We left the house before 9 AM, and took the bus to the Interlaken Ost train station to catch the 9:35 train up to Lauterbrunnen.
We arrived in Lauterbrunnen around 10 AM, and immediately got in line for the cable car tram up to Grütschalp station. The cable car ascends over 2000 feet, practically up the side of a cliff.
The views from the top were already stunning. We were at almost 5000' elevation, so the weather was much cooler.
We had the option of taking a small train or walking about 3 miles to Mürren; it was only 10:30 AM, and the weather was perfect, so we opted to hike it.
Almost immediately, we entered cow territory. This was the first of many cattle gates we would encounter.
The trail is clearly marked and well-maintained, so it was a pleasant hike with incredible views.
Occasionally, we encountered people driving on the trail, slowly and carefully. (Cattle farmers? Trail maintenance maybe?)
The little train made regular passes, back and forth, sometimes with luggage or bicycles in the open cargo trailer.
All of the cows that we met were friendly and seemed happy, despite the incessant ringing of the bells hanging from their necks.
The hillsides were scattered with old barns in various states of disrepair. A few of them echoed with the mooing of their occupants.
We had heard that we might run into trail-side food options, including the possibility of some fresh local cheese, so we came prepared with cash in case the opportunity presented itself.
After carefully considering all of the choices, we went with half of a small wheel of some sort of alpine cheese flecked with chili flakes.
We had also brought bread, cheese, and other snacks with us, to have lunch while out hiking. There were a few trail-side benches that looked like promising lunch spots, but it was only 11:30 AM.
It was right around noon when we walked up to the Mürren train station, so we sat down for a picnic after refilling out water bottles.
Just as was the case down in Interlaken, the sky was dotted with paragliders, presumably landing down in Lauterbrunnen.
Mürren apparently has some interesting history, regarding the first downhill and slalom ski world championships.
Just down the road from the train station, we found the town of Mürren. It might be more-accurately described as a collection of hotels and restaurants, with a few houses dotting the hillside.
Here, we found more roadside food options. Never hurts to look, right? I think we were in search of dessert options, but didn't find anything appealing.
From Mürren, we had the option to take a series of cable cars back down to the valley below, or to hike down. Because Susan is a masochist, we opted to hike down about 2500 feet in about 3 miles of trail.
We began our descent around 12:45 PM.
At first, the trail was easy and paved, because it was also a road. The cable car wires passed overhead, silently mocking us.
Again, the weather was perfect and the views were unreal.
We had wondered, several times, how they managed to mow the fields on the severely sloped hillsides. Of course there's a tool for that.
We also learned about some snow-engineering methods that were developed locally.
I like to think that this guy was driving with one leg out the door, in case he rolled this truck over and had to bail out.
The dessert quest was not forgotten. This road-side store advertised brownies, but they were sold out. Chocolate-chip cookies were deemed an acceptable substitute.
At several points, the road/trail took sweeping switchbacks down the hillside, but there were shortcut trails that cut through the middle. Susan and Laura took this opportunity to bust out their fancy walking poles.
The shortcut routes were adorned with the non-basic/intermediate trail markers, but were still in excellent condition and not difficult to negotiate.
Just over a mile into the trek, we came upon the tiny town of Gimmelwald.
We took a brief look around, and there just happened to be a microbrewery in this town of 130 people.
After we left Gimmelwald, the trail got steeper and steeper.
When we were lucky, there were stairs cut into the trail.
Once in awhile, we crossed fast-moving streams below waterfalls, fed from the last remaining bits of snow tucked into the shadows above us.
Several times, we crossed over high bridges with railings that looked strikingly new, as if they need to be replaced each time they're crushed by falling rocks.
Finally, around 3:15 PM, we came out of the woods and could see flat land again.
15 minutes later, we had reached the river at the bottom, near Stechelberg.
And then we returned to cow-pasture territory.
We headed towards the lower cable-car station, planning to have another rest stop and to refill our water supplies.
While enjoying our second bread/cheese/chocolate stop of the day, I looked into how far it was to our next destination, Trümmelbach Falls.
Google maps suggested it closed at 5 o'clock, and was 1.5 miles towards Lauterbrunnen. It was already 4 PM, so we packed up our snacks and marched northwards.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the falls, we found that they really closed at 6, although we later learned that they stop admitting customers at least 30 minutes before closing.
After considering the number of stairs involved, we took the funicular inside the mountainside up to the top, and then climbed the remaining hundred stairs or so, to start at the very top.
The photos really don't do this attraction enough justice. It's a huge waterfall, mostly contained within the cliff face. Over the millennia, the water has carved huge curving passages through the solid rock, spilling violently from one pool to the next.
What with the water being barely above freezing, the temperature inside these tunnels was at least 30 degrees (F) cooler than outside.
There are technically 10 separate waterfalls within Trümmelbach, falling a total height of almost 500 feet. Wikipedia tells me that it flows over 5000 gallons/second of water.
We wound our way down from the top, stopping at each viewing platform, trying to stay dry.
The sound of the crashing deluge reverberated through the caverns. Out of curiosity, I fired up the ol' decibel meter app on my phone. At 95 to 96 dB, you can get hearing damage in 30 to 60 minutes.
As we descended the stairs, the path led us outside for the final few viewing areas.
Near the bottom, the falls are visible from a distance; we had seen glimpses of water from the road on the way in.
On the way out, we spotted a wild ibex sneaking through the trees by the exit path. Or rather... we stopped to see what some other people were gawking at.
It was almost 6 PM when we left, so we started discussing dinner options. We decided to eat somewhere in Lauterbrunnen.
It was still a 2-mile walk back to town, and Laura and I were out of energy. We decided to take the bus back and scout for a restaurant, while Sabrina and Susan walked the last bit of the cow path.
Allegedly, they walked by a farm that had fresh cheese, eggs, etc., in a vending machine out front. If Sabrina ever gets me the photos, I'll add them. ;-)
Laura and I examined the options back in town, and sat down for an adult beverage at the Hotel Oberland restaurant.
Sabrina and Susan joined us in about half an hour, and we had a very good dinner. I had a raclette entree, which is basically a bowl of melted cheese with some side dishes.
After dinner, it was a short stumble to the train station, where we hopped on the train back to Interlaken.
En route, we administered a blind taste test to determine the best chocolate that had been acquired over the previous few days. I believe the results were inconclusive.
We returned to Interlaken Ost, hopped on a bus that took us back downtown, near the Airbnb, and then walked the last half mile or so.
According to my super-accurate iPhone step counter, I hit almost 30,000 steps, totaling nearly 12 miles. I think Susan and Sabrina hit 14 miles.
It was a very long day, but was some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever witnessed.
Tomorrow, we're taking the train back up into the mountains for some more hiking, but this time starting in Grindelwald instead of Lauterbrunnen.
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