The Bernese Oberland

Lauterbrunnen

So I discontinued blogging for a while because things have been quite hectic but the very thought of Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland just made me want to blog and relive my experiences again...it is THAT amazing.

If you were to ask me, "David, what is the most beautiful place you've ever been to?"

Without hesitation, I'd tell you, "Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland."

Now what the hell is the Bernese Oberland? It's not a city or country but rather a region in Switzerland that encompasses the world's greenest valleys situated right below the Swiss Alps. Winter or summer, rain or shine, it truly is a summer and winter wonderland year all around. As I am typing this blog post, I am still at a lost for words and speechless as no words can describe the beauty of this place. Ok, I'm being a little too corny but it's beautiful, alright?

But one thing is true...I've never seen grass so green, the air that fresh, and the surroundings so peaceful and quiet. Coming from hustle and bustle and stress of the city life, this was definitely the perfect escape for me. The Bernese Oberland is huge and I've only ventured into a small region of it, so here is my story...

Ok, so me and my friend Johnson just left Italy just as our friends, Ling and Christine, departed back to the USA. So after being in Spain for about a month and backpacking for another 2 weeks, we needed a damn break from everything. After Ling and Christine left, we both felt homesick and tired and wanted to go home...but we still had about 5 days in Switzerland. Even though I was tired and drained, I had previously done A LOT of research on Switzerland so WE HAD TO GO...

So we headed towards the Rome main train station at 8AM for our departure towards Lauterbrunnen. In order to get to Lauterbrunnen, we had to switch trains several times. You have to take the train from Rome to Milan. Then get off and switch to a train heading towards Spiez. Then from Spiez, you switch another time to a train heading towards Interlaken OST (West). You then get off at Interlaken and transfer to another train (your eurail pass will not work but 25% off) towards Lauterbrunnen. Yeah, it's a bit complicated but well worth the trip. The ride towards Spiez and Interlaken offers GREAT views; you'll see people whipping our their cameras to take pictures.

So to sum it up...Rome->Milan->Spiez->Interlaken->Lauterbrunnen. And I think we got there around 3PM so it took about 7-8 hours total in travel time.

But yeah, I pretty much knocked out during the first half of the train ride up to Italy (there wasn't much to see anyway) but woke up just in time for the good stuff. There's nothing like seeing great contrasts of green and blue to wake you up. On the way to Spiez and Interlaken, you'll pass by Lake Thun, which is probably the nicest lake I've ever seen (well I haven't seen too many lakes...Lake Tahoe...Lake Merced LOL). 

So the ride "into" Lauterbrunnen is kind of fun itself (there's a reason you have to pay extra for the ticket), it's sort of like venturing into some mysterious, mystical land in Lord of the Rings. The train ride offers pretty stunning views of the area and windows open all the way so you can stick you head out the window. You don't know where you are going as the train goes up and into the mountains and then you finally arrive in the Valley of Lauterbrunnen, the most beautiful little town in the World. 

Lauterbrunnen sits at the base of Lauterbrunnen Valley and is surrounded by waterfalls all around and the Swiss Alps in the near distance. It's a small little town, which you can walk through in about 20 minutes. FYI: JRR Tolkien got his idea for Rivendell from Lauterbrunnen Valley. And I would recommend anyone heading over to the Bernese Oberland to stay in Lauterbrunnen as it's the base for wherever you want to go (Jungfrau or Schilthorn). 

I booked our stay at Camping Jungfrau, which is about a 15-20 minute walk from the train station (pretty much at the end of town). And I just remember walking through the town and just admiring everything around me...it was simply beautiful (I literally said "beautiful" 100+ times during those few days). When we arrived at Camping Jungfrau, we didn't know what to expect in terms of housing but the staff there was extremely nice and kindly walked us to our CABINS! Holy crap, I thought it was going to be a hostel but we got an entire mini-cabin to ourselves....NAYCE!. That was the life pretty much...living in a cabin, eating Swiss chocolate smack dead in the middle of the Valley with a 900foot waterfall right beside us. It seems like something out of a storybook...and it was...and I was living it. Damn thinking about it just makes me write hella corny shit...gotta add some HMPHHHH OK I'M GOOOOOD AITE SHIETTTTT.

Anyways, we dropped off our luggage and after settling down, we went to go check out Stabbauch Falls (the 900ft waterfall) that was right beside our camp. It wasn't that long of a climb/hike up as weren't able to go all the way up, but it was pretty cool just being under a waterfall overlooking the Valley during our first few hours in Lauterbrunnen. There isn't much of a "nightlife" and I didn't expect one, so we just returned to our cabin and ate chocolate for the rest of the night. Sweetness.

The next morning started at around 630AM and we were in store for a long, long day. Our hostel helped us book tickets to the Schilthorn and so we walked 15 minutes back to beginning of the town to take the cable car up. From there, you have to switch to a train that'll take you to Murren, but we decided to hike and walk over there (took about an hour or so). The own of Murren is a pretty cool situated a few thousand feet above the Valley base. We found this one Chinese restaurant that served beef fried rice for $18...yes Switzerland is that expensive.

Once at the end of Murren, you finally take 360-degree revolving cable car up to the Schilthorn, but it was FOGGY AND CLOUDY. But we hoped that by the time we got up there (10000ft) that the clouds would clear up...but it was F'in cloudy and foggy and all we could see was WHITE. I could see that crap in San Francisco damnit. Paid like $100 bucks to ride up there. So now what? 100 BUCKS...better make the most out of it, so we decided to venture into the Abyss. Usually, people hike when the weather is sunny and nice. We asked the lady up there if it is advisable to hike, but she said it was super dangerous and someone had actually got airlifted out the other day. BUT I DID NOT PAY 100 BUCKS TO RIDE UP AND SEE FOG. And so we descended the mountain and hiked our stupidasses into the unknown. Now to be honest with you, it was pretty dangerous (one wrong step and we'd plummet thousands of feet to our deaths) but mothertrucking FUN. We almost got lost (that would've been BAD), but we managed to find our way back after an hour or so.

It was about 12PM and we started our hike down into the Valley and beyond. Our first stop was Gimmelwald, which is a small little town just below Murren. The sun was up, the skies were blue, and the air oh so mothertrucking fresh. There are places where you pay for clean oxygen, but the oxygen is free here...so I think the price of the fresh air actually paid for my entire trip (I'd like to think that since I spent so much money).

The thing I loved most was just being in nature and away from EVERYTHING. And it wasn't touristy like Rome or Paris. You look to your right...to your left...and its just green and blue everywhere. No one but you, nature, and COWS.

From Gimmelwald, we hiked down towards Stechelberg, which is pretty much close to the base of the valley (on the other side of Lauterbrunnen). By that time, it was nearing 5PM and we wanted reach Trummelbach Falls before it closed (I mean it IS the "highlight" of Lauterbrunnen). Trummelbach Falls is a series of ten glacier-waterfalls inside the mountain that is made accessible by tunnel lifts. So from Stechelberg we ran and walked extremely fast for about a few miles. "TRUMMELBACH FALLS! TRUMMELBACH FALLS! TRUMMELBACH FALLS!" And damn...that's when I knew I was really out of shape...damn all those tapas and sangrias in Spain...

So...we managed to reach Trummelbach Falls just in time before it closed...WHEW. But I gotta say...TRUMMELBACH FALLS WAS SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT. I mean...it was cool and all seeing all those waterfalls inside, but I think I had too high of expectations. I was expecting like giant waterfalls with rainbows and mermaids and horses underneath, but it's nothing like that. It's kind of dark and it's just water falling out of rocks...but yeah...still go check it out if you're in Lauterbrunnen.

After leaving disappointed, we decided to make our way back to Lauterbrunnen. That was when I started feeling a bit sad since we were going to leave the next day. So I said my goodbyes to the trees and blew a kiss towards the Swiss Alps in the far distance. Well, no I didn't do that but you get the point.

It was about 7PM when we got back to town, and we decided to try their $20 "rosti" and sausage, which is basically hash browns. But yeah, then I looked around the restaurant and everyone was like 30 years older than us. Actually when I think about it, we were probably the youngest people there the entire day...yes...if you're in retirement, Lauterbrunnen is the perfect place for you.

I've yet to see a prettier place than the Bernese Oberland, but then again I have not seen everything yet. It has the greenest grass, the cleanest air, the bluest skies, the cleanest water, and the nicest people. You have to go venture into the Bernese Oberland once in your lifetime...you will not be disappointed.