The final bit up to Grindelwald or Wengen is by cog rail. The train is interminably slow so it allows for fabulous photo ops. The villages sit amidst some of the most spectacular scenery in Switzerland. A UNESCO site because of the dramatic setting. They’re both under the watchful eyes of the three sisters: Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Grindelwald has the dynamic Eiger in its proverbial face and the sun’s rays change its colors throughout the day. Car-free Wengen sits on a plateau above the precipitous Lauterbrunnen Valley with the 72 waterfalls cascading down its palisades. The nature loving, mountaineering English discovered this pocket of Swiss beauty in the early 1900’s and have been coming back ever since – they always known a good thing when they see it!
Grindelwald’s new train and V-Bahn complex with the Eiger gondola, goes to the base of its namesake glacier and opened December ’20. Travel time is now :15, a reduction from :45. The new high-speed Männlichen gondola, doubled in capacity and connects picturesque Wengen and Grindelwald. The region has 130 miles of trails with 45 lifts linking Grindelwald to the car-free hamlets of Wengen and Mürren, across that Lauterbrunnen Valley. The ski areas are: First, Klein Scheidegg, Männlichen, and the Schilthorn. In Wengen, for those willing to test their mettle against the world’s best racers, you can try the two and a half mile, 3,500 foot vertical Lauberhorn run. It is the longest, most difficult of all World Cup downhill races and in these days of extremes, the very steep, last 200 yards are open to all.
