear skies, so we decided to risk the ride up.

Furi: The first transfer point.

The green hills below.

The landscape changes drastically higher up.

The Matterhorn looks like a smoking volcano here.

The second transfer point.

Monte Rosa in the distance is actually the highest mountain in Switzerland.  Take that Jungfrau!

At the top.

Our RailAway deal included tickets to the Glacier Paradise, a series of tunnels and rooms carved into the glacial ice filled with glittering ice sculptures, exhibits on climate change and glacial fleas, and an ice chute to slide down. 

Colored lights added some drama. 

Matterhorn Ice Sculpture.

The slide was not very slippery and required quite some scooching to complete (or was simply not intended for adults).

  

The Matterhorn lists the following as an attraction at Klein Matterhorn "Photo subjects: Matterhorn, Breithorn, Weisshorn and other celebrity mountains".  What does it take to be considered a celebrity mountain?  

We felt very fortunate to have clear skies and a wonderful view of the Matterhorn, because just half an hour after our ascent...

Not a thing could be seen.  Celebrity mountains are hiding from our camera.

The Matterhorn is completely hidden.

But just a couple hours later, clear skies again!

Clouds whisking around the peak.

The clouds made the mountain look alive.

The Matterhorn exhales clouds.

It's hard to remember to look around at Zermatt when your eyes are always drawn skyward to the Matterhorn.  However, we took some time to explore the town before dinner.  

Only electric cars are allowed in Zermatt to reduce noise and air pollution.

Like many other parts of Switzerland, lush green pastures are framed by bold mountains.

The region of Valais is well known for Blacknose Sheep.  We had dinner at Schäferstube which featured delicious lamb dishes.

A skewer of lamb and lamb sausage, grilled to perfection.  One of the best dishes I've had in Switzerland.

Lamb ragu with Spätzli (egg noodles) and vegetables.

Beautifully presented ginger ice-cream with fruit.

The next day was completely overcast with occasional rain.  However, that didn't stop us from walking up to Sunnega, one of the many small mountain villages surrounding Zermatt.

View of Zermatt on our way up.

Exploring the "foothills" around Zermatt.

We arrived at the small village of Findeln, where the Swiss Ms found a highly regarded restaurant for lunch, Chez Vrony.  We highly recommend it as well.

Our spectacular lunch view.

A glass of Fendant (Chasselas), regional white wine of Valais.  Dry and fruity.

Valais Rye Bread, a dense rustic sourdough, thinly sliced.

A spicy fish soup.

BURGER.

After lunch, we continued up to Sunnega.  On the way, we thought we heard a bird calling out above.  The sky was empty, so we scanned the meadow.  Something caught our eye in the distance: a marmot on alert!  

We finally reached Sunnega.

At Sunnega, you can take an underground cable car that cuts through the mountain back down to the town of Zermatt.  It's steep.

We had some extra time before we needed to head back to Zurich, so we spent a few hours at the Matterhorn Museum.  It was very interesting to see how Zermatt blossomed into a tourist destination during the "Golden Age of Alpinism" when many Swiss Alps were scaled by visiting mountaineers (many of them Britons).  Today, most of Zermatt's business comes from tourism, and the town (around 6,000 inhabitants) swells in size during peak tourist seasons up to 20,000.

The evolution of hiking boots.

And the evolution of canteens.  There has certainly been a great deal of progress in hiking gear over the past century.

Again, the skies clear as we leave.  Until next time.

Thanks for reading!

-Herr Cervelat