SWITZERLAND : Lauterbrunnen and Mürren

9 February 2017

I continue my postcard of the Oberland of Bern with a wonderful day walking in the heart of the mountains.
After exploring Grindelwald and Lucerne, Laura and I decided to visit the other valley near our campsite: Lauterbrunnen. We had vaguely spotted a little walk around the village, but otherwise we arrived with no idea of what we were going to discover.

First discovery on arrival: this valley has 72 waterfalls! The rocky walls are very high and some of the waterfalls can reach more than 200 meters. And it’s not just water flowing from the top of the walls: the valley is a popular site for base jumpers and swing-suit enthusiasts. We watched their incessant flow until we had stiff necks of trying to locate them before they opened their parachutes.

 

A few hundred meters from the village of Lauterbrunnen, we took a path, then went into a gallery carved in the rock to have a view of the valley halfway up the Staubbach waterfall. It was a perfect opportunity to cool off with the drops scattered by the wind.

Arriving in the village, after a lunch break in the shade on a bench, we decided to change our plans. Instead of walking in the valley, we will gain height! By checking the prices at the station, we realized that not only were the cable cars affordable, but also the train to Mürren, and who does not dream of taking a train at 1600m above sea level! (From memory, the complete journey costs about ten Swiss francs one way)

 

So we boarded on a cable car that quickly took us away from the village, then we boarded an old yellow train, all windows open. Landscapes scrolled slowly, the snow-capped mountains intersecting with fir trees and once again I believed that I was in a Wes Anderson’s movie. I wished that the trip lasts for hours but unfortunately we arrived quickly to Mürren.

The village is located on a plateau at 1650m above sea level, making it the highest of the canton of Bern to be inhabited year-round. It allows to have an unobstructed view of the valley and the steep mountains that face it. We walked a little. There were some tourists like us, but much less than in Grindelwald, and more hikers.

We decided to walk down to our car (after all we came here to walk). The hike took a few hours but it allowed you to admire the landscape, houses with flowers and vegetable gardens, a youth hostel lost in the wild and its beer garden, …

The cable cars crossed over our heads and we did not envy their passengers who missed this cute feline.

 

Then on the end, we sinked on the path among the trees. You have to have good shoes because all along the slope is steep and pebbles down. We were relieved when finally we arrived at the bottom of the valley, just in time, because the overcast sky began to drop some rain.

I really enjoyed this day. The valley offers many opportunities for exploration and hiking. From Stechelberg, where we parked the car, you can even take a cable car to join the futuristic revolving restaurant Schilthorn, which appears in a James Bond movie!

Writing this postcard and immersing myself in these beautiful landscapes that are only a few hours from home give me definitely want to go back.

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