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Published: March 28th 2009
A trip to Switzerland in September of 2006 made me fall in love with the Alps forever. Some of my fondest travel memories to date come from backpacking from village to village in the Jungfrau region around the Eiger and Lauterbrunnen Valley. I flew into Geneva, took a trip to the Jungfrau region, came back to Geneva for a conference, and then headed out to Zermatt for a couple days with two friends. I didn't find the people in Geneva to be overly friendly but I found the historic part of Geneva to be a wonderful place to walk around and explore. I would recommend Pizzeria De Paulo at 3, rue du lac for some great pizza--the staff was great also. Also, my runs down the lake toward the United Nations were good particularly up around the parks closer to the U.N.
So, if you go to Switzerland hop on the train and get to the mountains as soon as you can! Rides in the trains and taking in the scenery are an entertaining experience in and of themselves. I went to Interlaken and took the Schynige Platte train straight up the mountain and began hiking. The first day I
reached Grindelwald. The next day I hiked under the Eiger and to Lauterbrunnen where I stayed that night. Then I took the train over to Kandersteg. I can't imagine a much more beautiful 3-day circuit--I would highly recommend this to an active traveler who enjoys beautiful landscapes. The hike to Grindelwald was a scenic trek with a nice ride down to town on the funicular. I stayed at a nice bed and breakfast that cost somewhere in the range of $40 (Pension Gydisdorf). The next day I hiked right under the Eiger and popped out with beautiful views of the Eiger, Junfrau, and Monch peaks. I continued my hike with a scenic approach through Wengen and then down into Lauterbrunnen. The view of the giant waterfall above Lauterbrunnen is beautiful as you hike down into the town. And you should definitely take a couple hours to hike through the Laterbrunnen Valley which is just outside of the village of Lauterbrunnen. I would love to return there and run the marathon that goes through the valley. I owe my trip to Kandersteg to a recommendation by a Swiss woman whom I met on the train to the Junfrau region. It turned
out to be a great tip as the hike around Oeschinensee Lake, just outside of town, was stunning! The combination of the blue sky and the amazing turquoise color of the lake made for one of the most beautiful sights of my travels.
The trip to Zermatt is a bit of an adventure itself and the train ride approaching the town is incredibly scenic. We only had two days there and I was worried about not seeing the Matterhorn because it was clouded over. However, the second day I was determined to have the best chance possible of seeing it so I began hiking up trails above the town on the nearby mountains. About midday the clouds started parting and I became visibly excited on the trail (I think even breaking into song with The Hills Are Alive . . . ) as the Matterhorn came into view. Even though I seen many great mountains, the Matterhorn is unique with its sharp contours and setting about Zermatt without any competing peaks. Zermatt, although a big tourist destination, is an enjoyable town to hang out in. With a clear sky the setting is amazing with views of the Matterhorn as
you walk the town. You can see the graveyard that memorializes fallen climbers who lost their lives attempting to climb the Matterhorn and you can also take the highest cable cars in Europe up to Klein Matterhorn for great views (and probably even lots of snow even in Sept.).
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Liz Hume
non-member comment
Beautiful!
John your pictures of Switzerland are so beautiful! Someday I want to see the Matterhorn in person! Thanks for letting me paint some of these pics.