Unterseen

The alps! We decided to use Interlaken as our "base camp" for exploring the region.

We arrived mid day and decided to rent bikes and ride along Brienzersee - a blue green lake east of Interlaken. We followed along a narrow road and stopped both at Iseltwald for lunch and Giessbachfälle! The hills to the waterfall were no joke but made for a fast journey back once we turned around! A street food festival was in full swing when we arrived back in Interlaken; enjoyed a couple beer and a "sushi hotdog" before heading to the hostel to check in.

We stayed at Balmer's Hostel, which is repeatedly voted Switzerland's best hostel and is one of the oldest, opened in 1907. It consisted of 3 or 4 interconnected houses converted into shared dorms, private rooms and lots of different social spaces. They even have a club in the basement, although it wasn't open while we were there. We made fast friends with our neighbors Jay & Shiv from Manchester and signed up for the beer pong tournament that night. The hostel had a very fun and friendly atmosphere!

Day 2 we took the train to Lauterbrunnen - walking along the village streets admiring the many waterfalls! We took a cable car up to a mountain village called Grimmelwald which had spectacular views of the mountains! We walked from here to Mürren and then all the way back down to Lauterbrunnen. Sadly the rain found us for the last hour of our hike as we descended.

Day 3 - Jungfraujoch & Grindelwald. We took an early train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and hopped on the Eiger Express, we would have great views of the Eiger but the clouds were socked in low. From the Eiger Glacier we had another train which tunneled through the mountains up to Jungfraujoch, "The Top of Europe". At about 3650m (12000 feet) above sea level, we could feel the elevation instantly when we got off the train. We were rewarded with blue bird skies and unlimited views above the clouds! The station at the top was massive, with many tunnels leading to other plateau viewpoints, an ice cave and a terrace atop one of the peaks. They also use this station for scientific research at high elevation. We found the highest patio bar in Europe to enjoy the views, and also picked up some treats at the highest Lindt chocolate shop. We were tired from the early wakeup but we're so glad we took an early train as we had no wait, but there was a massive line when we got back down.

We stayed in Grindelwald for the rest of the day and took the gondolas up to First Peak. We had more beautiful views along the way of all the farms surrounded by mountains. They have a free cliff walk here which is not for the faint of heart but offered views looked down and many paragliders.

The photos are from our bike ride, the sushi “hotdog”, the hike from Mürren to lauterbrunnen, JungFrau and finally Grindelwald FirstRead more