The Towns of the Bernese Highlands

As one of Switzerland’s most visited areas, I knew that I had to visit this region during my trip to Switzerland.  Interlaken is only about an hour’s train ride from Bern, and then from Interlaken, it is another 30 minutes or so up to Lauterbrunnen, which many people choose as the base of their time in the area.  During my three days in the area, I visited quite a few towns and found each one to have its own unique charm.

Wengen
Wengen is about a 20 minute train ride from Lauterbrunnen and unfortunately, it was already starting to get dark by the time I arrived.  Seeing as I had to be back at my hotel before 8pm for a dinner reservation, I didn’t get too much time to explore the town.  I took a quick walk after dinner, but everything was already closed.  Staying in Wengen definitely has its pros and cons.  The town is less inhabited and being car-free, it is very quiet.  Wengen is the perfect place to stay if you are looking for a quiet and relaxing town.  The downside of staying in Wengen is that it is a 20 minute train ride to Lauterbrunnen, which means you are adding about 40 minutes to your commute on a daily basis.  The town is also very hilly, so if you have lots of luggage, it isn’t going to be an easy task walking up and downhill while pulling your suitcases.  Some hotels do offer a shuttle service to and from the train station though.

The views from Hotel Alpenrose were exactly how I imagined the Swiss countryside would look.

On the day that I was set to leave the Bernese Highlands region, the skies finally cleared up.  It wasn’t until the very last day that I realized how beautiful the train ride from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen is.

 

Murren & Gimmelwald
Murren is the second car free town in the region, and just having walked through both Wengen and Murren, it appears that Murren is slightly larger.  My first time through Murren was during an awful rain storm, so I could barely see 3 feet in front of me.

What a difference a couple of day makes, as it was only 2 days later when I walked through the town again that I got to witness what the beautiful scenery from within the town.

I took the same hike from Murren to Gimmelwald on both days and the first time around, I didn’t see a single soul on my entire hike.  The 30 minute hike lasted about an hour, as I had to brave the elements while trying to balance my umbrella, bag and camera at the same time.  In the end, I put my camera away as I no longer felt it was worth it.  However, I told myself that I would not give up on the hike as who knew when I would be able to do this again.

Little did I know that the opportunity would present itself again within 2 days. I took the same hike down to Gimmelwald again on a clear day and got to experience a completely different view.

Just before reaching the Gimmelwald Cable Car Station, you will pass the Honesty Shop, an unmanned shop where you just take what you need and put the payment into a box.  The shop sold snacks as well as souvenirs.

Gimmelwald is a much smaller area than Murren and since it is either the start or end point of many hikes, most people who end up at Gimmelwald, usually just go there to use the cable car.  The cable car from Gimmelwald will either take you up to Murren or down to Stechelberg.  I absolutely loved the cable car ride down to Stechelberg as it was one of the steepest and more thrilling ones I’ve been on, especially since the heavy rain made the car sway quite a bit.

 

Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen was definitely the busiest and most happening place within the Bernese Highlands.  This was the only town where I would consistently see people, even during the rain.  Lauterbrunnen is known as the town of waterfalls and it was not rare to see waterfalls cascading down the flat sides of mountains.

The town is at a lower altitude than many of the other surrounding areas, so most of the buildings and homes were built at the base of the mountain, instead of on top of the mountain.

Lauterbrunnen is quite flat, which makes it very easy to walk or bike around the area.  I took an easy walk from the Trümmelbach Falls to Lauterbrunnen and was met with a very serene and tranquil scenery. I can imagine that on a nicer day, this pathway would be quite popular.

I passed another honesty shop as well as a cheese and beverage vending machine on the short walk.  I wonder if people really just purchase jam from the side of the road and return the jars?

I loved spending time in each one of the little towns within the Bernese Highlands. I think I was quite fortunate in that it wasn’t a very busy time of year in the area.  I traveled there in mid-May and many of the gondolas and cable cars weren’t even running yet, as they do not open until June.  However, I have heard that it gets really busy during the summer months and I would definitely rather miss out on a few gondolas than have to fight my way amongst the thousands of tourists that arrive in the summer months.