Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland
The Lauterbrunnen Valley was a major bucket list item for me. When we decided on our wedding location and started picking honeymoon destinations, I basically insisted that it be added to our itinerary. It is safe to say that the whole region did not disappoint, and exceeded even my very high expectations. Switzerland is one of those places that you visit and think about for years after, almost on a daily basis. Even when we were there, we could not stop remarking that it all felt like a dream and the scenery had to be a green screen. It was truly beautiful, and I will definitely be back.
View of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, including Wengen and Lauterbrunnen below, from the summit of Männlichen.
Photo by Hunter Sawyer on 35mm film.
When planning our visit to the Jungfrau region and the Lauterbrunnen Valley specifically, we decided on Wengen as our home base. The town of Wengen sits directly on the side of the glacial valley, essentially halfway up a mountain. It offers an amazing perspective of the Jungfrau mountain and the glacial valley below. We stayed at this Airbnb, and really enjoyed the location and all of the amenities. The views of Jungfrau mountain out the window were stunning at any time of day. Our favorite part was a local cat who would run across the fields to greet us every time we walked down the hill to our Airbnb. After this trip, when I think of Switzerland, I will always think of the sound of cowbells and sheepbells ringing across the valley. They were so endearing that I even shocked myself on an electric fence while attempting to get a close up of a cute little sheep.
View of Wengen and Jungfrau from our Airbnb late at night.
Photo by Hunter Sawyer on 35mm film.
Wengen has a lovely downtown and it is a great place to wander around the streets. We were there in mid-October, which was off season. I loved the quiet streets and lack of crowds, but it did mean that some restaurants and locations were closed or had limited availability. Aside from this, Switzerland is certainly an expensive country to visit. We tended to buy food at the local grocery store to make our own meals at the Airbnb, which we found to pay off due to the delicious assortment of unique local items to choose from. It also gave us flexibility to get outside and explore as much as we wanted. We would just pack a lunch or some snacks and head out for the day on an adventure.
My number one tip for visiting the Jungfrau region is a lesson we learned the hard way. We are definitely a couple that likes to get out and do as much as we can in the places we are visiting, especially walking around and covering as much ground as we can. We discovered that there is a special pass, the Jungfrau Travel Pass, which allows you unlimited travel on any train and even the cable cars in the region for three to eight days, all as a part of this one-time purchase. It also has other perks, including discounts at certain shops and a special rate for visiting the Jungfraujoch. It is only available from June to October, but if you are going to be in the region for even two days in that timeframe and you are planning to travel around and see as much as possible, buy this pass the minute you enter the Interlaken train station and the rest of your public transportation will be covered.
View of Interlaken and Jungfrau in the distance from the summit of Harder Kulm, which we were able to visit thanks to our Travel Pass.
Photo by Hunter Sawyer on 35mm film.
We elected to take the cable car up Männlichen on our first day. We hiked to the summit for amazing 360 degree views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and all of the surrounding mountains. We got a snack at the café at the top of the mountain, and ate outside with a gorgeous view of the town of Grindelwald and the surrounding mountains. From here, we hiked over to Kleine Scheidegg. This hike was not difficult at all, mostly flat along the side of the mountain. The views were, of course, stunning. There is another restaurant along this path where you can eat a meal or grab a coffee, and then Kleine Scheidegg has a few hotels and restaurants where you can eat. From here, you can take train up to Jungfraujoch to see the Aiger glacier. We did not give ourselves enough time for this and had not planned for the expense, but I will definitely be going back on our next trip. And, if you purchase the Jungfrau train pass, it gives you 50% off of the pass up to Jungfraujoch.
Crown shaped viewing platform at the summit of Männlichen.
Photo taken by Hunter Sawyer on 35mm film.
The next day we took the train down to Lauterbrunnen and walked from the train station to the Staubbachfall waterfull. A stairwell takes you up to and behind the waterfall. We ate dinner at the Hotel Oberland. On this day, I woke up craving potatoes in a very specific form – something like a latke or hashbrown. We were reviewing the menu at this restaurant and saw a German word we were not familiar with, Rösti. When we searched it online, we were excited and frankly shocked to discover that it is a Swiss specialty of potatoes in the exact form I had been craving. Call it divine intervention or a premonition, but the moral of the story is that I got exactly what I was looking for! I am not a huge fan of Swiss style cheese, but if you are then you will have to try some of the many dishes that feature this. Swiss fondue is a main staple of any restaurant menu, and I would be surprised if your Airbnb does not have a fondue pot for you to purchase the supplies at a grocery store and make the dish at home.
The following day, we took the train down to Lauterbrunnen again and then took a cable car up to Grütschalp and a train over to Mürren. This was another beautiful town on the cliff/hillside of the glacial valley. It is definitely a popular ski location, and we wandered all of the streets and down along the hillside to see some beautiful views and some mountainside dwelling Swiss cows. We went on a failed search for another waterfall, which we could hear as we walked but were never quite able to locate without having to trespass on an area that may have been private property.
A Swiss cow with an amazing ability to live at a constant 45 degree angle.
Photo by Hunter Sawyer on 35mm film.
We also took a train back out to Interlaken and explored this downtown, which was much more of a busy city with a lot of people and activity. We walked along the beautiful Aare River, went to the “Wild Park” animal park at the base of the Harder Kulm mountain, and then took the cable car up to the top of Harder Kulm. From the top of Harder Kulm you can hike around various trails, see the Thun and Brienz lakes below, and visit the viewing platform with panoramic views of the city, mountains, and lakes. Interlaken featured a large field with was a popular ending point for many paragliders, which was very fun to watch.
Restaurant at the summit of Harder Kulm.
Photo by Hunter Sawyer on 35mm film.
This area of Switzerland was absolutely breathtaking. It offered beautiful views, great hikes and walks, a variety of places to visit and things to see and do, and felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience. However, I am hoping this first visit will not be our last, as we want to return here and hope to someday share it with friends and family as well.