Swiss Vacation

Murren or Gimmelwald in the Bernese Oberland. Its Rick's favourite place in Switzerland and well covered in his books and videos. You drive or train from Bern to Lauterbrunnen, which is a town at the bottom of a tall waterfall, looking up a glacial U-shaped valley with the Eiger on the left and Schilthorn on the right. From Lauterbrunnen you can either take a funicular up to Winteregg and an alpine train to Murren; or take a post bus (or drive) to Stechelberg and a cable car to Murren.

Either way you are in a village that you can only get to by cable car -- no cars, no traffic, no noise -- with views over the Lauterbrunnen valley to the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. In Murren you can hike up, down or along the valley rim, or take a cable car up to the peak of the Schilthorn or down to Gimmelwald.

I've never been in October, but we spent most of a week there in June and it was our favourite place in all of Europe.

We have been to the Lauterbrunnen Valley twice in October, each time for a full week. We will go again next year, we love it so much. Earlier in the month is better and four nights a minimum, IMHO. Stay in Mürren (mountain town) or in Lauterbrunnen itself for easy access to both sides of the valley. The Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook has great info to help you plan. How much time do you have?

"From Lauterbrunnen you can either take a funicular up to Winteregg and an alpine train to Murren"

Just to clarify, you'll be taking a cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and then the small BLM mountain railway from there to Mürren.

We spent 7 days in Murren the first week of October 2017 and loved it. Meets/exceeds your criteria for beautiful views and it wasn't busy at all when we were there. In fact, we were surprised that hotels and their associated restaurants started closing for the season (scheduled to re-open mid-December). I'd book a hotel in advance (just to confirm that they will be open).

Lots to do in the way of hiking and exploring. We had Sunday brunch on the Schilthorn and spent a day at the Jungfrau. Wonderful. Hope you have a great time!

We have two weeks total but will be starting in Munich for 4 days and then the rest we can spend wherever we figure out. I get very bored and have a hard time to stay in one place for very long. :)

If you get bored easily then by all means do NOT stay in Gimmelwald. Yes, it may be Rick's favorite, but that's probably because he has personal friends who live there. Choose a bigger village such as Murren or Wengen.

Thoughts on Lucerne?

There's an almost exact duplicate of this question at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/first-time-in-switzerland

Rick's Switzerland 2016 guidebook is on sale through 1/1/18 (but new edition is expected March 2018). In comparison to the price of a foreign holiday $14US + shipping is not a bad investment. https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/switzerland-guidebook

We are coming from Hallstatt and have a reservation at Hotel Oberland. I am not sure the best way to get there or what to do once we do. I know my husband wants to relax. We have never been in Switzerland so we are really lost.

What do you do here? Shopping?

"What do you do here? Shopping?"

There won't be much shopping in that area. The best thing to do is just enjoy the incredible scenery. One thing you could consider is to take a trip to the Schilthorn via cable car. It's a revolving restaurant located at 10,000 feet on top of a mountain. It was used in the filming of the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service many years ago.

You could also spend some time having a look at Mürren and Gimmelwald (the latter has been featured often in Rick's TV shows). If you have a large budget, you could also visit the Jungfraujoch on the other side of the valley. It has the highest railway station in Europe at about 12,000 feet. For other ideas, have a look at the RS Switzerland guidebook.

The best way to get there is by train. If you're travelling from Hallstatt, that's going to take awhile. According to the Bahn.de website, that trip will be about 11 hours, with five or six changes. Is there any possibility of changing the order of your destinations? That trip is much more manageable from Munich.

Hotel Oberland is a good choice, and they also have a wonderful restaurant. The meals are not inexpensive, but then few things in Switzerland are (be sure to budget accordingly).

Thank you so much. I look forward to the scenery. The best reason to go! ❤️ My husband is looking forward to relaxing and this was his first choice. I can’t wait to see the beautiful views. I was looking into the cable car, that looked really neat. I’m assuming the altitude bothers you like when you go to Colorado. When we moved there it took a bit to get used to. Maybe I’ll find some good wine too.

I can change things around still. I’m still looking at different things. :)

One other thing to mention.....

I'm not sure if it will be a benefit to have one of the Swiss passes for a short four day visit. Which pass to buy in Switzerland is always a bit challenging, and unfortunately there's no other way to figure it out except by doing some number crunching and comparing P-P tickets with the cost of the pass. You may find this helpful - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes .

Thank you, I will look into that for sure!!