Our Rainy Alpine Return

After Lake Leman we planned a return to the Bernese Alps and chose Wengen at the behest of other family members. We had previously been to Grindelwald and had spent some time there, so we knew the area well, although we had never visited the Lauterbrunnen Valley. In preparation for this trip, we purchased the following tickets and discount cards to help in managing expenses.

- - The Swiss Half Fare Card – provides half fare prices on all travel, including cable cars and other forms of transportation
  - The Oberländer Pass – provides access to all modes of transportation within the Oberland, can be purchased using the Half Fare card above.
  - The GoldenPass Express – since it is a special train, it is included in the Oberlander Pass, but if you want reserved seating, use the Half Fare card the price for First Class, it is still quite reasonable and perhaps the way to go for medium to large groups (we were a party of six).

Getting There

From Montreux, Switzerland we enjoyed the GoldenPass Express train to Interlaken Ost, the train station that lies between the lakes Thunersee and Brienzersee, just outside the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Montreux Train Station – Montreux, Switzerland

Goldenpass Express – Montreux Train Station – Montreux, Switzerland

It winds through the Cantons of Vaud and Bern, through the Simmental valley where there are pastoral views to enjoy.

Lake Leman – GoldenPass Train – Montreux, Switzerland

Mountain Pass – GoldenPass Train – Simmental, Switzerland

Valley – GoldenPass Train – Simmental, Switzerland

Scenic Valley – GoldenPass Train – Simmental, Switzerland

Scenic View – GoldenPass Train – Simmental, Switzerland

Ski Town and Resort – GoldenPass Train – Simmental, Switzerland

Mountains – GoldenPass Train – Simmental, Switzerland

Lake Thun – GoldenPass Train – Interlaken, Switzerland

Wengen The Town

Wengen is a classic Swiss ski town, having a single avenue with shops and stores catering to souvenir hunters, hotels spread throughout the surrounding area with accompanied restaurants, as well as standalone restaurants offering specialities and train and cable car stations. One thing it doesn’t have are private cars, they are not allowed here and one must park in Lauterbrunnen and take the train to visit.

Lauterbrunnen Valley – Wengen Town – Wengen, Switzerland

Beautiful Rainy Evening – Wengen, Switzerland

Hotel Jungfraublick

Our hotel during our stay was the Jungfraublick hotel, a three star hotel with restaurant. It supplied a complimentary continental breakfast in the morning, but its linen service proved to be somewhat of a problem and each day we had to ask for things we should have been supplied.

Aside from that, we didn’t see much of the Jungfrau, the third tallest mountain in the Bernese Alps, due to weather and the constant threat of rain or snow.

Lauterbrunnen Valley – Wengen Train – Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Restaurants

Even though it was slightly off-season, we made reservations for all the restaurants we visited and it is probably advised, we found most of them fairly busy during regular dinner hours.

Da Sine Ristorante

On our first day in Wengen, we ate here for lunch. They have excellent Italian food at somewhat reasonable prices for Switzerland.

Da Sina Ristorante – Main Entrance – Wengen, Switzerland

Caprice Ristorante

The Caprice restaurant also offers Italian food and is very good. It can be found at the Maya Caprice Boutique Hotel and there prices are also in line with what other restaurants are charging in the area.