June 2015

Lauterbrunnen is the best place I’ve ever been. I don’t know how else to qualify that. It was, hands down, the most spectacular, adventurous, awe inspiring, beautiful place I have been privileged enough to visit. I read an article that said the Lauterbrunnen Valley would put Yosemite to shame. “BLASPHEMY,” I thought. I was wrong; the article was right.

Lauterbrunnen Valley from Hotel Staubbach

We stayed at Hotel Staubbach. My husband and I splurged on a waterfall view and it was SOOOO worth it. Seriously, you can wake up in the morning with one of the best views in the world overlooking the valley with huge waterfalls pouring in. The picture above is my view every morning. It doesn’t even seem real, does it?

On our first day in Lauterbrunnen, we took the tram up to Gimmelvald and hiked down to Murren. Absolutely breathtaking. Coincidentally, we ran into these two guys on the path that were from the US. Then the world got even smaller… they’re from Georgia. Then even SMALLER… they went to Georgia Tech and were locals (THWUGA)! Anyway, here is Hubs and I hiking down to Murren!

Path down to Murren

Once in Murren, we took the lazy way back down to the valley. Its a little fuzzy from converting the file to a GIF, but you still get the idea!

Another awesome excursion was our train ride to the top of the Junfraujoc. For those not in the know, the Jungfraujoc is the “Top of Europe”. Insider tip: make sure you are on the first train up the mountain for the day. You’ll greatly appreciate the slightly less crowded train and the near emptiness you’ll feel once at the top. Its not quite Superman’s Fortress of Solitude (heyyyy nerds), but its pretty darn close. Along the ride up, you make pit stops with views to appreciate the GINORMOUS panoramas of the mountain. Leave it to the Swiss to literally blast their way through the mountain for a train. At the top we found an ice sculpture garden. They keep it a wee bit chilly in there as evidenced by the pic below.

Jungraujoc Ice Cavern

Last but not least, let me tell you about my favorite excursion while in Lauterbrunnen! We took a morning funicular to the top of the Shilthorn and ate breakfast at the rotating restaurant, Piz Gloria.

Some of you might be scratching your heads right now trying to figure out why this looks familiar. For you James Bond aficionados, you’ll recognize this as the filming location for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which was George Lazenby’s one and only film as Bond. They even had a Bond museum with tons of interactive memorabilia. I’m not ashamed to say that I played too. Its not just for kids.

This excursion to the Shilthorn seems to be viewed by most tourists as second tier to the Jungfraujoc. But I enjoyed this way more! Fewer crowds, more to do, amazing breakfast buffet.

View of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau from the top of the Schilthorn.

I feel like I could write for pages about how amazing Lauterbrunnen was… is.. But I’ll save it for another post once I get to go back!