From Lucerne and Mount Pilatus, we drove about an hour to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Every person that I talked to who had traveled to Switzerland said that this area was their favorite. So I knew it was a must-see for us!
The Berner Oberland region is near Interlaken and features some of the Alps' most beautiful areas. I planned for us to stay 5 nights here and make it a home base for exploring the area. The Valley itself has several hotels, and each of the villages along the ridges have accommodations as well. Many of these villages are bustling ski resorts during the winter.
Instead of picking a busy area for our stay, I picked the tiny village (population 60) of Isenfluh. A winding mountain road (including about a mile of tunnel) leads to this little spot, and the little lodge did not disappoint.
We stayed at the Hotel-Restaurant Waldrand (direct website or Booking.com). We had a quadruple room (4 twin beds in a small room) and no wifi...and we loved every minute of it. The hotel has just a few rooms. The couple who owns it serves breakfast, and answered all our questions. And the fondue was out of this world. Oh, and the view of the Jungfrau mountains out of our window and balcony didn't hurt either. The air was fresh and cool, the views were amazing, and most of all it was so quiet!
On our first day in the area, we decided to hike the valley, going from the town of Lauterbrunnen to Trummelbach Falls. This hike took us along the river, past the Staubbach waterfall, and then to Trummelbach Falls. We walked back to town and had a big lunch/dinner. It was a beautiful sunny day to explore the valley.
This was the view from our balcony! So beautiful.
That's the Jungfrau peak over there, at around 11,000 feet.
This online map shows the crazy mountain road going up to the hotel. When you see a circle in the road, that means it is a spiral going through a tunnel. The road was officially two way, but really only one car could pass at a time. We had a few nail biting moments!
And another view...we just couldn't get enough of it!
Here's the hotel...our room was at the top right of the building.
And another view of the hotel from the ridge above.
Here is a map showing the town of Lauterbrunnen.
We walked along the river to get to Trummelbach Falls.
We parked next to this quaint little church.
Here we see Staubbach Falls. Jack said "Let's climb up to the falls." There was a pathway that went up the cliff and then behind the falls. It was a real workout!
Michael on the way up to the falls. The kids left us in the dust, but we did make it to the top.
A view of the valley through the waterfall
More of that refreshing Swiss mountain water
Summer is the time for making hay. All along the valley, farmers were out cutting the hay and then raking it by hand. It was hard work.
There were paragliders everywhere! I think at one time we saw about 10 of them in the air!
Time for a break
This was probably our very best weather day. The skies were crystal clear!
Trummelbach Falls are the valley's most powerful. The falls go through a series of caves, bring water down from the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau at a rate of 5,200 gallons per second. You take an elevator about halfway up, and then climb some very dark, wet stairs to the top. The power of these falls is amazing!
A rainbow at the top of Trummelbach Falls. Click here to see a video of the falls.
After the falls visit, we walked back to town. We were hungry and ready for "linner." On our vacations, we often eat a big breakfast and stretch that to one meal mid-afternoon that we affectionately call Linner.
We ate lunch at the Hotel Oberland in town. It was delicious! I had the raclette - a traditional swiss dish of potatoes and cheese that you see above.
Michael had a dish called rosti. This is a hash brown style potato dish topped with meats or cheeses.
Cows, cows everywhere, even right in the middle of town!
What an amazing place. SO BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteWe really loved getting away from the crowds and also having some technology-free time!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather!
ReplyDelete