Short stay in Muerren

With such a short stay do I need to buy any kind of pass?

I will start with your question about getting there. Our favorite way is to approach Muerren by the cablecar and train up from Lauterbrunnen, and then depart by way of the cablecar down to Gimmelwald. You transfer there to a cable car that drops over a cliff and is really spectacular. The cable car ends at Stechelberg, where you board a Postbus for the short trip to Lauterbrunnen.

As for light hikes, the premier easy hike in the region is the walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, with the Eiger on one side and the Jungfrau in front of you. This is a level walk rated as "easy". To reach it from Muerren, you descend to Lauterbrunnen and take the train up to Wengen. Cost for that transfer is 16.40 CHF per person each way. It is lovely scenic trip every inch of the way.

At Wengen, you walk through town to the cablecar up to Mannlichen. I could not find the price on the website, but there is a photo of the trail you will take:

http://www.maennlichen.ch/sommer/wandern/

At the top of the cablecar, you follow the level path for about an hour to Kleine Scheidegg, which is a rather busy place as the train up the Jungfraujoch stops here. (I would not recommend the trip up the Jungfraujoch given your interests, as it is very expensive and you spend about 45 minutes of the trip in a dark tunnel).

From Kleine Scheidegg, you can take the train back doen to Wengen, or you can walk. It is an easy walk downhill, not steep. I highly recommend it. (We have walked up it several times).

From Wengen, you take the train back down to Lauterbrunnen and ride back up to Muerren.

This is an excursion well worth a whole day, with stops for lunch and sightseeing along the way.

A less expensive option, free in fact, would be to walk from Muerren down to Gimmelwald and then further down into the Kilchbalm. This is a lovely wild place, a glacial cirque, but you don't get great views of the high peaks.

I've run out of room so I'll stop here.

"less expensive option"

Lola, how expensive is the hike you proposed? I don't want to miss a great experience for the sake of being cheap, but I am also on a tight budget.

How long would the "free" option be? Would it be a possible half day excursion?

Lastly, thank you for the detailed advice, it will be so helpful!!

Jesse,

"My specific questions: What can we do/see in this time?"

That's not a lot of time for that area, but a few suggestions....

• Hike down to Gimmelwald and have a Beer at Walter's Hotel Mittaghorn. While there, have a look around Gimmelwald (one of Rick's favourite spots)

• Take the Schilthornbahn from Muerren to Piz Gloria (one of the world's first revolving restaurants, where the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was partially filmed). Have a fine hot meal while watching the Eiger, Monch & Jungfrau pass by the window.

• Take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular from Muerren and hike back down. You'll pass through some nice alpine meadows with cows grazing. As I recall, the hike is about 2-3 hours. There's a small Hotel/Bar part way down so you can stop for a "cool one" if you like.

• Take a short day trip to Trummelbach Falls (which is inside a mountain). You'll have to take the Gondola down to Stechelberg and travel from there (details in the Guidebook).

• If you're REALLY adventurous and can spare the money, you might try Paragliding (tandem) from Muerren to Stechelberg. The flight is about 20-minutes and it's rather exhilarating to sail over the high voltage power lines, reach the edge of the cliff and suddenly be looking down about 3000 feet. It's a bit pricey, but a rather unique experience! There are also one-hour flights from Piz Gloria (but of course those are more expensive).

Enjoy the Berner Oberland!

thank you everyone!!

Jesse, as I understand it, you have 2 nights and a full day between in Mürren, plus a half-day on either side---the day you arrive and the day you leave. That is enough time to do quite a bit of the things mentioned.

If it is a nice day, and you want to fill it with a nice tour of the area and a fantastic hike, you could do the trip over to Wengen (across the valley) and up the cablecar to Männlichen, where you follow the very scenic trail to Kleine Scheidegg and, if you like a bit farther down to Wengernalp. You can catch the train there to ride back down to Wengen for a look around, and then continue down to Lauterbrunnen and back up to Mürren.

If you have time and energy left that day, you could also expore the Lauterbrunnen Valley, visiting Trummelbach Falls and/or walking the level path to Stechelberg (where you can catch the cablecar up to Gimmelwald and Mürrren). Or you could do this part on one of your half-days, storing your luggage in the lockers at the Lauterbrunnen train station.

I looked up the cost for this excurion for you. From Mürren over to Wengen, the RT cost is 32.80 CHF each. The loop from Wengen up to Männlichen, hike to Kleine Scheidegg and take the train down, is 34.60 if you walk down to Wengernalp; 40 if you catch the train at Kleine Scheidegg. So the total cost would be 67.40 or 72.80, depending on how far you walk. (Compare this to the price of going up the Schilthorn from Mürren, which is around 71 CHF, and gives you an exciting but short cablecar ride and no hiking.)

But there are other options that are almost as good if you don't wish to spend that much. The Allmendhübel funicular with a hike back via one of the loop trails is nice and offers great views and strolls through wildflower meadows. This takes less than half a day, so you would still have time to pick up supplies for a picnic lunch and walk down to Gimmelwald and perhaps beyond to the Kilchbalm area to find a picnic spot along the way.

With that short of time in Mürren you do NOT need to waste time going to the Jungfrau. There's plenty to do in and around Mürren. The walk down to Gimmelwald and gondola on down to Stechelberg to Trummelbach Falls will be highly enjoyable and a good 1/2 days pleasant journey.

All of this advice has been great.

Here is what I've decided to do (weather permitting and assuming we don't come across something we'd rather do when we get there)

Arrive from Paris to Interlaken Ost a little before 13:00. Go to Murren and drop bags at Chalet Fontana.

Take cable car to Allmendhubel and hike North Face Trail (cutting off to Spurtz Waterfall in Gimmelwald)and head back to Murren. (Speaking of, when does it get dark, or when is the latest it would be okay to be out hiking.)

Day 2, wake up early, hike Murren to Gimmelwald then take transportation rest of the way to Lauterbrunnen then to Wengen. Hike Mannlich to KS. Exlpore Wengen and then head back to Murren.

Last day, store bags in Lauterburnnen. Visit Trummelbach Falls and then head out to Munich. (Is this possible to do before 11? We are okay with waking up early..)

I think it's a question of what kind of experience one wants: A day-long excursion with some lovely hiking and views UP toward the Eiger and the Jungfrau as well as down into the valley, or an exciting cablecar ride up to a summit, with 360 degree views but no hiking (unless one is prepared for a steep rugged descent through rocks).

Since we are hikers we prefer the former, but lots of others like that cablecar ride up the Schilthorn. And most of them have a pass that cuts the cost in half. At full price it's expensive.

Jesse,

We did exactly the same sort of visit last June 19th. We stayed in the same place (say hi to Denise for us - family with three young children) for two nights.

Here is what we did; Arrived at about 4PM from cable car. Checked in, took a stroll around Murren and had dinner, another stroll - enjoyed the amazing views, and went to bed.

The next day we had high hopes of doing the north face trail, but it rained pretty much all day. We couldn't see 100 yards in front of us, much less across the valley. We did do a 2-mile route from the funicular, winding back down toward Murren when the rain was light, but that's it. That evening we took in the local "sports center" indoor pool, which was free with our stay.

The next morning we had to take the cable car down early and get going. It was a fine day, of course.

So that was a big downer for us. But we enjoyed our stay anyway, and hope to get back sometime.

Personally, I think you are trying to do too much by seeing both sides of the valley in one 48-hour visit. I would stick to the Murren side, give yourself time to sit on the mountainside and reflect - and keep in mind that the weather can be a huge factor in how much you accomplish. Don't expect 48 hours of pristine hiking weather.

But have a great time. It's an amazing place.

When I arrived in Gimmelwald, late in the afternoon in May, it was a bluebird day. We walked to Murren, heard the Alp horns, enjoyed the wildflowers, etc. But the next morning it was pouring rain, so riding to the Schilthorn, or the Jungfrau was out. We did enjoy Trummelbach Falls, and a few shops in Interlaken. As mentioned previously, the weather can throw a monkey wrench in your plans. Enjoy!