Adventures in the Berner Oberland: Part One

In the last leg of our first journey, we return to Switzerland: the mountain town of Mürren in the Berner Oberland region. We leave Como and drive through the beautiful, high-elevation Susten pass to Interlaken between aqua-coloured Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. Mürren is inaccessible by car, so we park at the lift station near Stechelberg, and take the cable car up.

We arrive at our home for the week, the Grand Chalet, with views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks. Let the hiking begin!

Dutiful American mama that I am, I pack peanut butter sandwiches and loads of water for each trek, but in Switzerland you cannot go far — even in what seems like remote regions — without hitting a hut to grab a drink or a dairy for cheese and fresh yogurt.

The star of Rick Steves’ Switzerland guide is nearby town of Gimmelwald. On a rainy day, with the boys happily playing hockey at the gym, I trek through the mist to Gimmelwald. I cannot see much, but hear the cowbells through the mist and meet a few friends. I continue to wonder if I actually saw Gimmelwald. I really don’t get it Rick Steves.

We travel up to the Schilthorn summit with amazing views of all of Switzerland and an amazing amount of James Bond Kitsch.

Bart and Whitney continue to be the best hosts in the world. We loved meeting their adopted Mürren family; a group that lives for adventure. I’ll leave the extreme sports for the boys’ coming blog. I enjoyed adventurous aperols (cocktail parties before dinner) and our first fondue!

Yum! Thank you Whitney.