Grindelwald

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!