2019 – September in Switzerland: Part Two

Amy: After a beautiful week of travel, we headed to central Switzerland next. On our way up to Lucerne, we hopped off the train in Bellinzona. Since Jon loves unique architecture, we visited two of the three castles (Castelgrande and Montebello) that are featured within the city limits.

A longer train journey then brought us to Lucerne and we headed to the Lucerne Backpackers, just on the outskirts of the city center. With the sun beginning to dip into the evening sky, we walked into the city toward Chapel Bridge. Overlooking the 14th century wooden bridge, we grabbed a table at the Rathaus Brauerei for some local beers. Their pretzel with roasted pork was a highlight of our evening. 

The main highlight of the evening, however, was the Lion of Lucerne. This impressive 1821 monument commemorates the Swiss Guards who died in the French Revolution. Both Jon and I felt moved by the lion sculpture hewn into the rock. The emotion depicted on the face of the stone lion was something to behold. As night fell, we strolled through the narrow streets and enjoyed the historic buildings along the canal. 

We made a morning coffee stop at Joe & the Juice before taking the train towards Interlaken. After a short stroll through the town with a lunch stop, we headed into the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

This spectacular area features a deep valley surrounded by steep cliffs and small towns soaring above. We decided to stay in Wengen, after we found an “end-of-the-season” deal at the Arenas Hotel. We were pleased as our stay included both breakfast and dinner and were surprised with an upgraded room overlooking the mountains and valley below.  

One of the things we were most excited about was the possibility of seeing the alpine cow descent (an event call désaples). Cows are often adorned in flowers as they take to the streets to descend to their winter homes. We visited the tourist office and learned that the cows and calves would be descending two of the days we were in Wengen. On the first morning of the descent, cows and calves marched down the streets with jingling bells.

After the parade of cows, we took the train back down the mountain and hiked along the trail just outside Lauterbrunnen to check out the waterfalls cascading down the steep rock face. Every view in this area feels like you are in a living postcard. 

Most of the high mountain cable cars aren’t included in the Swiss Travel Pass. However, the series of cable cars to the summit of the Schilthorn are included for free. We decided that was our next stop. We crammed ourselves into the jam-packed cable cars and headed up. With sleet and fog surrounding the cable car, we felt our chances of a view were low. But mountain weather changes quickly, and after a bit of time at the top, the clouds parted for some impressive views.

We made our way down to Mürren and took the trains back to our hotel to take a swim in the salt water pool. 

The next day we anxiously awaited for more cows to descend. Soon we heard the distant jingle of cow bells and as they turned the corner we saw the colorful flower headpieces.

With much joy after seeing the cows, we headed to check out the towns of Lauterbrunnen and Mürren more closely since the skies were cloudy. Once in Mürren, we were surprised to see a herd of chamois, an agile goat-antelope that lives in the Alps.

Soon conditions improved and we took an impromptu hike up a steep trail with the Jungfrau and Mönch mountains soaring in and out of the clouds in the distance. The scenery was stunning and the trails were quiet with only a few other hikers. 

After a relaxing evening, we decided to stay in Wengen another night so we could do more hiking in the remarkable region. In the morning we caught a cable car up the mountain, which would lead to a good 10-mile hike through the high alpine area. We hiked up to the Männlichen summit, traversed across the Kleine Scheidegg trail, followed by a steep trek up to the summit of Lauberhorn Peak. With the Eiger North Face towering above, the hike was one we will always remember. 

After our summits, we walked for a few hours back into Wengen and stayed at the charming Edelweiss Hotel. Their gardens, bunnies, and views capped off our visit. 

As the efficient train system whisked us out of the valley the next morning, we couldn’t help but think about when we might be able to visit again. 

Our final destination on our trip was to Spiez. This small town on the shores of Lake Thun has a lovely little castle and marina area. After a free visit around the castle, we boarded a boat and took a tour of the aqua-colored lake. A stop off at Thun brought us to yet another castle with classic turrets and memorable views out the stone windows. 

We stayed the night at the Hotel Movieworld and the next morning were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of their “collector” room. An extensive array of movie memorabilia dazzled us and the friendly owner was proud to share all the unique items from Star Wars to Superman to E.T. and so much more. 

The Golden Pass Railway is a train route that is renowned for beautiful views. We took the train from Spiez to Montreux and were awed with some final views of the Swiss countryside.

We made our way back to Geneva and got up early for the long journey back home.  As we landed back in Heathrow to catch our connecting flight to Denver, a view of the River Thames and London sights gave us an extra treat to close out our adventure.

Dates: September 23-30, 2019