A day in the Oberland

That plan is definitely doable, but you might want a bit more time up at the Jungfraujoch. The Kleine Scheidegg—Männlichen walk is not very strenuous and is very scenic, although you'll get a better view if you're walking in the other direction towards the Eiger, instead of away from it. An alternate plan to take advantage of the Männlichen walk with a constant view of the Eiger: take the cable car from Wengen to Männlichen, do the hike, and then take the train from Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch. The cable car from Wengen to Männlichen runs until October 19.

Thanks, Erica! I had thought of doing the trip in reverse, but so many said heading up to the Jungfrau first was best for the best chance of weather. So... not sure what to do with that!! :-) Can you tell how late in the day the cable car goes back from Maennlichen to Wengen in mid-September on Sunday? Thanks!!

Hi Shirley,

Usually I give that exact advice: the earlier the better when going up to the Jungfraujoch. If the Jungfraujoch is your main objective for this trip, I would go at the earliest opportunity. Walking from Kleine Scheidegg to Männlichen will be just as pretty, but you might have to turn around every so often to get that Eiger view! The last descent down from Männlichen is at 5:30 pm, and it goes up from Wengen starting at 8:10 am. Here's the schedule. Either way you do it, you'll have a great time!

One monkey-wrench to throw in this plan... the weather. If the skies are clear, go for it. But I wouldn't try to pigeon-hole a planned hike to a certain day until you have a more accurate short-term weather forecast.

Also, I don't understand including Grindelwald. The cable car on Männlichen goes directly down to Wengen. If the main lift is running down to Grindelwald from Männlichen (ie, in the other direction), you would have to take it back up again, then descend on the cable car to return to Wengen. I like Grindelwald well enough, but if you're staying in Wengen, there's not much point in visiting Grindelwald, unless you want to see more hotels and sports shops.

Erica,

Thanks so much for the link with the times on the cable car! Perfect and just what we needed. Hoping for good weather, since we only have 2 days in this region on this trip!
Tom, thanks for your input! We were including Grindlewald because we thought it was supposed to be a cute town- not so much? Also, the idea that it was an extremely long ride in the cablecar sounded cool... It would indeed simplify the day to head back to Wengen from Maennlichen.

We do only plan on this itinerary if the weather is good. Working now on a rainy-day alternative, just in case. Any good ideas for that?
Thank you!

"We were including Grindlewald because we thought it was supposed to be a cute town- not so much?" It's mostly a modern Alpine sports resort. Attractive enough, as most ski resorts tend to be, but if you're staying in Wengen, you won't see much different there, except maybe a better view of the Eiger's famous Nordwand. I actually prefer it as a base, but that's because it has the easiest access to the best skiing in the area.

Thanks, Tom! I think we'll use the time to see some other place than Grindlewald, given our limited time! Appreciate the help!

For a rainy day, Trümmelbach Falls is often recommended. You can get there by bus from Lauterbrunnen. If the day is just cloudy, but not overly rainy, I'd suggest going on a boat ride on either Lake Brienz or Lake Thun. Both are lovely. Lake Brienz is a bit more quiet than Lake Thun. You can find the schedule for both lakes here. You could also go to Ballenberg Open Air Museum where you can go into buildings from various areas of Switzerland and visit with people working on traditional crafts. An attraction that I've not been to yet but looks very interesting are the St. Beatus Caves near Interlaken. There are lots of fun things to do if it rains!