We just got back from 4 nights (not nearly enough) in Mürren after years of going to the Lauterbrunnen Valley as day trips from Interlaken. Everybody is right. There is no comparison. While there we walked every day and despite not being in very good fitness we completed every walk/hike we started and had a ball. We were much slower than the suggested speed but took loads of photos and stopped for meals at hostels and mountain lodges, and we loved it all. We did, in order, the North Face Trail, Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, Mürren to Grütschalp (in heavy fog), Mürren-Gimmelwald-Stechelberg (the long way including several difficult bits). Next year we would like to be more fit and walk more and more. We liked the Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg walk the least because so much of it is looking down the valley towards Grindelwald (nothing against Grindelwald - its just built up, not mountain). We loved the last walk and had a feeling of success, as did we on the North Face. Any hints for next year, maybe around Kandersteg? Any hints on accommodation in Kandersteg?
"and despite not being in very good fitness" In that case, I might recommend Flumserberg to you, which is about an hour south east of Zurich. The advantage of Flumserberg is that you can ride the ski lift to about 2000 m elevation, and from there, there's miles of relatively level trails. Now, find a copy of "Nordwand" to see how things can go suddenly very wrong in the Berner Oberland.
Nigel, What was the weather like in mid September? We are planning a trip for next September. Where did you stay in Murren and do you have any recommendations for lodging there. Has anyone ever stayed at Chalet Bob's?
We stayed 2 nights in Chalet Fontana with Denise, 2 nights at Hotel Jungfrau. Both excellently placed. Never stayed at Chalet Bobs but saw it as we walked to Gimmelwald. It looks nice but a bit out of the centre. Weather clear and sunny 4 days, very foggy one day (all day), only day a jacket required was on the foggy day and we carried them in the afternoon. 17-20 degrees, I guess.
Hi Nigel-for Kandersteg, we love to stay up at Oeschinensee, at the mountain inn, but it is not for everyone. The rooms are small, rustic, and charming, and none are ensuite. But the toilet and shower rooms in the hall are large, clean, and have abundent hot water. The breakfasts are sparse, typical of a mountain inn, but the dinners are wonderful, with some of the food coming from the Wandfluh's organic farm. Only problem is they like you to eat early (seated by 6 pm) so the staff can clean up and leave. That just gives us more time to go outside and walk. You cannot beat the location, right on the lakeshore, serenaded by cows in the evening. If you don't stay there, it is worth going up for lunch and a walk on the lakeshore "Sculpture Path". You can take the horse-drawn carriage from the top of the lift to the hotel to pick up the path, or follow the road-not the rough path you found last time! You can walk the lakeshore trail as far as the waterfall, or continue on up to the farm at Unterbergli. tbc. . .
In town we have stayed at Chalet-Hotel Adler, but I have not been since 2005 and it looks like they have added a kitschy "love room" with rollout hot tub. Next time I might try the Victoria Ritter; they were very nice when we asked to use the tennis courts. The Reudihaus oozes Swiss charm but is so old it smells like smoke inside, and it is expensive. There are lots of nice walks you can do from town, including one from the top of the Sunnbühl lift to a botanical garden. The walk into the Gasterntal (which the Swiss always describe as "wildly romantic") is great; you follow a narrow road (not open to motor traffic without permit) carved out of a cliff above foaming chasms of the river. There is also a footpath to the Blausee but we've never done that. The TI in town is very helpful; they have a list of footpaths (12 in all) and more difficult alpine walks. Have you ever considered Bettmeralp as a walking base? www.bettmeralp.ch
Thanks Lola, that's great. I need a little time to discuss it with the Boss. I am in the dark about Bettmeralp. I just went to their website and have ordered some stuff but still can't quite work out where it is. I understand it is in Valais but that's a pretty big place. Is it near Kandersteg? The mountain hut might sound good, but may be a little too too, if you know what I mean. Horses sounds like cheating. Good memory. We must have blown it. Oh, dreaming, dreaming of the next walks and hikes. I need to pull together a plan.
The Hotel Oeschinensee is nicer than an alpine hut; it falls in the category of Swiss mountain inns (Berghotel not Berghütte.) They do have private double rooms but, as I mentioned, none are ensuite. You have probably seen the photos at www.oeschinensee.ch but others may not have. As for Bettmeralp, it is in the Valais, on the south side of the mountains that surround Kandersteg and the Gasterntal. To get there by car, you would put your auto on the train for the short ride through the Lotschberg tunnel (the old one, not the Basistunnel) to Goppenstein. Then drive down the mountain to Brig (30 minutes?), and turn east, heading up the Rhone Valley to the little town of Bettern. It is only 10 minutes from Brig by train but I don't know how long by car. People park in the large lot there and ride a large cablecar up to Bettmeralp, just liike going to Mürren but you ascend much further. Bettmeralp is another carfree village perched high on a bench above a valley (the Rhone valley). You have views into Italy and west to the Matterhorn. There are lots of nice walks, including easy/moderate ones on the ridgetop which you reach by chairlift or gondola from either Bettmeralp or the neighboring village of Riederalp (a bit larger than Bettmeralp). From the ridgetop you have glorious views of the aletschgletscher, and you can walk in the Aletschwald or along the trail above the glacier. From Bettmeralp you can also walkthe (muddy and not so great) road to Kuhboden (Fiescheralp) and ride a gondola up to the top of the Eggishorn, with views up the Aletschgletscher to Konkordiaplatz and the Jungfrau. Walk or ride the gondola back down.
adding. . . Sometime in September, Bettmeralp has a great little festival where they thank the cows for their generosity. They bring them into the village and let them freely graze the grass by the little church you see in the photos, and the people join them for a picnic. I can't now find the information about this but I do recall that it is sometime in September (when hotels drop prices to invite visitors for the autumn hiking season). I'd love to go but have been unable to schedule September vacations.
My wife and I just returned from Murren, we spent 3 nights in Hotel Alpina, and it was great. Clean, comfortable, and great breakfast.
When we were in the area in May, we spent a night at the International Scout Centre in Kandersteg. We are scouters, but I believe non-scouters are also allowed to stay there if space is available, especially in the off-season. Hostel-type accommodations but we had a six bed room to ourselves (as a married couple.)