Wengen to Interlaken to Lucerne

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Yesterday was our day off the bikes and we were very excited for a break and recovery. We took our day of rest very seriously and decided to opt out of the hikes that a few others were going on in the rainy cold weather. We explored downtown Wengen and enjoyed the shops and the small downtown area. We also rode a cable car up to the top of a very high peak, but it was so foggy there was no view to be enjoyed. Finally in the afternoon the rain cleared for a bit and we enjoyed a beer outside at the hotel in Wengen while playing a few games of ping pong.



I woke up this morning in Wengen to blue skies! The three famous peaks near there- the Eigen, the Monke and the Jungfrau became more visible amongst the clouds making for some gorgeous pictures. I believe we saw mostly the Jungfrau and some of the Monke. We rode the train to Interlaken and prepped for another ride. Because the previous days were so wet and muddy, the bikes all needed some TLC and we had some maintenance issues today. My chain kept jumping off and many people had problems switching gears.

The ride today was long and challenging but the weather was beautiful so it was very enjoyable. We rode maybe around 80K but I heard maybe longer so I don't really know. We climbed the toughest climb of the trip- the Brunig pass. It was 5K of climb at a 12-14% grade. The key is to put the bikes into the easiest gear and just take it slow and steady. The view at the top was of the lake in the valley and the mountains on the either side making for some great pictures. We rode quite a descent down to lunch on a main road which was a little scary for me. The afternoon was mostly flat and much of it was along a river or lake. There has been so much rain here that the rivers are very high. At one point the river flooded the bike path and we had no choice but to ride through it. Silly us to think our shoes would stay dry one day! The last 15K or so was around Lake Lucerne which was a really pretty ride on a well paved separate bike path.

Lucerne seems to be quite the city. It feels like a big city but I guess it's a bit smaller than Geneva in population. We are staying right in the city center at hotel Monopol. The architecture is beautiful and some of the buildings seem very old. Dinner was at a brewery that originally was a town hall in the 1600s. I would like to spend a few days here in Lucerne but it's back on the bikes tomorrow!

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Photos

Jungfrau
from wengen