switzerland hiking Archives - Have Media Will Travel

Greetings! After successfully making four train connections, we arrived in picturesque Zermatt, Switzerland. Zermatt is in southern Switzerland’s Valais canyon, and is a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and other alpine recreation. The town is set below the iconic, snow-capped Matterhorn peak. Its main street, Bahnhofstrasse, has upscale boutiques, lodging from luxurious hotels to modest chalets. Except for work vehicles and taxis, the town is car-less and accessed only by train.

(By the way, this is my 6th blog post published so far during our 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” If you’re interested, all previous trip reports from this Epic Family Adventure include are listed and linked to at the bottom of this blog post.)

Hayden Fin and Wolf, in Zermatt, in front of the Matterhorn.

The town of Zermatt, Switzerland, with the iconic Matterhorn in the background.

After checking in and dropping our luggage at the wonderful Chalet Medi, we headed out to buy discount 3:36pm tickets to ride the Gornergrat Bahn. The Gornergrat Railway would take us to the top of the Gornergrat, to an elevation of 10,135′.

The Gornergrat (English: Gorner Ridge) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, situated at 10,285′ and overlooking the Gorner Glacier. It is the second highest railway in Europe, and the highest open-air railway in Europe.

The Gornergrat Glacier is about 22 square miles, and is on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif. We’d see about 29 tall peaks while at the Glacier.

The train ride was a hit! Check out this video I captured near the top:

Family photo on the top of the Gornergrat.

Once at the top of the Gornergrat, we were fascinated while looking at the glacier.

Gorner Glacier, approximately 22 square miles in size.

We also stopped into a little chapel before taking some panoramic photos from the very top. Called the “Bernhard von Aosta” chapel, it is one of Zermatt’s most visited places of worship. Visitors from all over the world stop to light a candle and enjoy the soothing tranquillity of this mountain sanctuary. We stopped in and donated a franc in a little basket so we could light a candle, and then, since we had the little chapel to ourselves, we said a family prayer, mostly thanking God for our safety, our friends and family, and for all of our blessings. It was very meaningful!

Afterward, we bought ourselves a beverage and enjoyed it while taking in the panoramic views before catching our return train ride back to Zermatt. We needed to get back to eat dinner so we could be to bed to get rest for the next day’s epic hike.

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at The Brown Cow Pub in Zermatt and then hit the hay.

Our middle son, Hayden, pleased with his wings and fries at The Brown Cow Pub.

The next day started early. We had the boys up and at ’em and out the door to start hiking at 8am sharp. Once again, we skipped the tram lifts up and started up a mountain. This time we knew the difference between meters and feet, and still we went for not pursuing the parents of the year award. (The tram didn’t open until 9am, and it was 8am. That explains it, right? Insert smiley face here. LOL)

We hiked basically straight up a mountain… I think it was part of the Cervo boutique mountain resort, but I’m not 100% certain as I write this. Finally, after a long, hard, seemingly endless uphill effort, we arrived at a signed junction that indicated we were 30 minutes from Sunnegga. It was mostly a flat path to Sunnegga, and we had a bunch of our snacks, and some water on a bench under a cross, while taking in views of the valley below, and the Matterhorn and other mountains, whose tops will at the moment obscured by clouds. (We had hoped that the Sunnegga station would be open and have hot chocolate, but no luck. We reached it too early, too!)

After getting refueled, we continued to Leisee Lake, which was surrounded by jungle gyms and picnic tables. The next lake was Moosjisee which was beautiful turquoise in color.

The boys hung out at this pullup bar? before continuing to another lake. — The boys hung out at this pull-up bar (?) before continuing to another lake.

After that, we still wanted to see another lake, so we continued on and up to Grünsee Lake. This one was a little more hard-earned.

Here’s a short video clip of that stretch:

Finally, we reached Grünsee Lake, which was beautiful, even if it was small. I am NOT complaining, but these “lakes” seem more like ponds to us. They were very tiny by Wyoming standards, so I’d by lying if I didn’t say we were a little disappointed when we crested after a long hill to see the very tiny Grünsee Lake.

On the upside, we had it the lake all to ourselves, and the Matterhorn’s summit was now out of the clouds. We had a wonderful rest at the lake. One of our sons skipped rocks, another took photos of the area, and the other played with the hundreds of minnows he spotted in the lake. We didn’t rest for long, though, as we had a long hike and descent back into Zermatt, and at this point we already had 10 or 11 miles on our legs.

Here are some photos:

It took us some hours to get back because, as per usual for us, we made the hike longer and harder than originally proposed. 🙂 As a result, we saw even more than we imagined was possible and we were more deserving of even more delicious food and drink upon our entry back into Zermatt.

Have I mentioned lately how blessed I am to have such troopers for a husband and three sons? They go on these epic hikes with me, that are always longer than they anticipate, and never complain.

Here is us after crossing the finish line:

And, as always, there were so many unexpected surprises, including these beauties:

Thanks for following along with us on our Epic Family Europe Adventure. Please stay tuned and check back for more.

Up next: Moneglia, Italy and the Cinque Terre Trail!

If you’re interested, here are all of my previous blog posts about this Epic Europe Family Adventure so far:
• From Wyoming to the British Museum and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in 24 hours
• Big Ben, River Thames, Tower of London and Ice Cream
• Munich Day 1: Glockenspiel, Deutsches Museum, Englischer Garten and Beirgarten
• Biking in the Bavarian Alps, Exploring Neuschwanstein Castle, Epic Beer & Food
• Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: The Land of Many Fountains, Cows with Bells and Epic Food

Oh. My. God. We have arrived. Today we rode many trains from Munich to arrive here, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Immediately it was evident why this place is called Lauterbrunnen –- which means, “Many Fountains.” In the Swiss Alps, Lauterbrunnen is set in a valley featuring tall cliffs, and waterfalls, including the roaring Staubbaach and Trummelbach and the many other tall, ribbon-like and tumbling waterfalls.

(By the way, this is my 5th blog post published so far during our 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” If you’re interested, all previous trip reports from this Epic Family Adventure include are listed and linked to at the bottom of this blog post.)

Jerry and the boys lead us to our accommmodations in Lauterbrunnen. — Jerry and the boys lead us to our accommodations in Lauterbrunnen.

Waterfalls were tumbling off high cliffs above us and all around us. Below is a lush, green valley with few buildings. We walked in a light sprinkling of rain about one-third of a mile to find what would be our favorite accommodations so far, a really neat cabin in the Jungfrau Campground.

We got settled in our cabin, and then headed for a quick walk. We had been sitting in trains all day so wanted to stretch our legs and check out our new destination. We ventured to the nearby showstopper of a waterfall, Staubbach Falls. With a height of nearly 300 meters, Staubbach Falls is the second highest waterfall in Switzerland. It is one of 72 waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Did I mention how awesome our accommodations were?!! Check out the video I snapped on our first morning waking up. And enjoy the bird songs in the background:

We woke up early in Lauterbrunnen because we had big plans, and wanted to get an early start. Today we would hike the Lauterbrunnen-Murren-Gimmelwald-Trummblebach Falls loop hike.

We’d do it without using any lifts, so it would be a big, long day. Why would you not take the tram lift up at the start in order to remove the several thousand feet of vertical uphill hiking, you ask? Well that is a good question! The reason is Jerry and I mistook meters for feet. What we thought would be a 1,000-foot vertical gain in the beginning of the hike was really 3,000+ feet. Oops. Thankfully we hike a lot with the boys in Wyoming, and they’re used to climbing lots of vertical feet. But, despite what our boys think, ours was an honest mistake!

Add to that it was raining when we started, so we had had on rain jackets, and each of us carried our own umbrella. Our sons are such troopers. And so is my husband. I am so blessed that to have a family of troopers, because today’s outing pretty much required that!

Here are some photos from the first part of our epic hike:

It was during the grunt of uphill through the lush and wet forest, when I was gasping for air and the miles of uphill were so never-ending that I realized that we had forget to convert meters to feet. Jerry and I would pay for this… We were certainly not winning parents-of-the-year honors this morning…

We had heard that Winteregg would be a stop we could make after the first five or six miles of hiking, and that we may even be able to enjoy some hot chocolate there. Thank God it was true.

After about 2.5 hours of hiking, we spotted it and it just opened as we arrived. Jerry and I enjoyed coffees and the boys had hot chocolates.

My guys, getting a hard-earned rest and beverages from Winteregg, during our hike.

The woman who waited on us was so kind, she offered to take our photo outside under three giant mountains, whose tops were obscured by clouds but whose presence could still be felt. The mountains we stood under are the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

After warming up and getting rested, we snarfed some special Swiss chocolate bars we brought. (We are now in love with Milka bars, and of course Toblerone, which are in abundance here.) We loved the next part of the hike becasue it was flat, and led us to the awesome – and car-less – town of Mürren.

According to Wikipedia, Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, at an elevation of 1,650 m (5,413 ft.) above sea level and unreachable by public road. Tourism is popular through the summer and winter; the village features a view of the three towering mountains: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Mürren has a population of just 450, but has 2,000 hotel beds.

Our boys, sitting in front of Jungfrau in Mürren.

All we knew was that it was a beautiful town and soon, we could see it. And more importantly, soon we’d be eating at a restaurant there. By now the boys, and Jerry and I, were famished!

We decided on the Eiger Guesthouse for lunch, and it was an exceptionally good pick. Jerry and I shared cheese fondue and a basket full of fresh baked bread, along with a pint of beer for Jerry and a glass of red wine for me. The boys shared a pizza and also ate some of our fondue. Never has a meal hit the spot so well! Here are some photos:

OMG, we finally got to experience firsthand, Switzerland's cheese fondue. It was worth the wait! Incredibly yummy. — OMG, we finally got to experience firsthand, Switzerland’s cheese fondue. It was worth the wait! Incredibly yummy.

After a filling, delicious and long lunch break, we continued down the trail. Next stop: Gimmelwald, a smaller car-less village that Rick Steves recommends. Gimmelwald is a small village situated at about 4,000′ feet elevation.

Gimmelwald also won us over. It’s another charming village. We especially loved their “Honesty Shop – Europe’s First Unattended Self-Service Village Shop.”

And, then, out of nowhere, we stumbled onto the Pension Gimmelwald Biergarten. Can this hike get any better??!! I don’t think so. It’s epic for so many reasons, most of which I’m including here. 🙂

Jerry, two thumbs up for the biergarten that was not a mirage, but a reality!

We loved this part of the hike, where we walked past big cows with their jangling bells around their neck, and views of the green lush valley below, toward which we were descending, and of course, waterfalls everywhere around us.

These cows with bells are everywhere, and you can hear their jangling bells as you hike.

See for yourself what this stretch of hike was like:

Jerry and the boys, marching at this point. :) About 2 miles left in the day's trek! — Jerry and the boys, marching at this point. 🙂 About 2 miles left in the day’s trek!

LOL. We think "wanderweg" means wandering. When this photo was taken by my husband of our two oldest sons, we had been wandering all right. All day long! :) — LOL. We think “wanderweg” means wandering. When this photo was taken by my husband of our two oldest sons, we had been wandering all right. All day long! 🙂

We continued down to the valley floor, and another 1.5 hours from there to one of the area’s most famous waterfalls, Trümmelbach Falls.

According to MySwitzerland.com, the Trümmelbach Falls are the world’s only glacier waterfalls that are accessible underground by lift, galleries, tunnels, paths and platforms. They alone carry the meltwater of the glaciers from the Jungfrau down to the valley – up to 20,000 liters of water per second. The water carries with it over 20,000 tons of boulders and scree per year and causes the entire mountain to shudder and make a thundering noise.

We paid to see what all the fuss is about, and it was worth it! Here’s a video:

The boys and I in front of Trümmelbach Falls.

When we got back to our cabin, we had hiked 16 miles, including 3,400′ of gain. We were all completely fulfilled and exhilarated, despite being worn out. It was such a fantastic day that included so many highlhights. I’ve tried to list most of them, but trust me when I say there are even more. I simply need to end this blog post so I can get a little shut-eye before we ride a train tomorrow to Zermatt, Switzerland.

Thank you for following along with us on this Epic Adventure. I hope you’ll stay tuned for our upcoming posts.

Next up: Zermatt, Switzerland (including the Gornergrat train ride and views of the Matterhorn and a report about another epic hike we’ll do in that region.)