Rolling green hills, soaring mountain peaks, sky-high hiking. My wish list for Switzerland was short and sweet. It was a destination that had been in the back of my mind for years and finally the time was right to move it up to the front. We paired our visit to the Lauterbrunnen Valley with another overdue trip on our wish list, Lake Como and Milan in northern Italy, and left with the realization that our time spent in Switzerland was all too short. Here’s a snapshot of how I spent 4 days in this breathtakingly beautiful destination, which I hope to return to sooner rather than later. For specific details on the hikes mentioned below read 5 Scenic Hiking Spots in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland and for other practical tips for visiting the region read Top 5 Tips for Visiting the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Beyond.

Day 1
We arrived in Switzerland via the Zurich Airport, which has excellent public transportations to both the city and other destinations around the country. Here we boarded the Intercity train to Interlaken Ost, where we would make a quick change to the regional train to Lauterbrunnen in the heart of the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland. The journey was both scenic and efficient, with good signage that allowed us to seamlessly make our connection, which were common themes that would punctuate much of our trip.

Our home away from home in Lauterbrunnen was the adorable Hotel Silberhorn, which is conveniently located across from the train station and within walking distance of pretty much everything we could need, from restaurants to public transportation and the Coop grocery store, perfect for picking up chocolate and other snacks for our hiking adventures. We dropped off our bags at our adorable 4th floor room, which offered incredible valley views, and set out to explore the town, taking too many photos and indulging in a cheesy-meaty corndog from the Betty’s Corn Dogs snack truck (classic cheese with panko for the win). It seemed perfectly acceptable to eat dinner around 6pm (especially since many restaurants close by 9 or 10pm), which proved to be a blessing after our long travel day and long hiking days to come. We chose to stay close and eat at our hotel’s restaurant and ordered a pizza from the wood fired oven and “fitnessplate”, a colorful palate of healthy options such as chicken, salad, beans, eggs, fruit and other vegetables.

Before calling it a night we took the short walk from town to Staubbach Falls, one of the highest free-falling waterfall in Europe at nearly 300-meters tall. Its name means “dust”, referring to the way the water spray looks as the waterfall tumbles down the valley walls. For a closer (i.e. wetter) look we took the .2-mile hike up to a viewing spot behind the waterfall. Luckily we had an umbrella that prevented us from getting entirely soaked.

Day 2
After a good night’s rest and delicious breakfast at our hotel, we set out for our first full day of hiking which would begin with a train ride from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and then a serene 2.8-mile hike to Mürren, followed by the North Face Trail. The latter is a 5.2-mile loop offers spectacular views of the north faces of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, so it’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular trains in the region. We took the trail clockwise after leaving town, traveling uphill at first as fast-moving clouds hovered overhead and cowbells rang in the distance. Occasionally we would come to a gate of an electrified fence meant to keep the grazing cattle on one side or the other, carefully opening and closing the gate as we made our way through the meadows.

The trail ends back in Mürren where we had a quick lunch that included a chocolate bar we purchased at the grocery store before taking the short 1.5 mile downhill paved path to the adorable town of Gimmelwald. It’s a sleepy little town of about 100 or so people that couldn’t be anymore adorable if it tried. Traditional alpine house adorned with red geraniums spilling out of wooden flower boxes, cow bells hanging from roofs indicating the cows were out grazing with their more modestly-sized bells and Europe’s first unattended self-service village shop, The Honesty Shop.

From here we took the cable car down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley via Stechelberg where we would begin the beautiful walk along the valley floor. Cliffs soar on either side with the valley’s iconic waterfalls tumbling down and the occasional cheese vending machine as we moved along the flat 3-mile route. About half way we made a side trip to visit Trummelbach Falls, a series of 10 glacier-fed waterfalls inside of the mountain, and stopped for an afternoon snack (including the Swiss soft drink Rivella) at the self-service restaurant that would tide us over until our dinner at Restaurant Weidstübli located on the Camping Jungfrau grounds. Making a reservation in advance ensured that our table was waiting for us to come and relax and indulge in the restaurant’s specialty rösti and a “saladcreation”.

Day 3
Up again early and ready for a challenge, our destination for the day was Harder Klum mountain high above Interlaken. To get there we boarded the regional train to Interlaken Ost, then walked along across the river to the Harderbahn funicular station. The funicular was originally built in 1908 and zips its passengers up to 1,332 meters to the top of the mountain in about 10 minutes. Most people’s journey ends here where you’ll find a large viewing platform and the appropriately named Panorama Restaurant.

Our sights were set on an entirely different experience, the Hardergrat Trail to the Augstmatthorn peak. As its name implies, this trail is hard due to its constant incline that only gets steeper and narrower as you approach the peak. It’s definitely not for those who are not experienced hikers and should not be attempted during wet or windy weather. Luckily for us the weather was clear so we set out on the trail, which begins in the shade of a forest before opening to a beautiful meadow where were surrounded by colorful wildflowers and swarms of pollinators. After a short lunch/chocolate break we were ready to begin our accent towards Augstmatthorn. The views are quite literally breathtaking as you look down upon the turquoise-blue lakes surrounding Interlaken way down below. It really is quite incredible, and worth the effort despite being a bit intimidating. We gave ourselves permission to turn around at any point, which we did after about 4.5 miles when the trail started to get a bit steeper than we were comfortable with. It wasn’t so much about going uphill, rather knowing that we would have to do the same in reverse going straight downhill. The descent did a number on my ankles as they knocked back and forth inside my hiking boots.

Hot, sweaty and exhausted, we devoured an ice cream bar outside of the restaurant before taking the funicular back down to Interlaken.  As the region’s main transportation hub, Interlaken has a big city feel. Think wide streets with lots of shopping and dining options, much of which had a surprisingly international twist. We had a bit of time to kill before our dinner reservations at Stadthaus, so we spent the afternoon shopping for what one naturally shops for in Switzerland – watches, Swiss army knives, chocolate and other kitschy cow-themed souvenirs. Afterwards we drug our weary selves back to the train station to make the return trip to Lauterbrunnen. There’s no question that we would sleep good that night.

Day 4
We learned that the weather can change quite quickly and frequently in the mountains. The good thing is that if you’re prepared for varying conditions (sometimes even several times within a given day) you can manage just fine. On our last full day in the region, our destination was the Panorama Trail to Kleine Scheidegg. From Lauterbrunnen we would take the mountain rail to Wengen and walk through the little town to the cable car station that would carry us up to Männlichen where the trail begins. We departed the station and first took a detour to the left to first embark on the short but steep Royal Walk as dark, menacing clouds moved in around us. There was a bit of weather in the forecast for the day, but not the foreboding storm that was quickly approaching. No sooner had we reached the crown-shaped viewing platform did it began to rain. And pour. Luckily, we were able to seek refuge inside the cable car station until the storm passed about 20 minutes later, just as the forecast promised.

The air was significantly cooler now as we departed on the 3-mile mostly downhill walk through one of the most spellbinding settings we’d witnessed in the region thus far. We were enveloped by a thick, misty fog that rolled in and out like the tides, alternating from blindingly white to remarkably clear in between the occasional shower. But when the clouds did part, the trail was remarkably panoramic just as its name promises, with ooh and aah-inspiring views of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau set against lush green hills carpeted with a kaleidoscope of wildflowers. The experience was nothing short of magical, which we quite frankly did not want to end. Just as we approached the Kleine Scheidegg train station the rain returned so we ducked into the Restaurant Grindelwaldblick for a coffee and slice of plum cake until it was clear enough to continue. A change in plans led us to continue walking along the rail line to the Wengernalp station rather than connecting with the Eiger Trail. It wasn’t the most picturesque route, especially since our views of the surrounding scenery were once again obscured by the clouds. From here we took the train back to Lauterbrunnen and spent the rest of the afternoon sketching at our hotel as the rain continued.

For our final dinner we had reserved a table at Hotel Oberland on the main street in Lauterbrunnen, which specializes in cheese fondue among other traditional dishes. There was a bit of a chill in the air, which made it perfect weather for one more cheesy röstis and an enviable carrot turmeric soup that our waiter highly recommended. After dinner we soaked up as much as the glorious gray evening as we could with a misty walk to various scenic spots along the river. It was the perfect end to our memorable time in the region, which felt all too short but filled our senses to the brim until the next time we are able to visit.

ON THE MAP