Ahhhh, the Swiss Alps. Growing up they seemed so far away and the epitome of a fairy tale destination. I had the image of the jagged mountain tops rising above abundantly green pastures below with belled cows grazing peacefully. The words “Swiss chocolate” make my mouth water. Switzerland was a country we had been excited about for a while. The more research we did, the more it became apparent that it was indeed an outdoor amusement park. With so many different places to hike, ride up gondolas, touch snow in the summer, and do a variety of outdoor sports, Switzerland can keep you busy for a lifetime. We only had a little over a week. This is where we went and what we saw.
Our Visitors
I’ve said this many times in the past, but I’ll say it again: traveling with others (especially loved ones) just makes the experience better. I’ve already been blessed enough to travel with the love of my life around the world. But, the more the merrier, right? Our trip to Switzerland was made better by having my parents, Tim & Becka join us all the way from Wisconsin.
There is just so much to do in Switzerland and it was great to take in the views and hike with some very active walkers. Both Tim & Becka do a lot of walking out and around their home in NW Wisconsin. Hiking with them in Switzerland (as you will see) was a lot of fun.
It really meant a lot to us to have them make the trip over. Traveling in Europe this summer has been challenging and they definitely got caught by some of that. It was so great having them with us to grab meals, get drinks, and explore the sights. Thanks, Mom & Dad :).
Interlaken
Switzerland has a lot of mountain landscapes because of the Alps that carve through it. Zurich is big and sprawling but doesn’t really star in the show. The smaller, more picturesque cities and towns sprinkled in and around the Swiss Alps make for a true Switzerland experience. We went straight to Interlaken (after picking my parents up from the airport) and we are so glad we did.
Interlaken means “between lakes” and that is literally what it is; it sits between the lakes of Thun and Brienz. Not only that, but mountains rise above all sides of the city and the lakes. It’s a beautiful landscape and makes for quite the picture.
The city has some really great walking with the views of the mountains above, but also because of the beautiful river carving through the city. The water is super clear with a teal-ish blue. The ducks dive under the surface along the rock wall banks to fetch a meal for their ducklings. Tourists from all over the globe walk along the main drag with their eyes mostly up. They aren’t just looking up to see the Jungfrau mountain peak in the distance; they are watching the paragliders slowly floating toward the center of town.
Our Paragliding Experience
With such a glorious collection of natural, awe-inspiring landscapes it only makes sense that seeing it all at once is worth it. The peaks above provide a literal jumping-off point for which to float across a sky filled with things to catch your eye below.
Britta and I came to Switzerland with a plan to go paragliding. Neither of us had gone before and we figured if there was a place to do it, Switzerland had to be it. We talked about doing this even before starting our trip. I was nervous. I wasn’t nervous on the way up to the peak as much as I was during the days coming up to the reservation. We used Paragliding Interlaken as our guides to the skies. We met down in the center of town where we would eventually be landing. We piled into a van with our guides and started our way up to the peak where we would take off from. The ride itself was beautiful. We seemed to go right through cattle pastures on the way and eventually found ourselves driving right under other thrillseekers just starting their parachute ride toward the peaks across Interlaken. We got crazy lucky with the weather as the sun shone out with just little clouds drifting above every once and a while.
As we parked and got ready to take off, we latched ourselves onto our individual guides and the chute. You just start running – plain and simple. The grade of the hill we took off from is gentle enough that the chute can pick you up only after less than a 40-yard dash. It isn’t like jumping off a cliff as I pictured. It is much more gradual and you pass the cows below you until the peak is no longer and you are just floating way up.
The wind whizzes by but everything else is quiet. I found myself just putting my head on a swivel to see all that I could see below and in the distance. It was an experience like nothing else I have experienced. You feel like you are just sitting in a chair and floating across the sky. The landing is as simple as a walk onto the green space in the center of Interlaken.
After seeing Britta and I land and after hearing our raving reviews, my parents decided they wanted to try it as well. I have to be honest, I was pretty shocked that they wanted to do it. But, they signed up and had their own fun just a few days later.
Thun Ferry Journey
Because Interlaken sits between two lakes, it offers the ability to enjoy those lakes. We decided to embark on a ferry that made a variety of stops on the lake of Thun. The ferry passes by quite a few park and beach areas on Thun. Kids are jumping off diving boards and people of all ages are paddling on paddleboards close to shore. But, if you look away from the lake sports on the shore, you can look out across the lake to the smaller mountain tops in lush green.
Because Interlaken sits between two lakes, it offers the ability to enjoy those lakes. We decided to embark on a ferry that made a variety of stops on the lake of Thun. The ferry passes by quite a few park and beach areas on Thun. Kids are jumping off diving boards and people of all ages are paddling on paddleboards close to shore. But, if you look away from the lake sports on the shore, you can look out across the lake to the smaller mountain tops in lush green.
Lauterbrunnen
Just like I said earlier, the small towns and villages in Switzerland really make it shine. Interlaken is a great staging area for getting to some of the most beautiful places that Switzerland has to offer. Lauterbrunnen is small, but it packs a punch when it comes to natural beauty and a heck of a great hike.
Just a short train ride away, the Lauterbrunnen train station drops you onto the main street of town. It is clear from this point on that the valley you seem to grow closer and closer to is that out of a fairy tale. Trickling waterfalls dive deep off the bluffs in the near distance. Snow can be spotted on the mountain tops in the far distance with rivers cascading down. You can stop right in town to grab this amazing photo spot (thanks for the advice Devin Jones).
If you keep walking toward the distant mountains, you start to walk on a road surrounded by farmland and trees. The waterfalls are in view at all times. Rivers and creeks trickle by. Little stands selling dairy products give you a chance to partake in the local fare (they were all sold out when we went, unfortunately). My parents, Britta, and I walked through the valley looking up constantly and taking pictures as we went.
We did actually have a destination in mind. After taking a couple-mile walk through the valley we eventually come across the entrance to a very unique cable car. It is one of only a few of its kind. The cable car literally goes up and through a cliff. The destination is the top of Trümmelbach Falls.
These falls carve deep into the side of the mountain. And these falls are not your typical falls. The water pressure is so strong that the sound is almost deafening as the falls hit the rock along the way down the mountain. Over 20,000 liters of water spew down EVERY SECOND! Walking through the falls felt like going through a cave with walls of water every once and a while. It was quite the experience.
But, our excursion didn’t end there! We walked to the end of the valley beyond Trümmelbach Falls to a cable car station. The station took us up out of the mountain to the little village of Mürren. The rain and fog rolled in, but we were able to grab a drink and wait for it to break a bit. Then we took the really cool steam train down again to Lauterbrunnen. You scale the side of the mountain as you slowly descend back down to the valley.
Grindelwald
Taking the train from Interlaken up to Grindelwald actually starts with a train that goes to a final destination of Lauterbrunnen as well as a final destination of Grindelwald. Trains sometimes start at a location and a section of cars on the original train literally split away at a stop along the way to make two trains with their own engines. That is what this train does. You have to make sure to be in the right set of cars on the train to make sure you are going to Grindelwald vs. Lauterbrunnen or vice versa. Hopping on the set of cars going to Grindelwald gave us an opportunity to do one of the best hikes we have done thus far on this trip.
When you get off the train in Grindelwald you aren’t to the great stuff yet. The town is really pretty with some absolutely gorgeous views around the valley. The high valley walls were towering above. However, after walking through town for a while you can hop on a cable car to go up to Grindelwald First which was even more glorious. It is actually a decently long ride to the top. It takes about 25 minutes with a couple of stops along the way to get off to do some mountain sports. They have mountain biking trails down and these little carts and manual scooters to take in the views as you rocket down the mountain. They also even have a zip line where you are hanging from your back and looking straight down.
We surpassed that and made our way up to the top. We passed cow pastures with swinging cow tails and goats munching on anything they could get. As we rose to the top the view of the distant mountains became more and more spectacular. Well, not on the first day we went. The risk with going up in the Alps or any other mountains is that it can get foggy. This can really take a toll on your view. We got bad luck on the first day going up there: fog was there and stayed. But, the next day we gave it another go. To give you an idea of the differences here are some comparisons.
Pro Tip: We found out later that we could have avoided going up in the fog at all. They actually have webcams online that show the conditions at the top. You can find that here.
Grindelwald First Walk
One of the most popular things to do at the top of Grindelwald First is the thrill walk. This is one of a few of its kind in Switzerland. The walk is along a metal walkway along a mountain with a bridge from peak to peak. It really isn’t as scary as it sounds, but it does end with you going out to a point that makes you feel like you are in the sky. That can be a little unnerving but totally worth it.
Bachalpsee Lake Hike
I can confidently say that this was the coolest and most breathtaking hike we have been on thus far. The hiking trails along the Swiss Alps actually connect quite a bit across long distances. You can keep walking for multiple days and still have more trails to guide you. This particular hike we took starts from the cable car station and makes its way up to a lake about 2 miles away. Much of the trail in that direction is slight to moderately uphill. The toughest part of the climb is mostly at the beginning; and, like with any out-and-back trail, coming back is pretty much all downhill.
As I said, the hike is just breathtaking. The peaks of all of the tallest mountains in the area are continuously in view along the trail. Wildflowers pop up beside the trail as the soil is in no way lacking the needed moisture. Little creeks flow under the trail as they tumble down the mini-valley with the peaks in the distance. If you look close enough you can spot a goat or two on Grindelwald First up from the trail. The greens are pulled out with the view of the snow-capped mountains.
The views kept us stopping along the way up to the lake. There were just too many viewpoints with subtle enough different angles that create something else to catch the eye. That definitely helped since it was a definite climb to the top. When we got there, the serenity was met with the relief of a spot to sit for lunch.
But, nothing could take away from the journey it took to get to the lake. It is a trail that seems to live out the parable of focusing on the journey and not the destination. Nothing is really special about the lake; the special part was the journey to get there.
Recap
Miles Walked
- 54 miles over 8 days
Next Up!
- Norway & Finland
Read About Where Else We’ve Been
- New Zealand: A Little Bit of Everything
- Vietnam: North to South
- Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia: New Year’s 2023
- Thailand: Temples, Food, and So Much More
- Australia: The East Coast of Natural Wonders
We so, so loved sharing this adventure with you 2!!❤❤ Thank you for inviting us!
It was so great! Maybe you meet us again somewhere?!?!