Bernese Oberland - Day 1 - Murren

Good morning from Murren.

I’m sitting out on the balcony this morning while Jo Anne has a lie-in. These are views from the 3 sides of our balcony. They don’t begin to show the magnitude of these mountains. If you look closely at the third photo, you can see that a funicular goes right up into the mountain. It’s actually the flower train and goes to the top of where I hiked today. Jo Anne took it up and met me at the top for lunch after her walk this morning.  

There are several options for hikes today and when we talked about them late last night, we said we’d decide at breakfast. We were too tired and on brain overload to think about it then.

Breakfast was a buffet with plenty of choices. When they found out I was gluten-free, they baked me a couple of gf rolls. WOW! What service and they were so delicious. 

The Jungfrau region is a hiker’s paradise, with around 500km of superb way-marked trails. We can make good use of the cable cars, railways and funicular services to shorten or lengthen our hike as we wish, which we will do!

We decide on the Mountain View Trail

We were told, if you can only do one walk in this region make it this one. It’s not a long hike but it is quite a steep ascent.

We began by taking the cable car to Grutschalp station. 

There are water troughs with fresh spring water along the way to fill water bottles. 

And a couple of statues that appropriately fit us. 🤣

photos from the train

We follow the trail from Grütschalp to Mürren via the Mountain View Trail to see the most breathtaking views this region has to offer. This trail is slightly more demanding than the lower-level walk to Mürren but let me tell you, it is worth every extra step!

The trail begins at the Grütschalp Train station and quickly takes you up above the railway tracks. Unfortunately I had a major malfunction with the water bladder in my pack. I thought it felt really cool on my back as we were riding up on the train. There was a reason for that. It was leaking and the back of my shirt and pants were soaked with about a liter of water. I could actually wring it out. 🙄 When we reached the station at Grütschalp, I went into the WC and used the hand dryer to get some of the water out, emptied what was left in my pack and bought a $6 bottle of water to carry. 

Isn’t it nice how the tree roots make steps to climb? 

And then there are real steps. 

Zoom in to see Jo Anne climbing up. 

If you zoom into the middle of this photo, you will see me hiking up the hill. I’m a speck 😁. 

Jo Anne started off with me this morning but the climb was so steep, she was afraid it would be the end of any more hiking for her, so she went back down and took a lower trail back to Murren. 

Jo Anne is a speck at the very beginning of this video going back down the hill. 

I took some pics of the signs and trail markings. White, red, white slashes marked the way. 

A young couple that zipped right by me took this photo after I took theirs. I am still in disbelief that I am hiking in the Swiss Alps. 

These tree roots just grew right around that rock. 

This is a backpacking hut up on the hill. 

Still climbing

I continue to follow the signs to Mürren, 'Mountain View Trail' for a tough ascent through a forested area, opening up into the most stunning views of the Jungfrau, Moench and Eiger as I walk along a path surrounded by alpine flowers. 

I know it’s difficult to appreciate this field of flowers from the photo. 

The trail goes right up through that saddle. 

When I turned the corner and saw this meadow of flowers with that background, I burst into song, and twirled around with my hiking poles in the air. Made quite a fool of myself I’m sure, singing The Hills Are Alive from the Sound of Music. But it was just me and the Lord up there anyway. 

Again, if you’ll zoom in on this photo you will see a hill of cows. All their bells were clanging and the scene was so surreal. 

Reached the highest point for today at about an hour and a half into the walk, but the climb isn’t over yet. 

I stopped at this trough to wash my face and drink cold water from the spout. So refreshing!

European globeflower 

Again with the meadows of flowers. 

This is a snow gun. Can’t imagine why they would need more snow but it is a ski area. 

Garden cosmos 

Lupine

European columbine

More lupine

Bugleweed

The wildflowers and waterfalls were simply spectacular! The medicinal flowers in the meadows were: arnica, mint, bitterwort, St John’s wort, ginseng, oregano, valerian, eye bright, daphnis, banana mint and lady’s mantle. 

A photo of the Eiger in the background and a map of its trails. 

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Eiger was considered as impossible to climb as the Matterhorn. Even Christian Almer, the most successful of the Grindelwald (grindel-vold) mountain guides, doubted that it would ever be conquered. When Charles Barrington, an Irishman with a passion for horses, arrived in Grindelwald in 1858 with the desire to try something extraordinary, Christian Almer let himself be persuaded to make an attempt. They were successful, the Irishman had his thrilling adventure and nothing more was heard of him in the world of alpinism...

Pretty amazing when you think about that being 1858. 

The trail traverses along the mountainside and then a short detour takes me to the Allmendhubel Cafe and park where Jo Anne met me for lunch.

She rode the Flower Train up. 

I had carrot and coconut soup and Jo Anne had the salad platter. She went on and on about how good it was. 

Jo Anne had a bee that really liked hanging out with her and even followed her into the shower. I’m hoping he’s found his way back outside now. 

She watched some people rappelling. No thank you!!!

We spent a relaxing afternoon on the balcony, blogging and watching it rain a bit. 

The clouds have rolled in and it has cooled off. 

We decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant tonight. Just wanted you to see the different sized cowbells. 

A bell’s size and timbre convey information about the animal wearing it. Dominant alpha animals—the highest ranking male or female in the group—wear the largest bells. The deeper and louder tones are an audible beacon for the others in the herd to follow. Juveniles wear much smaller bells, the higher pitch making it easier to locate a stray. Bell size also might convey a farmer’s pride in a particular animal. A favorite cow will often sport a large bell attached to a thick strap ornately decorated with significant dates or depictions of the farmer’s family events. I think that biggest cowbell hanging up there must have belonged to a very dominant bull. 

Jo Anne got the bread, garlic butter and special appetizers from the chef while I got gf rolls in a pkg. 

It was a really nice restaurant so we couldn’t figure out why they didn’t at least take the roll out of the pkg before putting it on the table.  

I specifically asked if the homemade tomato soup, made with fresh tomatoes, was gluten and dairy free. After some time the waiter came back and said it’s good. Then when he brought it out, it had a huge dollop of whipped cream on the top. I reminded him that I couldn’t have dairy so he grabbed a plate and spoon and scooped it off the top leaving all that was melted in the cup. I think we had a bit of a language barrier. He sounded French. 

I also ordered the colorful salad. 

Jo Anne had the vegetable strudel on fresh tomato sauce with boiled potatoes. 

It rained pretty hard while we were dining and they shortly had a leak in the dining room. They put a bucket under it and we were all thinking Chinese water torture as it dripped loudly. It was suggested that maybe they could put a towel in it to stop the noise and that fixed it. 

We’ve returned to the room to work on tomorrow’s plan as we’ll need to get to Wengen (veng-gn) for the next two nights. It’s forecasting rain all day tomorrow so there won’t be much, if any, walking. 

It’s time to repack our suitcases so that’s it for today. 

My Stats

Steps - 15,182

Miles - 6.5

Elev gain - 1549’ or 115 floors

Jo Anne’s Stats 

Steps - 16,842

Mikes - 6.8

Elev gain - 935’

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Isaiah 43:1-3