We woke up early on Monday morning so that I could run before we had breakfast before our like day of hiking. We had plans to repeat a hike we did in 2016 and possibly add on a little extra if weather permited. I was so excited about hiking back to Hotel Obersteinberg, since the route we take hits a lot of my favorite areas in the Berner Oberland. The hike ends up being roughly 17 miles long and is a very full day!
We had an early breakfast, packed a few snacks, and took the 8:05 cable car up to Grutschalp. The area that you access the trail from Grutcshalp to Murren has changed a bit and you no longer cross the railroad tracks and instead climb some stairs before hitting the trail.
After leaving Grutschalp, we heard a very familiar sound and we were greeted by some Swiss cows!
This is such a comforting sound
I was so happy to be able to see some Swiss cows enjoying the mountains!
The guys have a beautiful view!
Making friends with a few of the cows
The trail from Grutchalp to Murren is three miles and is very flat. Over the years we have definitely gotten so see some beautiful views. Most people take the train, but we have always walked from Grutschalp to Murren.
Winteregg. This is a great place to stop between Grutschalp and Murren. We did not stop this year due to us having such a long day of hiking planned.
We arrived in Murren and quickly walked through the village. Murren does have a Co-Op where you can stop for snacks if you need to get anything before continuing on the trail.
Darling Murren
Walking from Murren to Gimmelwald is roughly 1.7 miles and is mostly all downhill. Gimmelwald is such a charming little village.
Gimmelwald home
Anytime we are in Gimmelwald, stopping at the Mountain Hostel is a must!
The Mountain Hostel has such beautiful views. We enjoyed lattes here instead of our traditional beer and wine.
It was a cloudy day, but the blue skies were sprinkled in with the clouds!
After leaving Gimmelwald, you walk slightly downhill for a bit, which is kind of disheartening because you know that you just have to go back up to get to Hotel Obersteinberg.
The trail leaving Gimmelwald
Pausing for a photo before we start the brutal climb. P.S. we saw this bridge being built in 2014!
It really is beautiful!
We were headed to Obersteinberg!
I have to be honest, I was kind of surprised Ken agreed to hike this trail again. It is the steepest trail that we have ever hiked, including hiking 14ers in Colorado. The trail is literally straight up for two miles before it flattens out just slightly.
That is Gimmelwald across the mountain.
That is the Lauterbrunnen Valley down there
You can take a short side trip to Tanzbodeli, but it is straight uphill and we were a little concerned about the weather, so we declined. This is one of my favorite views!
Part of what makes this view so unbelievable is how difficult it is to get there.
Looking down into the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Once we turned to continue on to Obersteinberg, we were in a cloud for a bit. That cloud on the right kept moving towards us.
We were having a great day together
There is a section of the trail that is kind of sideways on the mountain. I am not going to lie, it is not my favorite section of trail, but it short lived so it is not too terrible. I am very afraid of heights and I am able to do it.
Arriving to Hotel Obertsteinberg
Hotel Obersteinberg with the clouds
Ken enjoying a beer. We ordered ghoulash and drinks. It was chilly sitting there, but we loved it.
Enjoying my white wine at Hotel Obersteinberg
The backside of Hotel Obersteinberg
The scenery around this place is unbelievable
We had discussed continuing on to Oberhorsnee and then on to another mountain hut, but the clouds were rolling in and we did not want to chance getting stuck in a storm. We decided we would just have to see the Oberhornsee on the next trip!
Switzerland really is as picture perfect as you imagine.
Feeling so grateful to have gotten to spend the afternoon at one of our favorite mountain huts. Now we continue hiking back to Lauterbrunnen!
We will be back again soon Hotel Obersteinberg! Thank you for your drinks and food. P.S. All supplies arrive to Hotel Obersteinberg by helicopter.
Blue skies started to peek out as we were leaving
Taking it all in
We stumbled upon another mountain hut, Berggasthaus Tschingelhorn, but did not stop as there was only one person working and it was very busy. The hike down is also quite steep and we thought that we should not risk being typsy and breaking a leg going downhill.
Berggasthaus Tschingelhorn's specials of the day
Beautiful scenery at every single turn
We did stop at Berggasthuas Trachsellauenen before being in Stechelberg. At this point, we were on flat ground and figured we good split a bottle of wine!
After leaving Berggasthasu Trachsellauenen, we stopped at our favorite little spot at the end of the valley for to go drinks to take us into Lauterbrunnen.
Favorite hike with my favorite person
We arrived back to Hotel Staubbach where they were anxiously awaiting to hear about our day. Adam had recommended us to go to the Oberhornsee, but he was also worried about us because of the weather. He was relieved to hear that we changed our plans and *only* hiked 17 miles.
Ken had to take a work conference call while I enjoyed the view on our balcony.
I also walked around town to make us a dinner reservation and get some more chocolate from the Co-Op.
Walking back to the hotel with amazing views.
We had a lovely fondue dinner at Hotel Oberland, complete with wine and ice cream for dessert. We were both very sad about leaving Lauterbrunnen in the morning, but excited to see Zermatt!
