Grindelwald
September 2008Grindelwald, Switzerland
For this trip we flew into Zurich, took the train to Grindelwald, and spent a week in that beautiful village hiking in the surrounding mountains and taking day trips to great places like Interlaken, Brienz, and Zermatt. Keep in mind that Switzerland is only about the combined size of Vermont and New Hampshire, so we’re not talking major distances.
Even though our apartment was in Grindelwald we spent a lot of time in Interlaken, the nearest town of any substantial size. Interlaken is a regional transit hub that offers excellent access to trains, buses, and even lake steamers. This was important because, as with earlier trips to Europe, we did not rent a car and chose to rely solely on public transportation to get around once we were ‘in country’. We find that this approach makes for a more relaxing vacation, allows us to better enjoy the scenery, and gives us a much better feel for local life.
The name ‘Interlaken’ literally means “between the lakes”, in this case the Thunersee and the Brienzersee. The Thunersee lies between Interlaken and Thun while the Brienzersee lies between Interlaken and Brienz. Once you figure that out it’s much easier to get around.
This was only a one week adventure due to obligations back home, but it definitely fueled our desire for more trips of longer duration in the future. Hopefully the blog entries below will help to explain why we are such fans of the Alps!
Our Blog For Grindelwald
Day 1 – The Faulhorn Mountain Hike
We started out with a gondola ride up to the ‘First’ overlook. From there we took a long hike up to the Faulhorn mountain hotel, through the village of Bussalp, and finally back down to Grindelwald.
Day 2 – A Walk Around Interlaken
On the second day we started out with a train ride down to Interlaken for a walking tour of the town and finished up with a late lunch at the Hotel du Lac on the banks of the Aare river
Day 3 – Our Return To Zermatt
On the third day we took a 3 hour train ride to Zermatt for a walking tour of this quaint village at the base of the Matterhorn followed by a late lunch to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary.
Day 4 – A Lake Steamer Trip On Lake Brienz
On the fourth day we took a three hour tour of the Brienzersee on board a lake steamer – but The Skipper and Gilligan weren’t aboard.
Day 5 – The Infamous Apfelchüechliwäg
On the fifth day we took a 3-1/2 hour hike from Grindelwald to the Holenstein gondola with a stop for hot apfelkuchlein (apple fritters) at the Hotel Brandegg.
Day 6 – A Rainy Day In Grindelwald
The sixth and final day of this adventure was quiet, lazy, and sometimes rainy. We took an afternoon stroll through the upper section of Grindelwald followed by the re-packing of our luggage!
Extra – A Tour Of Our Ferienwohnung
Here’s your chance to get a look at our Ferienwohnung or ‘vacation apartment’ that we rented for our stay in Grindelwald. We rented this brand-new property through the Interhome agency.
Useful Links For Grindelwald
General Information Wikipedia
Weather weather.com
Official Website Jungfrau.ch
Tourist Office Grindelwald.Swiss
Travel Planning Trip Advisor
Lodging Airbnb / VRBO
Train SBB.ch