Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken, Beatenberg, and Jungfraujoch!
After our trip to Como, we decided to hit the Interlaken area to see some of the famous Swiss natural beauty.
So, we loaded up on gipfeli and food from Rice Up and Co-op before hopping on a train to Interlaken West. We stored our luggage in the station lockers before hopping on another train to Lauterbrunnen. I was excited because I didn’t make it here on my last trip. We got off the train and immediately took a bus to Trummelbach Falls. There are a set of 10 different waterfalls inside a cave, but you do have to get tickets to get in. We took the elevator up to the middle level and decided to walk to the top and back down.
The first thing that surprised me when we entered was the sheer volume of water rushing down. I could barely communicate with my sister, even when yelling as loud as I could. It gets even wilder when you realize that this volume of water rushing down is coming down 24/7 for most (if not all) of the year. We were lucky to see the falls in May, because the glacial melt was near its peak. It was really cool to see all the waterfalls inside the rocky cave, but it did get a bit slippery during the descent. I also prefer the aesthetic of big, softer waterfalls, so I thought these falls were slightly overrated (especially since they’re ticketed!)
Then, we took a bus to Staubbach Falls. Along the way, we met a family from the same part of India as my parents were AND the same part of Texas as we were. It was honestly impressive and a reminder of what a small world it is. We got to Staubbach Falls and got these 8 mini donuts that hit the spot perfectly. Gotta love fried desserts! The view of the falls was stunning and it felt like Paradise Falls from Up. We got closer to this incredibly tall waterfall, and my sister and I even climbed up to get closer. The trail that leads to the waterfall provides some up-close-and-personal views but doesn’t really go anywhere and is a little anticlimactic. It did provide some beautiful views of the surrounding village and bright green fields, though.
Staubbach Falls was absolutely beautiful, and the whole experience felt like walking through a storybook. It was time to walk back to Lauterbrunnen’s main station and ride a train back to Interlaken. In Interlaken, we had a bit of time to spare and decided to get some traditional dinner at Runft. My dad is a cheese lover, so eating fondue is an absolute must. Unfortunately, dinner was a bit of a logistical mess due to time constraints and a lack of cheese-free vegetarian options (got a veggie omelet for my mom, but they put ham in it!). The fondue was decent, but not in my Swiss top 3 for sure.
Afterward, we got onto an extremely packed bus to Beatenberg, which is the nearby town where our housing was. Because of the tourist rush, accommodation in Interlaken proper was all taken, so many people stayed in the nearby towns. Some people couldn’t even fit on the bus, but in an ironic twist, they ordered a second bus for them and that bus was completely empty. Nevertheless, we made it to Beatenberg, which was a nice change of pace and a quiet, quaint village. The views were also incredible, and it felt like we definitely made the right choice in housing.
We got to our Airbnb, and it had cozy cabin vibes. The views from the window were UN. MATCHED. I cannot emphasize this enough. We had a perfect view of the major 3 peaks: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. There was also a beautiful Swiss flag in front of us, and the light of the sunset illuminated the whole landscape perfectly. It was the perfect environment to study (yep, I know, but my final exam was in two days!).
The next morning, we woke up, got on a bus, got on a train, and made our way to Grindelwald terminal. We were about an hour early compared to our timeslot tickets, and they were sticklers about time at first, but eventually let us go 30 minutes early. A scenic cable car brought us to Eigergletscher and another funicular brought us to the very top of the famous mountain: Jungfraujoch! It is famously called the Top of Europe since it is the highest accessible point on the continent. There are plenty of taller mountains, but none that have a connecting train—a pretty amazing feat of engineering. After reaching the top, we walked to the observatory to see the view from the tip-top. Turns out, the observatory is also a place of science, and the site of several experiments for atmospheric science. The views were incredible, and it’s unreal that they managed to build a railway up there. The snow-covered landscape looks like something out of a TV show, and it is! It’s a famous spot from the K-drama, Crash Landing on You. As a result, there were a ton of Koreans (and Indians, because it was near the end of the Indian summer break). We took a lot of pictures, and I tried my hand at the panorama trick, where I would move behind the camera to appear multiple times in a single panorama. It was truly beautiful and honestly crazy to realize the extremes that exist on Earth, from volcanoes to these mountains.
Eventually, it became too cold to stay outside, so we headed inside to check out a list of 10 items highlighted by the management. We started traversing the list, but most of the stops were pretty “mid” as the kids say these days. There was an intermediate area where you could go outside and explore, so we went there to take a hot chocolate break. Outside, there was a line of people walking towards another building, but we couldn’t figure out what it was or why people were walking there. The mystery would persist, as we decided to continue back to the train stop and head back down. We made some route optimizations to craft a different, quicker route back to Beaternberg because my mom was not feeling that well. You could say we got our Ph. D. in Interlaken transportation.
It was time for a quick study break with the backdrop of the mountain we just visited the top of. The quiet, calm town of Beatenberg was so peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of Jungfrau and Interlaken. We decided to take a walk around the town and take in the beautiful views from the overlook of the lake. There were even some sheep who were also enjoying the breezy evening. Beatenberg is the type of place where I would want to retire.
We had a light dinner from all the leftovers we had collected over the last couple days. After spending a good amount of time standing at the window staring at the mountains, I turned in early for the night in preparation for an early day. The next morning, I caught an early bus and headed back to Zürich to finish studying and take my final exams.
Takeaways
- Beatenberg is the. place. to. stay. in Interlaken. It beats the rush, has the BEST views, and has a perfect vibe
- Lauterbrunnen has some beautiful waterfalls, but I’d focus on Staubbach Falls
- Choose fondue places wisely. It could mean the difference between bliss and an upset stomach
- Jungfraujoch is beautiful, a bit pricy, and a Korean magnet. (Fun fact, my family started watching Crash Landing on You after this trip)
Rose (what went well): The Interlaken region is second to none, and our Airbnb in Beatenberg provided a perfect window into it. Best accommodation I’ve ever had
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): This isn’t something we can directly control, but the crowds were really bad at times. Some transportation was uncomfortably packed, and Jungfraujoch was also quite full. I got used to traveling in the off-season and having the sights to myself, so it was a bit annoying to have crowds everywhere (yes, I know that I am part of the crowd)
Thorn (what did not go well): The choice of food created some unneeded stress and some downstream health problems that detracted from the trip. I had great food last time, so this was an avoidable, annoying mistake
Rohan Chhaya 