Gimmelwald

One of the most visited places in Switzerland is the Interlaken lake and mountain region in the Bernese Oberland. The three mountains, Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau make an impressive view and there is a train that takes visitors to an elevation of over 11,000ft. We stayed a little bit off the beaten path on the other side of the mountains in the town of Gimmelwald, which is only accessible by a cable car (gondola). The altitude gain from the bottom of the valley to the top of the peaks is more than 3km! From Zürich we took a train to Bern, another to Interlaken Ost. and then a third to Lauterbrunnen. Leif saved us valuable time when he noticed we had gotten off at the Interlaken West station accidentally- lucky for us the train had not left yet so we hopped back on. From Lauterbrunnen we took a bus to Stechelberg, a small village located at the head of the U-shaped glacial valley. Then from Stechelberg we took the cable car up to Gimmelwald, and impressive ride up and over the cliffs. Gimmelwald has only a handful of places to stay, one restaurant, and a Hostel that makes pizza in the evenings. The farmers that live there have cows and small grassy plots where they were harvesting hay for the winter. There is one small 'road' and no cars, just a few work and farm vehicles.

The view from our deck was quite impressive, and we all agreed that the scope and the immensity of the Alps is unlike anything we had ever seen in the United States. There was a small playground located next to the gondola station and from some directions it looked as if the kids could slide right off the cliff (it was safely far enough away from the edge that this was not possible). Most of the other people staying in Gimmelwald were Americans. We met two families from Wisconsin and MN who were traveling all over Europe for 1 month together. We also met a couple from NY and one from Ohio.

In the morning we hiked to Mürren, a town about 1000ft higher on the mountain, and then boarded the gondola to the top of the Schilthorn. Halfway up the gondola stops in Birg and we switched to a different one to the very top. A James Bond movie was filmed at the top and they have constructed a revolving 360 degree restaurant, as well as a viewing platform for tourists. It was a gorgeous, clear, spectacular day to see the mountains in all directions. At the top we decided to hike down to the Birg station on the narrow trail which wound down the talus slope. The kids were great hikers- it was a trail that required concentration to maintain your footing, and even a few spots where they had to hold on to rocks on one side for balance. The height was so great that when I looked out towards the mountains and valley below it made me dizzy. Elisabet did all the hiking herself that day - to and from Mürren and the trail down the Schilthorn. She seemed to sense that it would have been impossible for Travis to carry her on that part.

We returned to our apartment in the afternoon after a reward of ice cream cones and the kids spent much of the evening playing with the American kids on the playground. By the time they climbed into bed (all 3 in the same one) at 9:30, they were too exhausted to protest the sleeping arrangement.

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped at the Trümmelbach falls. These waterfalls are located inside the mountain and are the melting snow and glacier waters of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Taking an elevator up a shaft in the mountain you can walk through several tunnels in the rock to view the cascading water, 20,000 liters per second of cold, icy snowmelt.

We made a quick stop in Bern to show Marta the old city, the Aare river, and the Parliamentary building. It was also a good opportunity for the kids to cool off in the water fountains in the main square.