Aug 6-8, 2017 | Switzerland is beautiful. Beautiful.
As if we needed more convincing, the next phase of our trip in the Lauterbrunnen valley solidified this country’s beauty. We stopped for lunch in Interlaken before continuing another 20 minutes by train down to Lauterbrunnen, an idyllic small town nestled in between tall mountains with waterfalls on each side. It was raining that afternoon, which made our 15 minute walk to the hostel quite interesting, but we arrived and discovered we had enough time to visit a local site called Trummelbache Falls. So we headed out into the rain to walk to these powerful waterfalls.
The visit began with a short elevator ride up 10ish stories. We were joined by another few American students on what seemed to be a study abroad trip, and after the elevator Zach and I continued climbing stairs upwards to the uppermost section. Man oh man, waterfalls are powerful!
It turns out that visiting Trummelbache on a rainy day was even better because they were reinforced by the rain.
We headed back to Lauterbrunnen for dinner, a local specialty called Rösti: potatoes, cheese, bacon, and a fried egg. Delicious!
The next day was our big excursion in this part of the Swiss Alps – Mt. Schilthorn. Much like our trip to Mt. Titlis in our Lucerne stay, visiting Schiltorn requires several cable car connections. These rides are stunning. There are tiny little mountain villages along the route. We stopped in Mürren for a quick breakfast before continuing up to Birg and the top section of Schilthorn.
They classify Mürren as the first section of three to reach the top, with Birg being the middle section. At Birg they have a small restaurant, platform for views, and a “Thrill Walk” that is a thin walkway affixed to the side of the mountain. Zach and I completed the walk twice!
As if the views weren’t already good enough, reaching the top of Schilthorn is truly breathtaking. I’ll let the photos do the talking.
An old James Bond movie called On her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed at Schilthorn, so they have a 007 exhibit as well as James Bond branding all over the place. I’m so jealous the actors and crew were able to spend several months up there!!
We leisurely spent a few hours on the mountain and headed back down for dinner in the valley. The night ended with a casual hour-long stroll back to our hostel.
The final part of our Euro Trip takes place in Zurich. More to come soon!
-t
Pictures & Some Words 