We have recently returned from another fabulous trip to Europe, this time spending 6 days in the Berner Oberland and then traveling to Venice, where we spent another 4 days. This trip report will cover the Switzerland portion, and I will do a separate report for Venice. Warning: I write very detailed trip reports, for my own record-keeping as well as for sharing, so if you're not interested in all of it, then skim away.
Background
We traveled as a family of five: myself, my husband, daughter (14), son (13), and husband's mom. We are a fit, active group except for my son, who is mildly disabled. He walks, but slowly, and tires easily, so when we need to move fast or far we push him in a stroller – or, for this trip, a jogger because we needed the big wheels. Because of his physical limitations (and the difficulty of pushing an 85-pound kid in a jogger up rocky trails), I spent a lot of time researching walking paths before we left and had a list of ones that I thought would be manageable. We did great. My husband had a heck of a workout and dropped a belt size on the trip, but we made it to the endpoint of all of our daily destinations.
We traveled the last week of June and into early July, right smack in the middle of a heat wave. It was screaming hot at the lower elevations (90s), but the mountains were fantastic. A little warm for hiking (around 80), but bright sunny skies, low humidity, and usually a breeze. Nights dipped down into the 50s and low 60s, so very comfortable sleeping weather. It rained briefly at night once or twice and was a little cloudy our last day, but overall, there is no way we could have had a better weather week.
Air travel
We flew open jaw out of Montreal, direct to Zurich, and then directly back to Montreal from Venice. The outbound flight was on Swiss and the return was on Air Canada Rouge (codeshare). All flights were on time with no hiccups. I am still in awe over the wonderfulness of direct flights – a whole level of air travel stress that was gone, poof.
Accommodation
We stayed all 6 nights in Muerren, which we loved. We stayed at the Chalet Oberdorf, a 3-bedroom apartment that was lovely in every way, especially the views from the terrace. Jaw-dropping. My only slight disappointment was that the apartment listing indicated washer/dryer access; however, there was no washer/dryer to be found. I e-mailed the owner who apologized profusely, telling me that the shared appliances in the basement were no longer available to renters because of some misuse, and he thought the listing had been updated. By the time we left, the listing was corrected, so I am sure it was an honest mistake. But a washer is on my must-have list me when we travel, so it was an annoyance to me to have to walk down the road to the paid laundromat. Overall, however, the apartment was wonderful and very comfortable for our stay.
We liked being in Muerren for the week versus elsewhere in the region. The views were truly amazing, better I think than any of the other mountain villages. We liked how quiet the town is, especially in the evenings. The only potential downside for us was the length of time it took to cross over to the other side of the valley for hikes, but that didn't bother us – the travel was easy enough with great scenery, and we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere, so not a burden.
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