We absolutely love going from Grutschalp to Murren and down to Gimmelwald. This hike would allow us to do that and continue on to Hotel Obersteinberg and then down to Stechelberg and back to Lauterbrunnen. It was going to be a long day, but we were ready for it.
I had set my alarm early to get up to go for a run, but decided against it. Ken had gotten up and opened our curtains and our door, so we had a perfect view looking out into the valley. I figured I can always run, but I cannot always snuggle with my husband looking out at the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Now that the sappy moment is over...
We enjoyed breakfast and then walked to the cable car to get up to Grutschalp to start our day.
Starting the trek from Grutschalp to Murren
Most of the trail from Grutschalp to Murren runs along the train tracks. This was our third time to make this trek and we still absolutely love it.
We had a decent amount of cloud coverage, but we were so grateful that it was not raining or completely cloud covered like our trip last year. We arrived to Murren and stopped at the Co-op for some salami and pretzels to enjoy later in the day. Soon enough, we were leaving Murren and own our way down to Gimmelwald.
Saying hello to the cows on the way to Gimmelwald
The view of the trail from Murren to Gimmelwald
Gimmelwald is one of those villages that we cannot get enough of. It is so unbelievably charming. Our first stop was the Mountain Hostel for a quick drink.
One of our favorite stops in Gimmelwald
The Mountain Hostel offers some of the best views, in my opinion
I wish I could put into words how happy I was sitting at the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald enjoying my glass of white wine. (long sleeve shirt)
In the middle of the mountains, you can see the shark fin. That is where we were headed on our hike. We went right below the shark fin.
See that waterfall above my head? We end up seeing it from a different view much later in the day.
We enjoyed our wine and dunkel and were ready to take on the rest of the hike. Once we left Gimmelwald, we would go down hill for a bit to turn and round and go straight up.
Leaving Gimmelwald, heading for Hotel Obersteinberg!
I adore the cow bells
Outside of Gimmelwald with the most amazing views all around
Ken was definitely in his element
Walking along and every new view looks better than the last! It so hard to not take pictures.
Sporting my beautiful flower
If I wasn't on a 15 mile hike, I think sitting on that bench with a bottle of wine would be about perfect.
Soon enough, we made the turn like we were going to Stechelberg and crossed over a wooden bridge. Instead of turning for Stechelberg, we followed the signs to Hotel Obersteinberg.
This ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the entire trip.
The trail description is pretty blunt and basically says you climb up hill for a mile and a half. You climb over 2,000 feet in about a mile and a half. I would say that is pretty steep!
Looking through the trees at Gimmelwald.
The trail was not dangerous at all, just steep.
Enjoying the hike that goes straight up and up and up!
Looking back at Gimmelwald and the mountains surround us.
Up, up we go!
See how the trail comes up from nowhere? That is because it comes straight up. We had beautiful views of the Schilthorn during this hike. We had planned on hiking to the Schilthorn during this trip, but decided this hike gave us all the views we needed. It was such a gorgeous hike.
We were up above Murren with the views to prove it.
We were truly having the best time. We love our hikes together. (tank)
Giving my best shark fin in front of the shark fin.
Ken has really come a long way with the uphill hiking. He did not complain about it one time. He really enjoyed the hike, but I am not sure if I could convince him to do it again.
Looking back at Murren and into the Lauterbrunnen Valley. What a beautiful world we live in.
Ken was checking out the valley from our lunch stop.
We decided to eat lunch overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. We enjoyed our salami and pretzels for lunch and also felt very, very fortunate.
We had almost finished the climb up and could not believe the views of the Alps and the wildflowers. I mean, just look at these next few pictures. This is real.
Remember that waterfall from earlier?
Our steep climb was over, but now we had to get down to Obersteinberg. Yeah, that was easier said than done. The hike was kind of sideways down the mountain and it was pretty narrow. I had to utilize the booty slide many times during the hike, but we survived.
I wish this angle could do the trail justice. It was oddly downhill and sideways at the same time.
Once we started to approach Obersteinberg we heard cow bells and saw these guys.
Such amazing views to be had
We saw so many waterfalls that we unbelievable
There she is, Hotel Obersteinberg!
Hotel Obersteinberg
This place does not have electricity, it functions with candlelight only. All supplies are brought it via helicopter or mule. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to visit such an extraordinary place.
Very happy enjoying my wine and waiting on my goulash! I sent this picture to my friend, Aunt Bon, and told her how much I was thinking about her sitting at the mountain hut. (long sleeve shirt)
If we wouldn't have had the hike to get back down, we would have loved to have spent more time here.
We left Obersteinberg with full tummies and full hearts. We had so much fun hiking to this hut.
The gates keep the cows enclosed into a certain area. You just walk right through and close the gate when you leave. Can we also take a moment to praise how well Michelle cuts my hair? This is with blow drying only and no flat iron. Pretty impressive. She is like a hair goddess. Anyway, moving on.
This picture pretty much sums up our day. Mountain huts, cows, and mountain peaks, it was pretty amazing.
We left Hotel Obersteinberg armed with a Snickers, a postcard, and lots of smiles. We vowed to come back some day and stay the night with a day pack. One of these days, we will. We knew that there was another mountain hut on our hike down and were pretty shocked when it appeared less than 30 minutes after leaving Obersteinberg. We have a rule on these hikes, when a mountain hut presents itself, stop. So, we did just that.
Isn't it adorable?
I loved the creativity of the menu
This dog came up and hopped up on what was clearly his table. I could not help but be slightly jealous of him! What a view!
The hike down to Stechelberg is really not a lot of fun. It is pretty steep going down and after a full day of hiking it is hard on the knees. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we got down to Stechelberg and decided to stop at the restaurant in the village. We were going to order ice cream, but were bothered by the flies so we just stuck with drinks.
As we were sitting there, we heard cow bells. Yes, more cow bells! We were so excited to see a farmer bringing his cows through the village on the way back to his farm. I felt so blessed to have gotten to see this yet again and so up close.
Happy hour in Stechelberg
As if my day was not already amazing enough! This was just a nice little bonus.
Everyday life in Stechelberg
We left the restaurant and started our walk back to the trail to Lauterbrunnen. We did see an area where we could stop and get a drink for the road, so that is just what we did.
Armed with wine and beer for the walk down the valley back to Lauterbrunnen
We arrived back to our hotel around 8:30 pm. We walked in and saw our friend Adam working and we were so excited to see him! We talked to him for a bit and told him about our hike. As a local, he was shocked to hear what we had accomplished. After chatting with him, we left to go and enjoy dessert at Hotel Oberland. Hotel Oberland closes at 9:00 pm, but they will allow dessert until 10:00 pm. All we cared about was getting a drink and a dessert. We figured after hiking 15 miles, we earned it!
Ken was enjoying his black forest cake. He was mad because I told him to wait to eat until my apple strudel arrived!
Have I mentioned how much I love apple strudel? I mean, it is pretty freaking amazing.
We walked back to our hotel and snapped a few photos on the way. Can you believe it is almost 10:00 pm in these pictures?
A view of Staubbach Falls
Hotel Staubbach
We ended our night pretty exhausted. A 15 mile hike through the Alps is no joke. It was, however, such an amazing day. It was one of those days that I will never forget. I got to hike 15 miles through the Alps with my best friend, there is not much more I could ask for.
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