• CH & IT Roadtrip
    Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.
    1View near the end of Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Raindrops on posies (white phlox??) — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Historic photos of Trümmelbach Falls and the tunnel lift — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Heading up in the tunnel lift at Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Lauterbrunnen Valley from where one starts walking @ Trümmelbach Falls — Switzerland.Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.One of the 72 other falls in Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls ... the last cascade — Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.Trümmelbach Falls ... as we leave, the line has grown much longer — Lauterbrunnen Valley.

    Beatenberg: Day 4 … Trümmelbachfälle

    July 21 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    “… the sunbow’s rays still arch
    the torrent with the many hues of heaven,
    and roll the sheeted silvers’s waving column
    o’er the crag’s headlong perpendicular …” ~~ LORD BYRON ~~

    What better place to visit on a day with a high likelihood of rain … especially with the webcams showing the hiking trails hidden by fog at higher altitudes? Trümmelbach Falls … a series of 10 cascades inside a mountain that drain the glaciers streaming down from Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau … Europe’s largest subterranean waterfalls … part of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    Thus we set out from Beatenberg mid-morning for a drive that took us through the scenic Lauterbrunnen Valley to the falls. The parking lot was filling up fast when we arrived. The line for the ticket window seemed long to us — 20 minutes, we were told. Turns out that was a short wait. The line was at least four times as long by the time we left 90 minutes later.

    With tickets in hand, we joined 38 other people to fill the tunnel-lift that took us about 330 feet (100 m) up into the mountain. But that was more or less the halfway point. From there, we followed a concrete path and stairs, stopping to check out the cascades … first up, then down … then even further down past the lower five cascades to reach ground level.

    It was quite dark inside the mountain … we were grateful for the lights along the path … dim though they were. It was cool-to-cold inside the mountain … we sure could have used some gloves. It was very wet inside the mountain … we were prepared for that with not just rain jackets, but rain pants, too. And it was very loud inside the mountain … the thundering of the plunging water — 5,300 gallons (20,000 liters) per second — echoing off the walls of the tunnel … impossible to hold a conversation without shouting.

    We stood in awe at the various view points as we gazed at the water that churned, eddied, foamed, and meandered through the path it had carved out of the rock. The roaring water sped by us down to the point where it finally reached an opening in the mountain and dropped into a creek … a journey of 1,300 feet (400 m) from the top of the uppermost cascade to the bottom of the last cascade.

    Quite the experience. And even better? We still had time for one more activity before the sunshine gave way to the eventual rain. …    Read more