Feedback on my itinerary

You will have a lovely tour of train stations. Enjoy.

I think the first part (Vienna/Salzburg) and the last part (Gimmelwald/Luzern) look good, but the middle part does seem really busy with a lot of moving around and not much time to explore. I'm not really familiar with Switzerland, so I'll let some of the experts here see if they can streamline that a bit for you. You're going to some great areas!

Dan,

I tend to agree with Dawn's comments in the last reply. The beginning and end seem to be reasonably well organized, but the middle part looks a bit "ambitious". A few thoughts......

• Day trip by train to Hallstatt: Where did you get your travel times? That trip ranges from 2H:12M to 2H:35M, depending on which train you choose (one change at Attnang-Pucheim). You'll have to add waiting times at the dock and the trip across the lake on Stefanie, so the trip is actually going to realistically be at least three hours each way. Another option you could consider would be to take a day tour to Hallstatt with Bob's Special Tours.
• Train from Brig to Gimmelwald: Rather than a one-night stop in Brig, I'd be tempted to press on to Gimmelwald or Mürren. It's only about an hour from Brig to Interlaken Ost (one change in Spiez) so would be easy to accomplish. You could also use a regular train from St. Moritz to Brig rather than the Glacier Express, which would be faster (travel time 5-6 hours).
• Getting to Gimmelwald / Mürren: As you're probably aware, your trip from Interlaken Ost will involve a combination of train, cable cars and possibly the Post Bus, depending on which town you plan to stay in. Once you reach Lauterbrunnen, there are two choices. Your ticket will include all modes of transport.

Happy travels!

Dan,
The middle of the trip does sound rather hectic. The Gimmelwald-Murren-Luzern portion is also quick, but quite do-able. Gimmelwald is small, Murren is bigger, with more to do in the evenings. I stayed in Gimmelwald three days last Sept. I suggest Esther's Guest House if you choose to stay there. Try the closeby hike to the Sprutz waterfall. If the sky is clear, a sidetrip (uptrip?) to Schilthorn is a must. If you are using a Swiss railpass, the trip up the mountain to Schilthorn is cheaper, if you can fit it into a travel day of the pass.
Don't forget that any trip in or out of Gimmelwald/Murren involves using the gondola cars, and busses. It will take you more than 2.5 hrs to get to Luzern from Gimmelwald. That time of year, there are only two gondola trips per hour from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg.
You might wish to stay in Luzern a third night, which would give you more time there. Depending on when your flight leaves Zurich, you should be able to get there easily from Luzern. This would avoid a hotel stay in Zurich, which has to be the most expensive city in Europe.
In Luzern, I'd recommend the restaurant in the Hotel Goldener Stern. It was excellent, and reservations are recommended.
Have fun on a great trip!

One general piece of advice: avoid one night stays in the Alps. I personally never stay in one Alpine location for less than three. That gives me at least two full days, and greatly reduces the chances of losing all my time in a given location to bad weather. The enjoyment of few other areas of Europe are so dependent on favorable weather, so give yourself a little more flexibility.

Thanks everyone for the input. I've changed my itinerary to stay in either Gimmelwald or Murren on September 7, and I'll look into staying in Luzern on September 12. I think the 1.5 hours to Hallstatt was by bus, not train, so I think that's where I got that timing. I really wanted to take the glacier express even though it's a little longer train ride.