Lauterbrunnen Valley
SwitzerlandAfter bidding a fond farewell to Italy, we took a long bus ride to Switzerland. During our ride there, Richard pulled over at this scenic spot pictured to the right. The water is such an amazing blue. Again I am thinking, pinch me, am I really here? I felt so blessed. We pulled into the transportation hub, Interlaken. Stephanie gave us 40 minutes to get Swiss Francs, shop or get a bite to eat. Power shopping it is.
Down in the Valley
I cannot say enough about how beautiful the scenery is here. It’s a valley of 40 waterfalls with mountains on each side. It reminds me of the photos of Yosemite Valley in California. We arrived in Stechelberg, the last village at the end of the valley. We checked into our chalet with the bathroom down the hall. That night we had a wonderful swiss meal with Fondue. They made the best mashed potatoes ever. An alphorn player came and played several songs.
We asked about going to the Schilthorn tomorrow, and Stephanie said she was doing a hike instead. So I organized a group trip to the top of the Schilthorn, leaving early to get the early-bird discount.
Going up – 9,744 ft
Let’s conquer the SCHILTHORN
Time to head up the mountain. After a little breakfast, we caught the 8:05 am bus to the lift station. We all got tickets and took cable cars from Stechelberg to Gimmelwald and then onto Mürren. From Mürren we took another cable car to Birg, which is the final change before the Schilthorn.
The James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed here, and there is a Bond World exhibit. My dad is the reason I am a James Bond fan, so I thought it would be fun to check out the exhibit. I liked the touch screen table and all the movie props and memorabilia. They kept playing the movie theme over and over and over again.
Piz Gloria revolving restaurant
Dad in the James Bond gun barrel sequence
Diane and Jack joined us on the expedition
Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau mountains
We gathered the troops and headed down to Birg, the third stop up. There is a thrill walk and we decided to check it out. Henri, Dick and I went on the path that wrapped around the mountain, and it was a bit nerve racking. I was too preoccupied to feel sick from the espresso I enjoyed at the cafe in the Schilthorn. The floor was a grate mesh with nothing below you. Sometimes there were clear panels in lieu of grates.
Hiking down from Mürren to Gimmelwald
We took the cable car down to Mürren and decided lunch was calling. After the most expensive meal (potatoes and an egg for 18 CHF), we decided to hike down to Gimmelwald. We hit a few shops between the two villages. I enjoyed seeing the signs that pointed in every direction.
Each turn going down the mountain brought me another WOW moment.
It was so beautiful. I haven’t seen anything like it and I just wanted to soak it up while taking photos. Granted, we were supposed to be on a hike and everyone was waiting for me at the end.
Trummelbach falls
We took the cable car down to Stechelberg, where the group decided to check out Trummelbach Falls. Dad and Diane went back to the Chalet, and we walked 40 minutes to the falls. Trummelbach is a corkscrew waterfall inside a mountain. There were 10 different landings where you could view the waterfall. I thought the best part was the mountain goat outside, along with the panorama of the valley (see below). We got back to the Chalet and had a beer on the terrace and supper to follow. We still couldn’t get the secret recipe for the mashed potatoes out of Otto. I guess we have to go back another time.
Do we really have to leave Switzerland and go to