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Day 16 - Sunday May 30, 1999 - Murren, Switzerland: I checked out of the Hotel Flora very early in the morning and walked out to the train station to catch the 7:45AM train to Interlaken. The two-hour trip to Interlaken is very scenic as the train wound around the beautiful Swiss countryside. I was struck by how green the countryside was, and by the numerous large lakes which are surrounded by tall green mountains. All the lakes had very high water, and in some cases I could see buildings that were sitting in several feet of water where the lake had overrun its banks. At the Interlaken Ost station I switched to a train that would take me to the small town of Lauterbrunnen, at this point you leave the Swiss federal railway system, and hop on the trains of the Berner Oberlandbahn private railroad system that runs in the villages of the Jungfrauhoch region. The Eurailpass is not valid on this private railway, but it does get you a small discount from the normal fare, and thus I purchased a round trip ticket all the way up to Murren. From Lauterbrunnen a funicular car train takes you up a steep slope up to the Grutschalp station. Funicular rail cars are fun to ride because the rail car itself is built at an angle, and it is fun to see your car go up while its twin comes down and then they pass each other in the middle of the run. On the way up on the funicular, the valley floor recedes behind you, and you see numerous waterfalls spilling water down onto the valley. The funicular takes you from an altitude of 2,612 feet at the base of the Lauterbrunnen valley up to 4,879 feet at the Grutschalp station. At the Grutschalp station, you switch to a narrow gauge train called the "Panorama Train" which takes you up to Murren. Having done my research at home ahead of time, I sat on the left hand side of the train facing forward in order to get a good clear view of the spectacular Jungfrauhoch (the trio of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau mountains) as the train works its way up to Murren. The view of these mountains from the train is just simply breathtaking, the peaks are huge, and covered white with a large amount of snow. When the peaks first came into view everyone on the train got up and rushed to the left-hand side windows to see this magnificent view. The order of the mountains is easy to remember using a local saying which says that "the ogre (Eiger) wants to get next to the young girl (Jungfrau), but the monk (Monch) stands between them in order to protect her". About half way up to Murren, the train stops at Winteregg station (4,879 feet) where there is a restaurant, you can get out here for some fine views of the Jungfrauhoch, and you can even hike the rest of the way up to Murren from here. The train continues from the Winteregg station all the way up to its last stop at Murren (5,412 feet). Murren is a small car free village with less than 300 residents, it is the highest village in the Berner Oberland region. The village sits at the edge of a vertical cliff wall that goes all the way down to the Lauterbrunnen valley, and directly across from this cliff rise the Eiger (13,022 ft), Monch (13,445 ft), and Jungfrau (13,638 ft) peaks. In Murren you are so high and close to these peaks that it feels as if you could just reach across and touch them, just awesome. This region is also very popular with hikers because of the numerous trails that you can take to go from village to village. I arrived in the village around noon of a nice bright sunny day, and I walked from the train station to my hotel, the Hotel Edelweiss (3825 Murren, 85SF per night, breakfast included). The hotel was empty since it was off-season in Murren and the manager gave me what she said was the best room in the hotel. Boy was she right! The room was a corner room with a balcony facing the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau mountains, which formed a spectacular view right outside my room. The Hotel Edelweiss is built right at the edge of the cliff on which Murren lies, and I was honestly a bit afraid to get too close to the railing of my balcony since straight down from there your would not stop rolling until you got to the floor of the valley some 2,700 feet down. The room was very spacious with new furnishings, and a terrific modern bathroom. I cannot recommend the Hotel Edelweiss highly enough, it is in a terrific location, the accommodations are excellent, and the staff is friendly, and helpful. After checking in at the hotel, and gasping at the view outside my room's window, I unloaded my luggage, and headed out to explore the village. I had decided to not go up to the Schilthorn this day since it was getting late in the day, and I had been told that the mountains are best seen in the morning when there are usually no clouds to block the view. Murren is very small and it was mostly deserted, I only saw a handful of tourists walking from the train station to the Schilthorn cable car station. A few of the local children were playing outside their houses, but other than that it felt as if I had Murren, and the magnificent views of the mountains all to myself. Of course, the downside to this was that there were very few restaurants open to eat or get something to drink. I walked all over the village taking pictures of the scenic mountains, and quaint little houses. I returned to my hotel room and sat on the balcony looking at the beautiful mountains across the way, the night was very clear with a bright full moon illuminating the mountains while the wind howled throughout the night. I was really moved by the peacefulness and the beauty of these mountains that night. Day 17 - Monday May 31, 1999 - Murren, Switzerland: This was my first full day in Murren, so I got up early, had a good breakfast at the Hotel Edelwesiss, and headed out. The day was a bit overcast, with a few dark clouds in the sky but I decided to take the cable car up to the Schilthorn Piz Gloria platform anyway. From the Schitlhornbahn station in Murren, the cable car goes all the way up to Birg station at 8,780 feet in about six minutes. The Schilthorn cable cars are quite large holding up to 80 persons, it is a thrilling ride as you see Murren disappear below you and the mountains getting closer and closer. The Birg station has a viewing platform from which there are great views of the Jungfrauhoch across the way, views of Murren below you, and above you way off in the distance on top of the Schilthorn peak views of the Schilthorn Piz Gloria station. As you look up towards the Schilthorn you notice the sagging set of cables that carry the cable cars, and then you see the actual cable cars looking like a small dot off in the distance as they come down towards the Birg station. At Birg, you then get on another set of larger cable cars (holding up to 100 persons), and ride the final leg up to the top of the Schilthorn Piz Gloria station at 9,751 feet. The station consists of a round building with a restaurant on a revolving platform, and a large viewing platform from which you get to see the beautiful Berner Oberland region Swiss Alps peaks, and the large lake Thun below. The weather was not ideal that day with quite a few dark ominous looking clouds, and it was quite cold with the cafeteria selling a lot of hot chocolate, and coffee. The Schilthorn Piz Gloria station was used when they filmed the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969. After spending half the day up on the Schilthorn Piz Gloria station, I headed back down to Murren on the cable car. From Murren, I headed down to the Lauterbrunnen valley on the train, and funicular. Once on the Lauterbrunnen valley floor, I walked all the way to the Trummelbach falls following a footpath that borders a small stream. Trummelbach falls (10SF entry fee) is a series of ten waterfalls that corkscrew through the center of a mountain. The water comes down with a tremendous force as it cut its way through the mountain's stone making a thunderously loud noise. An elevator takes you to the top of the mountain, and then you walk down a set of stairs inside the mountain passing by the various waterfalls. It was very wet, and cold inside the caves, stairs, and bridges that go along the waterfalls. I really wished I had brought a heavy waterproof parka so that I could have spent more time admiring the falls. But since I had not, it was so cold, and uncomfortable that I just rushed through all the water falls. |
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