My first Swiss hike

Moving to Wengen

Today I move on to Wengen after breakfast, starting with a bus ride to the railway station for a train to Interlaken Ost leaving a little after 0800.  The first half of the ~2h ride was painful with a couple of English families with a total of 7 noisy playful young children.

At Interlaken Ost I had a 10 min changeover for the short train to Lauterbrunnen.  The change at Lauterbrunnen for Wengen couldn’t have been easier.  The trains were parked next to each other and the 5 min connecting time was sufficient for everyone to get across without stress.

The train to Wengen was of the cog variety, suited for going uphill.  It was a short walk from Wengen station to the Bernerhof Hotel and I arrived there at 1040, about 3h after leaving my hotel in Lucerne.  The village is small and carless.  A few electric carts help transport luggage to hotels.  For a village this size, it isn’t a problem.

My hotel, the Bernerhof.

Hiking from Mannlichen to Kleine Schedegg and beyond

I found the cable car to Mannlichen near my hotel.  This was a large intermittent cable car that went up the slope opposite my hotel and then up, up and up again to the slopes that were obscured by the first one.

Up at Mannlichen, I started questioning my choice of clothing:  shorts, sneakers, t-shirt and a pullover.  I ate my lunch purchased from a deli back in Wengen and when the sun re-emerged, the temperature was comfortable again but later became hot.

I commenced my hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Schedegg at midday.  The sign suggested a walking time of 1h30 but Google Maps suggested 1h only.  For me, it took about 1h10 including pauses for photos.  It was very pretty looking towards the left at first towards Grindelwald, and later again towards the left at Eiger.

The trail was busy with people of all ages, shapes and sizes.  Some elderly people couldn’t even stand up straight but they’re still pushing themselves to do this.  There were mums and dads carrying their babies, others pushing prams.  This track is the easiest level and is suitable for prams, mobility scooters and supposedly wheelchairs if one can tolerate the bumpiness of the unsealed surface.

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Kleine Schedegg is the station where people change trains from Lauterbrunnen or Wengen to another cog railway to Jungfrau.  I spent a bit of time here resting, deciding whether to go up to Jungfrau and whether to walk or train back to Wengen.

The discounted price to Jungrau (for Swiss Travel Pass holders) was CHF117 (over NZD200) so I decided not to.  I had been 30 years ago so I guess that counts.

Despite my shoes feeling tight and uncomfortable around the toes, I pushed on around 1400 towards Wengen.  The sign had suggested a hike of 1h45 and Google 1h30.  After 40 mins I decided to call it quits and Wengeralp where a train was due in a few minutes.  My shoes were too uncomfortable and I didn’t want to risk ruining my upcoming days.

Cows with their tinkling bells create the truly Swiss atmosphere in the countryside.

While this is the same train that was free from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, it was chargeable from Wengen onwards.  I hadn’t realised this and was asked to buy the ticket (with a discount for the Swiss Travel Pass), fortunately with no penalty.

I was back at the hotel around 1530.  After a rest I grabbed a salad, a can of fruit salad and yoghurt from the supermarket to have as dinner and breakfast.  Having a jug in the room and a fridge at reception really helped my ability to eat simply and cheaply from the supermarket.

I retired about 2200, my latest so far in Switzerland.  I’m very much on local time but haven’t lost the ability to wake up early to make the most of my Swiss Travel Pass.

View of the Lauterbrunnen valley from Wengen.