Tuesday 10th September - Murren

We had been advised that our best chance to have a clear view from Schilthorn would be early today, so were up and down at breakfast by 7:30. But the weather seemed to have its own ideas. The live feed from the top of Schilthorn showed lots of cloud and even a little snow. We decided that it was unlikely to be worth the cost of the trip, so looked for alternatives.

Instead of going up the mountain, we decided to go down, and started by walking down to Gimmelwald. It was an easy walk, as the path is sealed all the way, and it was all downhill. We passed several hillside chalets, and the views to the valley were great. We even encountered a very friendly cat, who was more than willing to stop for a pat!

Gimmelwald is very small, and we decided Murren was a better place to stay!

From Gimmelwald, we ventured down to see Trummelbach Falls. So that meant another cable car ride down to Stechelberg. As it was raining when we arrived there, we decided to take a bus to the falls. Trummelbach alone drains the run off from 10 glaciers of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. The falls are largely inside a cave system, they are the only falls of this type in Europe that are readily accessible. Up to 20 000 litres of water per SECOND pass over the series of falls. It was amazing! If they could pass the water over the odd turbine or two, I'm sure they could generate some serious electricity!

A lift takes you up to between levels 6 and 7. We then went down to level 6, and right up to level10, then walked right back down to level 1. Toward the bottom, the view out to the valley was something too. The cafe and gardens were also very picturesque

The rain had stopped by this time, so we decided to walk to Lauterbrunen, the signs said it was 3km and it was all pretty flat walking. Again the countryside is beautiful, and this walk was between the towering cliffs, Jungfrau being one side. There was also a group of base jumpers who had launched from one of the mountainsides along the way too.

Lauterbrunen is another pretty little Swiss village, this time in the valley between the mountains. We were surprised to find a house with grass growing on its roof. Here we made the stop for lunch, and took time to consider our optioms for the afternoon.

We finally settled on a train trip up the other side of the valley to visit Wengen, the third of the villages that Errol had considered for accommodation. It is a really steep incline, and a slow trip up. While on the train, it started to rain again. Wengen is bigger than Murren, but did not have the same views. There were several lovely buildings, and a lot more shops than Murren. But we again decided that we were staying in the best of the 3 villages - you just couldn't compare the views.

Back to Lauterbrunen, then on the cable car and train back to Murren - which by now was up in the clouds. Time to rest up, check emails, and start the blog. We had to make a serious decision about photos as there is again insufficient room on the iPad. Should have organized some 'cloud space' before we came away!

Dinner was better tonight, we sat beside an American brother and sister perhaps similar ages to us, and had some pleasant dinner conversation.