Savoring the Swiss Alps

This blog entry is about hiking in the Swiss Alps. During our trip to Switzerland, we stayed in the area famous for its beauty and hikes - Bernese Oberland. My husband and I made it all the way to Murren, a mountain village that sits 1,650 m/5,413 ft high at the footsteps of the Schilthorn mountain (2,970/9,744 ft). Murren is a starting point to many beautiful trails. There are hundreds of trails in Bernese Oberland, and below you can see pictures of only a few of them that we we able to conquer in a week.

Hike 1: North Face Trail 

The spectacular North Face is rightfully famous. It's a mild hike through the lush green meadows with stunning views of the surrounding mountains including the big three - the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. When you head down the North Face, be prepared to say Hello, or Grüezi, to the local residents and Alpine cows.  

 

 

Hike 2: Murren - Gimmelwald - Stechelberg - Lauterbrunnen - Grutschalp - Murren

This was a crazy, 9-hour hike from our village, Murren (1,650m), down through Gimmelwald (1,400m) and all the way down to Stechelberg (922m), then about 7 km along the river to Lauterbrunnen only at 796m, and then up to Grutschalp at 1,487m, which was excruciating, and from there just another 5 km to the final destination - Murren. After the whole day of hiking in the rain, with temperatures ranging between 5-8 degrees C, we entrenched at a restaurant for a bowl of traditional cheese fondue for dinner.

Hike 3: Mountain View Trail

The Mountain View Trail is a must for a number of reasons. It's a relatively flat and easy trail decorated by many beautiful flowers and trees. But the main reason is the wide open, panoramic view of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau and the entire mountain range from east to west. Nothing is more relaxing than walking along the Mountain View Trail and I only wish we had enough time to do it more than once. 

 

This is not the end. To be continued...