mürren & the schilthorn

With some family in town last month we decided to finally take advantage of UBS’s summer mountain railway offer and head off to the mountains. It was the first of our mountain day trips this summer and we chose a classic Swiss alpine destination: Mürren and the Schilthorn.

It had been a few years since our last visit up to Mürren, and many more since the Schilthorn as it was closed due to high winds on our last visit. This time, it was a bit foggy at the top but considering the discounted ticket price, still worth the trip. We took a gondola up to Mürren from Stechelberg, changing at Gimmelwald, and then a third gondola to Birg and finally the last gondola to the top of the Schilthorn. On the last leg, some extremely over-done James Bond branding kicks in and by the time you arrive at the top of the packed ride you are ready to just be out no matter what the weather. That being said, we did enjoy some views from the top before heading back down for lunch in Mürren.

Once back in Mürren, we walked through town checking out the best panoramic viewpoints, passing many tourists that fit the profile of the man featured below. He was perched outside a restaurant packed with Asian tourists so at least they didn’t seem put off by him.

After wandering a bit we stopped for lunch at the historic Hotel Regina. The hotel itself was built over one hundred years ago in the Swiss grand hotel style and serves a variety of good lunch options with even better views. In our case, lunch itself was a bit less enjoyable due to an excessively cuddly couple at the next table and somewhat less than amazing service. That being said, the view from their terrace is even better than that from their inside dining room as below, and the hotel seemed like it would be a great location for a destination event, or romantic weekend away. I guess the couple we saw thought so too.

Before heading home, we split up so that Martin, Reese, and I could walk the ca. 30 minute path from Mürren to Gimmelwald. Since my brother-in-law is in a wheelchair, he and my sister took the gondola down one stop before heading back down to Stechelberg and the car. As it turns out, the entire path between Mürren and Gimmelwald is paved and is fully accessible for strollers and wheelchair users. (Note: A small stairway shortcuts to the gondola station in the last 200m of the walk, but the paved path continues around to the station.)

travel information
The very scenic trip to Stechelberg via car is ~2 hours (and ~3 hours by train and bus) from Zurich. We combined this day trip with a stop at the Aare River Gorge (Aareschlucht), but you could also stop at Trummelbach Falls. The round-trip fare to the top of the Schilthorn was CHF 10 with the UBS rate (normally CHF 112 full fare) and free for wheelchair users. More details on sightseeing around the Schilthorn can be found here.