After lunch the sun appeared, so we took the cog wheel train to Gornergrat. The Gornergrat is the most popular railway in Switzerland and offers views of the Matterhorn from an elevation of 3,100 meters. The cost of the ride was 50.40 CHF per person after our 25% Swiss Rail Pass discount (about $33). If the weather is clear, the ride is definitely worth the cost and offers ample photo opportunities. Day 2 - Zermatt - Z’mutt - Furi - Zermatt

We decided to hike up to Z’mutt. The trail starts by the Zermatt gravel quarry, and then leads uphill to the right. It took one hour (all uphill) to reach the tiny village of Z’mutt, where we stopped for drinks at the Dorflein, one of three tiny outdoor restaurants. There’s nothing to do in Z’mutt but relax and admire the view. The entire village consists of nothing more than scattered huts and outdoor tables, but it’s peaceful and quaint, and makes a great rest stop. After Z’mutt, we continued on to Furi (45 minutes downhill) where we had lunch at the Restaurant Furri before undertaking the one hour hike back to Zermatt. The entire excursion, including rest and lunch/beverage stops, a side trip to the reservoir and a social visit with a family from Kansas, took us five hours. Day 3 - Zermatt - Saas Fee - Zermatt

We took the one-hour train ride from Zermatt to Stalden Saas, where we caught the bus to Saas Fee. The 45-minute bus ride is free with the Swiss Rail Pass. Saas Fee lies in the valley adjoining Zermatt and can’t be reached by train. Like Zermatt, it’s a car-free mountain resort known for its skiing. It has the highest underground funicular in the world to Mittelallain at 3,500 meters, but the cable cars and funicular weren’t running to the top at the time of our visit.

We found Saas Fee incredibly quiet. We stopped for lunch at tiny Café Alma, where we had good barley soup with sausage.

Day 4 - Zermatt

Rain, rain, rain. We figured this would be a good day to do some laundry and check our e-mail. We found a waschsalon not far from our hotel where we paid 28 CHF to wash and dry two loads (about $18). There are only two waschsalons in Zermatt – they’re similarly priced and they both keep strange hours.

We found a coin operated Internet station in the bar of the Hotel de la Poste in the village. Internet access was 5 CHF for 20 minutes (about $3.25). After a disappointing lunch at McDonalds (what were we thinking?), we took our luggage to the station to have sent ahead of us to our next stop – Wengen.

The rain turned to snow, so we decided to pursue indoor activities, i.e., bar hopping. We stopped at the Hexen Bar, which was nauseatingly smoky and overpriced. We moved on to the Gornergrat Hotel bar, which offered a nice view of the village, a friendly waitress, less smoke and better value.

Day 5 - Zermatt - Wengen

We left Zermatt for Wengen, changing trains at Brig, Spiez, Interlaken Ost and Lauterbrunnen. The journey took about four hours. After checking into our hotel and grabbing lunch at a local bakery, we took the two-hour hike to the Leiterhorn overlook just outside Wengen.

Wengen

We stayed at the Hotel Bellevue (***) which is located on a quiet hillside, 5-10 minutes by foot (uphill) from the Wengen train station. We called the hotel from the station when we arrived, and the owner came down in his electric car to collect our luggage.

Day 8 - Wengen - Wengernalp - Trummelbach Falls - Lauterbrunnen - Wengen

We took the train from Wengen to Wengernalp, which isn’t covered by the Swiss Rail Pass, as it is part of the Jungfrau railway. The fare was 10.80 CHF per person (about $7) after 25% Swiss Rail Pass discount. This 12-minute ride saved us two hours of steep uphill hiking. From Wengernalp we hiked to Wixi, Bigernalp, Mittlenap, Upper Preech, Lower Preech and over the upper Trummelbach Falls, then back to Lauterbrunnen. The first two hours consisted of easy walking through open meadows with incredible views of the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Monch. The next three hours were difficult with steep uphill and downhill grades, rough terrain, large rocks, etc. The last ½ mile was downright treacherous and involved climbing over the wet rocks of the upper Trummelbach Falls, steep grades and sheer drop-offs.

After stopping for a much needed beer at the Trummelbach Falls restaurant, we walked the 45 minutes to Lauterbrunnen (this section is level and very easy).

The entire hike took a strength zapping 5 hours and 45 minutes. I highly recommend the first two hours, but the rest is difficult and might be a bit much for the casual hiker. If you do attempt this hike, wear appropriate shoes and take plenty of water. We used walking sticks (similar to ski poles) which helped us keep our balance through some of the more challenging sections.

Day 9 - Wengen - Männlichen - Kleine Scheidegg - Mürren

From Wengen we took the cable car to Männlichen. The fare was 15.80 CHF each after 25% Swiss pass discount – about $10. There’s an easy, scenic path from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, but it was closed due to avalanche danger, so we did the next best thing and took the lower path. The lower path takes an hour longer than the upper path (two hours 15 minutes total) and it’s quite a bit more difficult. The lower path crosses the mountains at an angle, so the majority of the hike is at a slant. The day we hiked it, the path was muddy and covered by snowdrifts. The challenge was to cross these drifts without sliding down the mountain. The last ½ mile was a very steep incline to Kleine Scheidegg.

Once in Kleine Scheidegg, we had lunch at the Rostizzeria restaurant, which is one of our favorite places to eat. It offers outdoor seating with unbeatable views of the Monch and Eiger. The restaurant has an outdoor grill, where you can watch the cooks prepare bratwurst, rosti, sauerkraut and other local specialties. After lunch we took the train back to Wengen (15.80 CHF each after 25% Swiss Rail Pass discount – about $10), where we checked out of our Wengen hotel. We then took the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, where we caught the funicular to Grutschalp, and the connecting train to Mürren where we checked into the Hotel Alpenruh.

NOTE: Wengen has one public coin-operated laundry in the back of the Silberhorn Hotel, but it only has two washers and one dryer. Soap is not available at the laundry, but it can be purchased at the nearby Co-op. Change is available at the front desk of the Silberhorn Hotel.

Mürren

The Hotel Alpenruh is the furthest hotel from the Mürren train station, but the closest hotel to the Schilthornbahn (cable car to the Schilthorn). It’s about a 10-12 minute walk from the train station to the hotel. Be prepared to lug your own bags. Alternatively, you can arrive in Mürren by taking a bus from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg, then taking the cable car up to Mürren. This route deposits you at the doorstep of the Hotel Alpenruh. NOTE: Murren is car-free.

Hotel Alpenruh
Tel - +41(0)33/856/8800
Fax - +41(0)33/856/8888
Email - alpenruh@schilthorn.ch
CH-3825 Mürren

The Hotel Alpenruh (***) is a moderately priced hotel with nicely appointed rooms. All rooms have spectacular unobstructed mountain views. A buffet breakfast consisting of meat, cheese, bread, jam, cereal, juice, fruit, and hot beverages, is included in the 90 CHF per person price (about $59). Dinner is provided for an additional 30 CHF per person, per day (set menu, half board). Alternatively, you can forgo the half board and order a la carte from the menu.

The hotel employees speak German, French and English. This hotel seems to cater to Americans, and therefore, English is widely spoken.

We stayed in this hotel once before and we were given the same room this time (#42). Our only complaint about the hotel previously was the abundance of flies in the restaurant and breakfast room. This hasn’t changed.

Day 10 - Mürren - Grutschalp - Mürren

We walked from Mürren to Grutschalp, one-hour downhill (easy). Outside Grutschalp we decided to take an alpine path to the Allmendhubel. The first 40 minutes of this leg were pretty steep, but the following two hours were a mix of gradual and moderately steep hills through snow and mud. We took a break at the Sonneberg Pension restaurant, before walking down to Mürren (30 minutes). This entire hike took about 3.5 hours and offered some nice views above Mürren. Day 11 - Mürren - Gimmelwald - Stechelberg - Lauterbrunnen - Mürren

Looking for an easy excursion, we decided to walk from Mürren to the tiny village of Gimmelwald (30 minutes), where we caught the cable car to Stechelberg. We then walked from Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen, an easy one-hour stroll on a paved path. After lunch in Lauterbrunnen, we returned to Mürren via train and funicular.

Day 12 - Mürren - Allmendhubel - Mürren - Interlaken - Mürren

From Mürren you can take a funicular to the Allmendhubel, which makes a good starting point for the relatively gentle and incredibly scenic North Face Trail. The funicular was closed for maintenance at the time of our visit, so we had no choice but to hike up from Mürren. The first hour was uphill, but then the trail leveled off for the balance of the hike (2 hour 30 minutes round trip). This is one of Mel’s favorite hikes. After the hike, we took the train from Mürren to Grutschalp, the funicular to Lauterbrunnen and another train to Interlaken Ost. We spent a few hours shopping in Interlaken before returning to Mürren.

Day 13 - Mürren - Grutschalp - Isenfluh - Zweilutschinen

From Mürren we took the train to Grutschalp, where we hiked the lower trail to Isenfluh. The first half of the 2 hour and 30 minute hike was fairly gentle, with a few steep areas. Once in Isenfluh we hiked the steep downhill trail to the Zweilutschinen train station. The hike down took one hour and was downright treacherous due to the pouring rain, an abundance of wet, mossy rocks and downed limbs from the previous night’s storm.

At Zweilutschinen we caught the train to Lauterbrunnen, the funicular to Grutschalp, and the train to Mürren where we had a hot lunch and dried off.

We took our suitcase to the Mürren station and checked it through to the Zürich airport.

Day 14 - Mürren – Zürich – Kilchberg - Zürich

We took the 6:25 a.m. train from Mürren to Grutschalp, then the funicular to Lauterbrunnen, where we caught a train to Interlaken Ost. We then took a direct inter-city train to Zürich airport. Once at the airport, we put our carry on baggage into a luggage locker (7 CHF for 24 hours) and took a train to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) where we then caught a train to Kilchberg. The purpose of this hurried trip was to find the Lindt & Sprungli Chocolate Factory, before it closed at noon. We did find it, located about 10 minutes by foot from the Kilchberg train station. The factory’s museum is open to the public Wednesday-Friday from 10-12 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. (no charge). The museum shows an 18-minute film (available in English) on the history of the company and gives out generous samples. Visitors are also given a box of chocolates upon departure.

From Kilchberg, we took a train back to the Zürich airport, where we collected our luggage: the bags we had left in a locker, the suitcase we had sent from Mürren, and the suitcase we had left in attended baggage when we first arrived in Zürich.

From the airport, we caught the Geissberger shuttle (10 CHF per person) to our hotel, the Airotel Rumlang.

We found the Airotel Rumlang (***) quiet, comfortable and ideally situated near the airport. The staff was friendly and they all spoke German and English. The rooms have soundproof windows, but no air conditioning. The hotel has an attached restaurant with a varied menu.