In June 2019 I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Basel, Switzerland for 5 days. One of the items on my “bucket list” was to hike the Tour Du Mont Blanc which is a popular trekking tour that circumnavigates Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe. The trek travels thru 3 countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland, and usually takes 7-12 days to complete. I began researching tour companies, but the dates didn’t seem to coincide with my conference dates. Colin was graduating from college in May and wouldn’t be starting his new job until July so I invited him to meet up with me in Switzerland and instead of trekking the Mount Blanc circuit, I put together an itinerary with day hikes and attractions in the Jungfrau region (German speaking region) of Switzerland for the two of us.
I flew into Zürich, Switzerland on a direct red-eye flight from the East Coast and made my way to Basel which is located in the northwest corner of Switzerland on the border of Switzerland, France, and Germany. While I spent most of my time in meetings, I was able to do some sightseeing in Basel and explored the “Old Town” and the Basel Zoo. I also took a day trip to Lausanne which is located on Lake Geneva. Lausanne is the headquarters for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and I spent an afternoon visiting the Olympic Museum there. While in Basel I stayed at the Hotel D across the street from the banks of the Rhine River.
Read on for my 8 day itinerary in the Jungfrau Region.
Day 1 – Travel from Basel to Meiringen, Switzerland
Colin had arrived in Zürich the previous morning and made his way to Basel navigating the incredible Swiss train system with 2 transfers. Today it was back on the train as we made our way back east to the Jungfrau region. We had to transfer trains in Bern, the Swiss capital, which is where we purchased our Bernese Oberland Pass. This pass covered almost all of our transportation in Switzerland (trains, gondolas, cable cars, boats, buses) and was well worth the money, especially for the convenience. We had also purchased a Swiss Half Fare card which gave us additional discounts. After another transfer we arrived in the town of Meiringen where we would be spending two nights. The train ride was beautiful with views of the Alps, towering waterfalls, and of Lake Brienz, a gorgeous turquoise colored lake. We checked into our hotel, Hotel Victoria, and then grabbed some pizza for lunch. We spent our afternoon making our way up to the The Alpen Tower via a series of gondolas and cable cars. I didn’t mention earlier, but we were visiting in the middle of a heat wave. Temperatures were in the 90s in the valleys and many European hotels do not have air conditioning. The Alpen Tower was a welcome reprieve to the oppressive heat and provided spectacular views. Dinner that night was at Stella Leone. Lodging: Hotel Victoria, Meiringen
Day 2 – The Brienzer Rothorn and Lake Brienz
The reason I chose to stay the first 2 nights in Meiringen was so that we could visit 2 attractions: the Gelmersee Furnicular (the steepest open furnicular in Europe) and the Trift Bridge (a 100m high, 170m long suspension footbridge). Unfortunately, due to a rockfall and avalanche warnings in the area, we were unable to visit these 2 attractions. All was not lost, instead we spent a terrific day exploring the Lake Brienz area. In the morning we took the Brienz Rothorn, a cog railway, to the top of the Brienzer Rothorn (~7700 ft) for incredible views of Lake Brienz and the surrounding mountains. In the afternoon we took a boat ride on Lake Brienz to Giessbach Falls. We ate our $18 dollar hot dog and $32 club sandwich lunch on the patio at the famous Hotel Giessbach with views of the waterfall and Lake Brienz (it was worth it!). We then hiked some of the trails around the waterfall, one of which goes behind the waterfall. In the evening we ate dinner at the Leopold Steakhouse and then took a quick photo at the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Lodging: Hotel Victoria, Meiringen
Day 3 – Reichenbach Falls, Wengen & Mannlichen
We checked out of our hotel but left our luggage in storage while we walked to the Reichenbach Falls Furnicular. We rode the furnicular up to the falls and then hiked a few trails in the area. Reichenbach Falls is well know by Sherlock Holmes fans as the location where Sherlock Holmes died in his battle with Professor Moriarity. We hiked some trails in the area attempting to get to the Aare Gorge. Somewhere along the line we got lost, so we unfortunately ended up skipping the Aare Gorge. We retrieved our luggage and then it was back on the train where we had 2 transfers (Interlaken & Lauterbrunnen) before reaching our home for the next 5 nights in Wengen.
Wengen, along with Mürren (across the valley), is a car free village (with the exception of service vehicles) that can only be accessed by train or cable car. We rented a 2 bedroom chalet, the Bella Vista 2, from Wengen Apartments. The views from our deck were awe-inspiring. We stopped at the grocery store to stock up on food for the week. In the afternoon we took the cable car from Wengen to Männlichen. We elected to upgrade our experience to the “Royal Experience” and rode standing on the roof of the cable car (not for the faint of heart). Upon reaching the Männlichen station, we hiked the short but steep Royal Walk Trail to the summit of Männlichen. From there we retraced some of our steps and hiked the easy 3 mile Panoramaweg to Kleine Scheidlegg. I can’t think of enough superlatives to describe the scenery in this region. Dinner was pasta, eaten while sitting out on our deck. Lodging: Bella Vista 2, Wengen
Day 4 The Jungfraujoch & Eiger Trail
Day 4 started as an early day when we caught the train from Wengen with our final destination being the Jungfraujoch, the highest train station in Europe. These tickets are timed reservations and are expensive. They were not included in our passes, although they were discounted because of our passes. We transferred to the Jungfraubahn at Kleine Scheidegg. The Jungfraubahn takes you thru a 4.3 mile tunnel thru the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch. There is a viewing station inside the tunnel where the train stops for a few minutes so you can get out and view the Aletsch Glacier. Once at the Jungfraujoch, at an elevation of 11,332 ft, there are viewing platforms at the Sphinx Observatory and at the Glacier Plateau. You can walk out on the snow to view the Aletsch Glacier or you can visit the snow park where there is snow tubing, skiing, & ziplining year round. Back inside the station, you can visit the Alpine Village (geared more towards younger children) or explore the Ice Palace with its ice sculptures, or visit . There are also some shops (Lindt Chocolate Heaven to name one and a few places to buy food. A few warnings: 1) you are above 10,000 ft and some people can feel the effects of altitude sickness (headache, shortness of breath), 2) dress in layers – as mentioned earlier, we were there during a heat wave yet were wearing are down jackets on a bright sunny day, 3) wear sunglasses
On our return trip back down the mountain, we got off at the first station once we exited the tunnel, the Eigergletcher station. We hiked the 4.5 mile Eiger Trail from Eigergletcher to Alpiglen stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. Going in this direction the trail is mostly downhill with the impressive Eiger face on you right. The trail had just opened the prior week and we still had to cross a few snow fields. Upon reaching Alpiglen we caught a train back to Wengen. We met up with my brother and his wife who spontaneously booked flights the day before after I told them how incredible the scenery was in Switzerland. Lodging: Bella Vista 2, Wengen
Day 5 – The Lauterbrunnen Valley, Murren, and Paragliding
On today’s menu was a paragliding outing for Colin and myself with AirTime Paragliding. The four of us took the train down from Wengen to the town of Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is supposedly where Tolkien got his inspiration for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. There are 72 waterfall in Lauterbrunnen. We spent the morning walking 3.5 miles thru the valley towards Stechelberg, stopping at Staubbach and Mürren Falls. Once in Stechelberg, our group separated with plans to meet up in Mürren after Colin and I were finished paragliding. Colin and I met our guides and took the cable car from Stechelberg up to Murren. We then had a short but steep hike up to the launching site. The experience was incredible, I could have stayed up in the air for hours. The guides took photos and videos of our flight for a fee. I would do this activity again in a heartbeat.
In the afternoon we met back up with my brother and his wife in Mürren. We took the Allmendhubel furnicular to the upper alpine meadows and then hiked the Mountain View Trail down to Grütschalp. The views reminded me of scenes from The Sound of Music. From Grütschalp we took the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen and then the train from Lauterbrunnen back to Wengen. Lodging: Bella Vista 2, Wengen
Day 6 – Grindelwald & First
We spent most of this day in Grindelwald and First (pronounce Feerst). We took the train from Wengen to Grindelwald via Kleine Scheidegg which is the more scenic route early. Once in Grindelwald, we took a series of gondolas to reach First, all were included in our travel pass. At First there are a bunch of activities available such as a Cliff Walk by Tissot, ziplines, mountain carts, and trotter bikes. We first hiked out to Lake Bachalspee, an alpine lake with beautiful reflections. The 1.9 hike is relatively easy with little elevation gain. We ate our lunch at the small lake. Colin and I hiked back to First and tried out the mountain carts and the trotter bikes. The mountain carts were a lot of fun, think of Big Wheels for adults. Colin had a mishap on the trotter bikes and needed to be bandaged up. The paved terrain is very steep and you have to be very careful when braking. I would not recommend the trotter bikes for children.
Once back in Grindelwald, Colin and I rode up on the Pfingstegg cable car where we then went on the Pfingstegg toboggan run. Back in Grindelwald we did some shopping and caught the train back to Wengen for the evening. Lodging: Bella Vista 2, Wengen
Day 7 – Schynige Platte & Trümmelbach Falls
Colin decided to sleep in this morning so he missed the morning adventure to Schynige Platte. Schynige Platte is a small mountain ridge at an elevation of 6,886 ft. We took the train from Wengen to Wilderswil where we transferred to another train to reach the summit of Schynige Platte. The views from Schynige Platte look down on the town of Interlaken, Lake Brienz, and Lake Thun. There are multiple hiking trails to choose from. One of the most popular trails is the hike to First (where we were the day before) which is a strenuous hike estimated to take 6 hours. This hike needs to be started early in the morning in order to coincide with the train and cable car schedules. We did not have the time (nor the energy) to do this hike so instead we chose to hike the Oberberghorn Panoramaweg. It was an easy/moderate loop hike that afforded gorgeous views of Lake Brienz and Lake Thun on one side and the snow-covered Alps on the other side. As we returned to the train station we walked thru an alpine botanical garden. We met back up with Colin at lunchtime in Lauterbrunnen and had lunch by Staubach Falls. We walked the Lauterbrunnen Valley again towards Stechelberg. This time we didn’t make it to Stechelberg but instead visited Trümmelbach Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Trümmelbach Falls consists of 10 consecutive waterfalls flowing inside the mountain. It was quite powerful and impressive. Our raingear came in handy here. We had our last dinner that night on the deck and then walked around the town of Wengen. Lodging: Bella Vista 2, Wengen
Day 8 – Travel back to Zurich and flight home
Colin and I departed from Wengen on the 10:03am train. We had a 5:30pm direct flight departing from Zurich. The train ride from Meiringen to Lucerne was quite picturesque as we traveled thru the Brünig Pass and also past the turquoise Lake Lungren. We had to make 2 transfers and arrived at the airport 3 hours early. It was an absolutely wonderful vacation!!