Packing for the BO?

Allison, For the Berner Oberland, you should be fine with good quality and well broken-in shoes, sweaters (or whatever) for layering and some kind of light rain gear or Windbreaker. For the type of "light hiking" I usually do, I find that my normal street shoes are perfectly adequate. I use an ECCO Track II Low at the moment, but in the past I've used Rockport Euro Traveler shoes, with no problems. The same clothing should work well in Lucerne. Hopefully you're planning to visit the awesome Museum of Transport there? The kids should really enjoy it! I must be a "big kid" at heart, as I spent almost a whole day there last year! In one part of the Museum, there's a full TV studio set-up, and you can all practice being a TV anchor person (as I recall, the images are visible throughout the Museum). It's located somewhat away from the downtown area, but not hard to reach by Bus (details in the Guidebook). Of course, the moving "Lion of Lucerne" is also a great sight. Your kids might enjoy researching the history of it before the trip, as that will make the visit more interesting for them. They could also research the Needle Valves in the river, which are used for controlling the level of the lake. Happy travels!

For shoes light hikers and/or trail runners should give you the support and grip you need without being heavy and hard to pack. I like Costco's hiking socks. They are a Merino wool blend and only cost about $10 for three pairs. Other than that the usual mix of pant, shorts and/or capris will work. A pair of jeans is great if it gets chilly but they are a pain to wash and dry while traveling (plus add weight to your bag). For tops, think layers. Layer tee-shirts, a light sweater or fleece, and a rain shell (non-cotton as much as possible). It could get chilly or wet or it could be warm the whole time, layers will allow you to adapt to any condition.

Great info, thanks! I was hoping it would not be too cold and I could keep the packing down. Sounds like we are going to have a great time:)

Topic: "Packing for the BO?" Hmmmm, what is this question asking?! Oh, right, Bernese Oberland. I don't think we should call it the BO.
Just sounds kinda, uhm, malodorous for such a beautiful place.

"I don't think we should call it the BO." I agree, "BO" does sound somewhat unpleasant. That's why I always spell the words in full whenever I refer to the area.

I was just gonna say use deodorant but I see this is about something else.

Kind of like the others, I honestlythought this meant something else, specifically, what types of clothes are good for RS type traveling, easy to wash on an everyday basis in the sink. My recommendation was going to be t shirts made by Under Armor on similar brands, lightweight and dry quickly! In your message you mentioned jean, IMHO jeans are never a good for any type of outdoor activity that has the potential for exposure to rain, if they get wet they will never dry until you are out of the elements, they will draw body heat away and have the potential to cause hypothermia, additionally they are heavy if they get wet and can cause chaffing. Go to REI or similar type store for the proper pants for hiking.

Allison: The sheer verticality of the terrain in the Lauterbrunnen Valley makes a significant difference in the weather conditions. The clothing you pack depends on what elevation you plan to be at. It can make a huge difference: if it's 70 on the valley floor in the town of Lauterbrunnen, it can be expected to be about 40 at the Jungfraujoch at 11,500 feet. A rough rule of thumb in the mountains: air temp decreases 3 to 4 degrees F for every thousand feet you go up. Lauterbrunnen is about 2500 ft (above sea level); Mürren approx 5500 ft, so on an average day you wouldn't be surprised if it was 10 to 12 degrees cooler in Murren than in Lauterbrunnen. But now for the really big differences: If you were planning to go up to the top of the cog railway at Jungfraujoch, you'll be at 11,500 ft. You're only 5 miles away from Mürren horizontally, but are 6 thousand feet higher vertically; and you're 9 thousand feet higher than Lauterbrunnen. You could get a weather forecast for Lauterbrunnen on the valley floor. I haven't done that, but just as an example, let's say it says high of 75 and low of 55. That means in the morning it would be in the 60's, topping out at 75 in late afternoon (say 4 pm), and then cooling off again. If it's 70 at Lauterbrunnen, you could expect it to be about 60 at Mürren - but 40 at the Jungfraujoch! And none of the above takes into consideration differences in wind. In the afternoons in big mountains it's often windy. A windy afternoon at the top of the Jungfraujoch requires planning, clothing-wise, if you plan to be outside much. In the Lauterbrunnen, the clothing you bring depends on where you plan to be, elevation-wise. One place to check out elevations is using Google Earth (a free download).

Allison, One point to add to the great information that Kent provided. In addition to the altitude, the type of clothing you'll need will depend on the weather at the time. I just checked a photo of myself taken at the top of the Schilthorn on Oct. 10, and I was only wearing a long sleeve shirt and a photo vest - no coat. That particular day was warm, so that wasn't a problem even at 10,000 feet. On that particular trip, I found the mornings were "cool" (especially as I didn't bother turning on the heat in my room), but the temp's in the daytime were great. Cheers!

Yep, Ken makes a good point: Weather can vary greatly in big mountains. So get the best weather forecast you can, in the last 24 to 36 hours before you depart. And then think about the elevation of where you want to be - in big mountains that detail can be important. In mountains, layers are good, you can add layers if it's getting colder and take 'em off when it's getting warmer. And a wind-resistant outer layer, in case it's windy.

We stayed in Murren and Luzern last August with our then 12 and 15 year old sons. We had cool, foggy and rainy weather, especially in Murren, so keep in mind that, as others have said, the weather in the mountains is unpredictable. You want to be able to hike whatever the weather, so for Murren I'd suggest layers: t-shirts (either wicking or cotton), light-weight fleece, and a rain shell. Light-weight hikers/cross trainers for footwear made it easier for us to hike in the mud. Our boys wore t-shirts, basketball shorts and cross-trainers everywhere because that's what they wear at home, and that turned out to be a fine choice because unlike jeans the shorts dried quickly even when wet. My husband and I brought hiking shorts and light-weight quick drying pants from REI and ended up wearing the pants. In Luzern you'll have less changeable weather, no need for hiking clothes there, just casual pants or capris, tops, light weight sweater and again the rain shell just in case. You will have a great time, even with the bad weather Switzerland was our boys' favorite part of our three week Europe trip. Loved negotiating our way through trails surrounded by cows!