What a joy to be waking up in Switzerland! Bern was a wonderful adventure, but we had to pack up and be on our way to our next stop. We were quickly and efficiently whisked away by train through Interlaken and into Lauterbrunnen.
From Lauterbrunnen, a cable car up to Grutschlap, then a tram to Murren.
Then a cable car to our true destination: Gimmelwald.
The Lauterbrunnen Valley is the heart of the Bernese-Oberland mountains. From the main hub of Lauterbrunnen, you can reach all sorts of little mountain towns via cable cars. There are lots of little ski resort towns, like Murren, tourist favorites, like Grindelwald, but we chose the smallest of them all.
Gimmelwald has a local population of ~300 residents, no vehicle traffic, and 3-4 guest houses and hostels for the backpackers who make their way through town. The atmosphere is cozy, calm, friendly, and the views, well, they speak for themselves.
Fun fact: The Alps are pretty similar to the Rockies in elevation, but the valley floor is lower. for example, Gimmelwald is similar elevation to Salt Lake City, but Salt Lake is the valley floor and Gimmelwald is up on a cliffside. So the Alps we visited are much bigger than the mountains we've got at home, but we didn't lose our home court advantage, so to speak, because the elevation was already what we were used to.
After getting settled into our most excellent room, we headed back down into the valley to visit the mighty Trummelbach falls.
Now, I'm going to gush (pun intended) about how impressive and awesome and overwhelming this waterfall is, and then you are going to see some kind of underwhelming photos. I just can't express how challenging it is to capture the scale and power in a still image.
First we waited in line for tickets, then in line for the little rack rail that takes you up into the mountain. Yes, you can just hike to the top, but travel smarter not harder. Ride up, walk down.
Trummelbach is really a series of waterfalls, both inside and outside the mountain. It's runoff from 3 different glaciers and they're big 'uns! Parts of the cave were blasted to allow visitors but a lot of it was just carved by the water.
I know that these photos don't look all that impressive, but they are genuinely overwhelming. It force of the water is so intense, so loud, I felt like I was standing by a jet engine taking off. The water is so cold that standing near the falls is like 20 degrees cooler than anywhere else.
It was such a joy to explore! It cooled us off on a hot day, and left me in awe of the incredible power of the natural world. I think that's kind of Switzerland's whole thing: appreciating how awesome nature can be.
From the Stechelberg bus station, we got a good look at Murrenbach Falls. Dainty compared to Trummelback, but beautiful. The tram passes right over the falls and to the little resort town of Murren.
Murren is cute as a postcard and very popular with hikers and skiers. It is also where the nearest grocery store to our lodging is located.
Murren is cute, but the view is what really brings people here.
We found a little stand run by a local guy selling his homemade gelato, made with milk from his cows and flavored with local berries. It was stunningly delicious.
On our way to get groceries, we just kept getting side tracked by the views.
While finishing our grocery store picnic, we were treated to a rainstorm on the mountains across the valley. Hundreds of ribboned waterfalls appeared before our eyes.
The waterfalls even came in chocolate and vanilla:
We could have just taken the cable car to Gimmelwald, but there is a walking path. Apparently we could have made the journey much more quickly in the winter time:
Murren is about 1,000 ft higher in elevation than Gimmelwald, so it definitely would be faster by sled. It was a pretty steep walk that I wouldn't enjoy doing in reverse.
From our pension, we got to enjoy the beauty of more temporary waterfalls brought on by the rain.
We did a little walk around Gimmelwald and perused the "Honesty Shops." Many Gimmelwaldians sell their homemade jam, honey, cheese, yogurt, handicrafts, antiques, and souvenirs, but minding a shop wouldn't be worth their time. So they set up a little shop with an open door, a cash box, and a QR code. Visitors are just trusted to buy what they take, and it seems to work just fine!
On our second day in Gimmelwald we got an early start to catch the first cable car up the mountain. And what a ride it was!
We were part of the first group of the day to arrive at the peak of the Schilthorn. It's a beautiful peak at the top of the world, beloved by winter sport enthusiasts.
It is also beloved by Bond enthusiasts: In Her Majesty's Secret Service filmed their big action set piece here!
Outside it's 360 degree views of the Alps.
Inside is a Bond museum with authentic movie props!
Being at the top of the mountain was fantastic, but was not our primary objective of the day. We took the cable car part way down to Birg and checked out the "adventure trail."
It looks more harrowing that it feels, but the setting is undeniably gorgeous.
We survived the adventure trail, and then started the real adventure: hiking from Birg to Gimmelwald.
It's about a 5 mile hike descending about 4,000 feet of elevation. My knees loved it! First stop is Grauseeli lake. It's really more of a pond, but what a very beautiful color.
Hang gliding is extremely popular in the Lauterbrunnen area, and this was a launching point for one of the companies. We got to watch two groups set sail as we approached the lake.
Those weren't the only gliders! We saw hundreds of Alpine Chough swooping, gliding, and perching along the trail. They're a species of crow that thrives at high elevation, clearly they enjoy using the same warm air updrafts as the hang gliding humans do.
All along the way we were serenaded by the distance jingling of low clanging cowbells and bright high sheep bells. The bells make it easier for farmers to find animals that range all over the mountains grazing. We could hear the bells tinkling pretty much all day every day, like they're the wind chimes of the Alps.
Our route took us onto the Wasenegg ridge with excellent views on all sides. Here's a view of the ridge from a bit of a distance:
It looks like the top of the ridge is going to be so narrow, but it was actually very comfortable. It's the most level the trail is on this entire hike, so it's actually the easiest bit.
Absolutely my favorite part of a remarkable hike was walking along the ridge, being able to see 360 degrees of epic Alpine views.
Swiss dandelions look like truffula trees. They're better than our dandelions.
The Alps, like the rockies, are prone to afternoon thunder storms. I was keeping an eye on the weather as we were prepping and while we were hiking to ensure we didn't get caught out by a storm. We got lucky though! The afternoon rain forecast just kept getting pushed back later and later.
My preparations did not take into account that maybe my shoes were a little too broken in and no longer cushioned enough for a hike like this. My feet were seriously hurting from just not being on level ground basically at all for 4 hours.
Spielbodenalp is a junction for a number of Alpine hikes so we took a little break to sit and have a beverage. I'd say we were on the downhill stretch, but the entire hike is a downhill stretch. We were, at the very least, on the latter end of the back half.
We were now below the tree line and hiking through forests, passing one last landmark on our way to kicking out feet up in Gimmelwald: The Sprutz Falls! This waterfall isn't super big, but you can just walk right behind it.
Oh I'm smiling, but lemme tell you there is pain behind those eyes. My legs were tired--thank goodness for those hiking poles--and my feet were killing me. I was moving at (no offense, ladies) granny speeds.
From the Sprutz Falls it was really only a few minutes to the outskirts of Gimmelwald! And I was moving so, so slowly.
I made it back to our lovely little pension to rest up and throw away my sneakers. After a bit of R & R, we got a pizza at the Mountain Hostel restaurant.
The rain started almost right when we finished our pizza. It was a pretty decent little storm, which we rode out on the covered porch of our hotel. As the skies started to clear, look what we were rewarded with:
In the immortal words of a late 2000's internet legend, it was a double rainbow all the way across the sky! The only thing more fun than the rainbows, was seeing people immerging from rooms and restaurants. Everyone who looked up absolutely lost their minds with joy and excitement. It was like watching kids open their favorite gift on Christmas again and again.
What a crown on our final night in this most beautiful of beautiful places. We departed the next morning by way of the honesty shop where we got ourselves a couple souvenirs.
I think Lee and I are both in agreement with Rick Steves, who once declared "If Heaven isn't all it's cracked up to be, send me to Gimmelwald."
