Interlaken / Wengen

Despite the joint soreness and general fatigue resulting from Friday’s day-trip to Zermatt, I decided to follow it up with an equally ambitious day-trip to the mountains above Interlaken.

Based on some advice from Erin, who had done the same trip a couple of weeks prior during her visit, I decided to take a train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and then another up to Wengen, which I ultimately used as my starting point.

When I arrived in Wengen, I spent a little time in the town itself as there were some celebrations going on for the holiday. There was definitely a 4th of July-type feel, with lots of national pride and a very festive atmosphere.

I ended up having lunch with some of the locals in the central plaza. One of the nearby restaurants had prepared a ton of traditional Swiss food and drink for the occasion and it tasted great. There were even some traditional Swiss music performances, which were fun to watch.

After lunch I headed up into the mountains. The countryside above Wengen is beautiful -- very lush with both open meadows and dense forests. There are even a number of very small dairy farms in the area and the cattle are allowed to roam free in the hills.

As a result, every so often you find yourself face-to-face with a massive dairy cow (with horns, yet not a bull). You actually hear a constant ringing throughout the hills as all the cows are fitted with huge bells around their necks so the farmers can keep track of them.

Once you’re above the countryside, the forest continues for a while before opening up to alpine and mountain views. Perhaps most impressive are the views of both the Jungfraujoch (a mountain range with three peaks – the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau – over 13,000 feet) and the Lauterbrunnen valley (the world’s deepest u-shaped glacial valley). As with the hiking above Zermatt, the scenery varies considerably depending on where you are on the hike.

I ended up hiking to Kleine Scheidegg, which is the departure point for trains going to the top of the Jungfraujoch. I didn’t make the additional trek, but I’ve heard that the train ride up is pretty incredible as it goes through steep tunnels blasted through the core of the mountain. After hiking all day I was pretty exhausted and going any further would have required staying the night. The trip to the top of the Jungfraujoch is definitely on my to-do list for next time, though.