Page 97 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

u from where a tram takes
GRINDELWALD’S VELOGEMEL, OR BIKE-SLEDGE a scenic route along the
Have a go on the unique Swiss bike-sledge for the ride Wengen Did You Know? cliff edge to reach Mürren.
of a lifetime. A local woodworker invented the wooden ! D4 £ n Dorfstrasse; Alternatively, buses travel
contraption, called a “velogemel”, to get around in deep www.wengen.ch There are over 500 along the valley-floor road
snow back in 1911. And it is still used today by the local kilometres of sign­ (past a magni ficent series of
postman in Grindelwald. It looks like a bike, with skis in At an altitude of 1,274 m posted hiking trails waterfalls at Trümmelbach)
place of wheels. You can rent one at the train station at (4,180 ft), the car-free resort around Wengen. to Stechelberg, from where
Grindelwald and velogemel down from Bussalp above of Wengen overlooks the a cable car climbs to Mürren,
Grindelwald. Every year the Velogemel World stunning Lauterbrunnen perched 800 m (2,625 ft)
Champion ships are held here, around Bussalp. valley. This is classic Swiss above the valley floor. The
alpine scenery, with snowy views, down the valley and
peaks, sheer cliffs, cascading meadows around Wengwald, up to a dazzling panorama
waterfalls and verdant, and up to Männlichen (which of snowy crags, are astoun-
station at Kleine-Scheidegg, 16 rolling meadows where the can also be reached by cable ding. Another cable car heads
directly beneath the famous cows graze. car). From here visitors can further up, to the ice-bound
north face of the Eiger. Lauterbrunnen Mountain trains heading enjoy spectacular views down summit of the Schilthorn (2,970
Different trains head from ! C4/D4 £ @ ∑ www. from Lauterbrunnen climb over Grindelwald on one side m/9,744 ft), where there is a
Interlaken up to Grindelwald, lauterbrunnen.swiss towards the Jungfraujoch and the Lauterbrunnen valley revolving panoramic restaur-
where you again change, this EXPERIENCE Mittelland, Bernese Oberland and Valais (p97), stopping midway at on the other. ant, Piz Gloria (p96), famously
15 time to the rack railway, which Unspoilt Lauterbrunnen is Wengen. A village of chalets featured as the villain’s lair in
the James Bond film, On Her
the world’s deepest U-shaped
and large hotels tucked on a
climbs up to Kleine-Scheidegg
Jungfraujoch from the other direction. From valley, a rough-hewn glacial shelf of southwest-facing Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).
Kleine-Scheidegg, a separate gorge hemmed in by steep pasture, Wengen is blessed 18
! D5 n Höheweg 37, line heads up through tunnels walls cut by 72 waterfalls. with long hours of sun shine Mürren
Interlaken; www.
jungfrau.ch and along the mountain face Staubbach Falls, on the edge even in winter and has a long ! D4 £ n Höhemaate 19
to the Jungfraujoch itself. From of Lauterbrunnen village, history of being a popular 1074B, Mürren; www.
South of Interlaken lies the April to September seat reser- inspired the German poet moun tain holiday destination, muerren.ch Adelboden
Bernese Oberland’s most vations are recommended. The Goethe to break into verse. just like its neighbours Mürren ! C5 £ n Dorfstrasse 23;
impressive mountain scenery, cogwheel railway stops twice, Lauterbrunnen is on the main and Grindelwald (p96). From Lauterbrunnen (p97) www.adelboden.ch
centred on a mam moth triple- at the Eismeer and at the Eiger Swiss railway line and serves Skiing terrain is extensive there are two ways of reaching
peaked ridge: the Eiger (3,970 Wall, from where visitors can as a gateway to Grindelwald, and especially suited to the small car-free village of Located at the head of the
m/13,025 ft), the Mönch (4,099 enjoy magnificent views. Wengen and Mürren. families, and in summer the Mürren, on the opposite side Engst ligental, a wide valley,
m/13,448 ft) and the Jungfrau countryside around Wengen of the valley from Wengen. Adelboden is an attractive
(4,158 m/ 13,642 ft). An effi- offers superb hiking. Trails Both routes are spectacular. A village with chalets, pleasant
cient network of rail and cable lead down to the flower-filled cable car rises to Grütschalp, streets and well-kept gardens.
car routes from Interlaken (p84)
makes it easy to travel around.
One of the best-known rail
excursions travels up to the
Jung fraujoch. This icy saddle,
lying just below the summit of
the Jungfrau, has been dubbed
the “Top of Europe”, and at
3,454 m (11,332 ft) above sea
level, the train station here is
the highest on the continent.
As there are two different
routes up to the Jungfraujoch,
this excursion can easily be
done as a circular journey.
Trains head from Inter laken
to Lauter brunnen, where you
change to the rack railway
that climbs up through the
village of Wengen (p98) and
on further up to the dramatic

Lauterbrunnen village, The charming mountain
set in a magnificent village of Mürren set amid
wild valley gorge spectacular alpine scenery
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