Switzerland trip review

Just got back from Switzerland last night and thought I’d share a little bit. Was just a me/Mrs jkyle trip and no kids. We flew Delta DFW-JFK-ZRH there and ZRH-ATL-DFW on the return. We decided to base in one spot and really focus on the Jungfrau region so we chose a great Airbnb with a Staubbach falls view in Lauterbrunnen. Spent a week there. I have to say Lauterbrunnen is a fantastic and charming village and the pictures just don’t do it justice. It has enough dining options and amenities but still maintains the authentic Switzerland feeling of a place people actually live and not just a tourist trap. We decided to ditch our rental car and relied primarily on cable cars and trains to get around. Purchased a 6-day Berner Oberland pass paired with a half fare card. I was hesitant to do this but was very glad I did bc the train system runs flawlessly and it’s great to just sit back and enjoy the ride and scenery. The only day we ventured out of the Jungfrau region was to Zermatt and it was the only day I somewhat regretted. The cost of transport off of our already purchased passes plus the cloud covering the Matterhorn all day kinda felt like a waste of money/time considering how amazing the Jungfrau region is. We did a day trip to Interlaken and went up to Harder Kulm on the funicular and hiked down. Interlaken is a beautiful city with Lake Thunersee nearby and Lake Brienz right there in the city limits. It has one of the best train stations and many route options connect here. It would have served as a great base but was a little busier than what we were looking for. Spent one day in Grindewald and the mountains are so close here and just tower over the village. There is lots of stuff to do here and it’s a good bit busier than Lauterbrunnen also. We took the cable car up to Grindewald First and took a long hike down with panoramic Mountain View’s the entire way. It truly felt like we were walking inside a post card. We also spent an evening here dining at the Hotel Belvedere in a Gondola eating fondue . (Cool experience). Went to the Top of Europe one day (Jungfraujoch) and it would have probably been the best views of my life but the weather did not cooperate that day. The other things made it worthwhile though with the huge Lindt chocolate store and the ice palace. Other days were spent hiking in Lauterbrunnen or the surrounding villages of Wengen and Murren. To me the most amazing views of the entire trip were up above Murren hiking the north face trail. That was the highlight of the trip to me. For Mrs jkyle it was paragliding from Murren down into the village of Stechelbach. If I think of more I’ll come back and edit but just wanted to share a bit of what was an amazing bucket list type trip for me. Switzerland is truly a magical country and the pictures just don’t quite paint the picture.

View from train headed up to Wengen



Hiking down from Harder Kulm in Interlaken




Train station in Wengen




North face trail near Murren


Lauterbrunnen


View from my Airbnb