Hi friends, welcome back to my Switzerland series! The next morning Jon and I packed our bags and headed to the train station for part one of our three step journey to Wengen. Usually I’d be weary of having to transfer trains a few times, but I can’t say enough good things about Switzerland’s public transportation. All of our train rides this day were covered by our Swiss Half Pass and BO Pass. The first journey was the Lucerne-Interlaken Express and we paid a little extra to reserve seats next to each other. The train has a small electronic board that says if seats are reserved so you don’t have to worry about any potential awkward interactions. Once we were in our seats, we could relax and enjoy the scenery passing by over the next two hours. We saw at least five stunningly blue lakes and beautiful mountain villages as we made our way to Interlaken.
From Interlaken we boarded a thirty-minute train to Lauterbrunnen, and then an eleven-minute train from Lauterbrunnen up to Wengen. The trains were timed perfectly so you had about 3-10 minutes to transfer at each stop before the train left the station. We pack light so we never had any close calls getting onto trains, but if you pack heavy, make sure you’re at the doors with your bags before the train stops. I’d also recommend downloading the user friendly SBB app. It shows all the train and cable car times with about 99% accuracy. As we ascended up the mountain, the views kept getting better.
There are quite a few towns in the Berner Oberland region to stay in, and I had a hard time deciding. Some towns are the picturesque mountain village, but not convenient to get around easily. Others are easy to get around, but lack the small village vibe. We wanted to stay in only one place so Wengen provided the perfect combination of scenery and accessibility. Wengen is a car free mountain town located at 4,000 feet. The population is only 1,300 so it was the complete opposite of life in NYC. In future posts I’ll show the other possible towns to stay in (Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Murren, and Gimmelwald) and my thoughts to help narrow it down for your future trips 🙂 This map below shows the area and different towns. The black boxes are different towns to stay in and the blue are the hikes/mountains we visited.
Jon and I stayed at Hotel Alpenrose and the view from our balcony was stunning! We could see Lauterbrunnen below, Murren across the valley, and the peaks of Junfrau and Shilthorn. Our visit coincided with a heat wave and the hotel didn’t have any fans, so we got pretty hot at night. We opened the windows the first night and we realized at 11pm that a few big flies and massive bee had flown in. It took a while to wind down after our efforts to evict all the unwanted insects. Our breakfast and dinner each day was included in our rate, but the dinners usually left a bit to be desired. I think they tried to make the food too fancy when we would’ve been happier with a simple sausage and bread roll. They also served soup as one of the courses in the heat, so our dinners were pretty sweaty. We never went hungry, but compared to our meals in Germany, we were a little disappointed. The room, location, and cleanliness were all great but the meals were the only thing we didn’t love.
I wasn’t sure how many clear days we would have in Wengen (my weather app was unnecessarily pessimistic), so after checking in, Jon and I set out for one of the hikes on my list. We took the cable car from Wengen up to Männlichen (free with our BO pass, otherwise 29CHF each way), and the ride takes about five minutes to ascend 947m. We preferred to stay inside, but for 5CHF more, you can ride on top of the cable car for unobstructed views. I believe this is the only cable car that offers the outdoor experience. You can hike up to Männlichen too, but we never attempted it when we could take the free and easy cable car. The squiggly yellow line was our route for the day.
Once we reached the top, we walked a little over half a mile up to the Royal Walk viewpoint. The hike is quick, but steep. There was nobody up there and we discovered it was because it was infested with flies. We got our picture and headed down pretty quickly. From here you can see Wengen, Interlaken, Gindelwald, Jungfrau, and the Lauterbrunnen Valley below.
The famous peaks from left to right are Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.
It doesn’t get much more Swiss than this!
Jon and I then walked the Panorama Trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and it was a very easy three-mile walk with incredible views. The hardest part of the hike was not stopping every second to take a picture. We had a front row view of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau as we followed the trail.
We stopped on the most scenic bench to take it all in. It’s hard to believe such a beautiful and peaceful place exists! This bench overlooks Grindelwald below.
We finished the hike in Kleine Scheidegg and took in the views overlooking Jungfrau while waiting for our train. Once aboard it took twenty-five minutes to descend to Wengen (free with our BO pass, originally 31CFH). We loved the Panorama Trail and think it’s a must if you’re in the region. I’m glad we did this on our first day because it was a great introduction to the area. It’s also perfect for all levels and so enjoyable! Our time in the mountains was off to a great start and we were excited to explore the Lauterbrunnen Valley the following day.
Awesome views along your train rides and up top Lyssy. The weather gods were certainly with you. It is always a good idea to enjoy the good weather while you have it. There is always time to rest later. Happy Monday. Allan
I’d never seen such great views from public transportation. We got extremely lucky with the weather, every day we were in the mountains was clear. I’d take some heat over clouds/rain any day. The following week was low 50s and rainy.
The landscape is amazing, the cows and with the bells just the cherry on the cake. Beautiful!
I just loved those cows and the little tunes their bells played, so scenic!
Such beautiful views and great weather. Looks like you chose a great location. Maggie
We couldn’t have asked for a better day! We got very lucky with the weather while we were in the mountains.
It’s hard to think of Switzerland as “hot and buggy” when you’re looking at endless mountain meadows and snow-covered Alps. Some of your photos look too beautiful to be real. And I love how you posted pictures of the “meh” food. So spartan compared to the fancy dishes you post from NYC ha. On that note, what is it about Europe and “sirloin steak”? Don’t they know there are much better cuts available? 🙂
Bugs were definitely not on my Switzerland bingo card! The poor cows got the worst of the flies. It really did feel like we were in some fantasy land, it was just incredible! I can’t resist taking pictures of my food now, it’s such a habit. I hope I’m not becoming a food snob, although it was nice not having to worry about where to go for dinner. So many better cuts! Although I am sure the quality of the beef is way better there than what I get at Whole Foods.
Other than the bugs it sounds great. That is such a pretty hike.. those views are just incredible and look like they can not possibly be real.
Thankfully the bugs were only at the one point. It was such a beautiful hike and day!
Fabulous scenery Lyssy
One of the prettiest hikes we’ve done!
Switzerland is chocolate box pretty
Truly a picturesque hike! It looks like something out of a tourism brochure, or even a painting! Regarding hot food (e.g. soup) in hot weather, there are studies which say having hot (even spicy) food in warm temperatures can actually bring the body temperature down and cool you off! Not the most-pleasant way, but there’s science to it! 😆
You’re right! It does look like a painting or tourism brochure. Impossible to take any bad pictures there. Ah that is so interesting, especially because it is so not counter-intuitive. Maybe we sweat off the heat and that cools us!
Wonderful views, but what on earth were the flies doing up there?
It was stunning! I always wonder how flies can get to such high elevation. Maybe they hitched a ride on one of the cows.
What gorgeous views Lyssy. We’ve stayed in Wengen three times but always in the winter on ski holidays. I like skiing there because you can use the trains and gondolas instead of drag lifts We’ve had one Sumner holiday in the Bernese Oberland staying in a hotel in Grindelwald which was lovely but pricey for a family of four.
It was a stunning hike! I’d love to visit in the winter one day although I haven’t skied since I was a kid. We passed through Grindelwald on our way up to First. It is pricey!
Wow the views from the train and the hike are incredible!
One of the most scenic days! Wish the trains here had such great views.
These are relaxing landscapes after the effort of hiking. The previous year I also appreciated the quality of the Swiss trains for daytrips during longer stays.
It was so nice being able to enjoy the views with ease after the trek up to Royal Walk. It is amazing how efficient the trains are.
Just amazing, the views in Switzerland really are epic 🙂
Switzerland is just too pretty to be real!
I have been to Switzerland twice and am completely in love. One of the trips was more city-focused (we went for Christmas markets), and on the other we went to some stops in the mountains–we LOVED Interlaken. Just stunning. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from Talking About it Tuesdays.
You really got the best of both worlds! I’d love to visit the Christmas markets, that would be so fun. Interlaken is such a stunning area.
There is just something magical about glacial waterfalls, hiking trails, dramatic cliffs, and quaint villages of Lauterbrunnen Valley – nature doesn’t get much more striking than this. I am glad to see you had fantastic weather to take in the scenery. Thanks you for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
The Berner Oberland region really was so stunning, nature was for sure showing off! We are so fortunate to have had great weather every single day. I’ll take the heat over clouds and rain!
Despite having lived in France 14 years, I never have been to Switzerland. Now that I live in the US, it probably won’t happen. Your pictures are beautiful: thanks for sharing with us.
I am sure you had some incredible experiences living in France! Glad you enjoyed this post 🙂
Those mountains are breath taking!
They’re almost too incredible to be real!
The scenery is ridiculously beautiful and your photos are incredible. I can’t begin to imagine how it must have looked in real life.
Thank you! It really felt like walking through a painting, just stunning.
wow truly nice scenic photos
Thank you!
This looks like one of the most spectacular hiking spots that I have ever seen! Your photos are so beautiful!!!
Thank you!! It was one of the most stunning hikes we’d ever done!
Thanks for sharing this
Your pictures of the mountainous landscape are stunning. Looks like a fantastic hike and one that I’ll have to add to my list for when we make it to Switzerland!
Thank you! It was such a stunning hike, the views were just surreal and it’s nice to take the chairlift instead of huffing and puffing up the trail to enjoy the views.
What a beautiful view
I can understand how the most challenging element of your hike was not stopping every second to take another photo. Your photos of the mountains are gorgeous. Once again the cows with these bells just complete the idyll. Switzerland is really beautiful. I would love to spend a month in Grindelwald, it’s so tranquil and green.
It was like almost too beautiful to be real! The cows were the cherry on top. It would be amazing to spend a month in Switzerland, it’s just so peaceful!
What lovely scenery! All beautifully captured!
‘Wow’. It is what I uttered looking at the photographs. Truly, if somebody wants to cut off from the world and spend time where there is nothing but nature, Wengen, Switzerland is where one should head to.
I’ve really enjoyed reading thru your Switzerland posts! You’ve given me some great ideas for our upcoming trip this July. We will also be staying in Wengen. I was wondering if you could tell me what type of camera you used to capture these beautiful photos. And also, what lenses you used.
How exciting! You’re going to have the best time. I use an old Nikon d3400 and the lense that it came with. I do use adobe after to enhance the colors and sharpen things.