Switzerland: Murren (hiking, playgrounds and snails)

The next day we planned to take the CC 63 from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen. We thought this mean to take the cable car. So we did, and were surprised that we ended up in the town of Grutschalp, which was on the way to Mürren instead of Wengen. Whoops!

Turns out CC was actually a train to Wengen. But, it’s good to be flexible. And, since we were already planning to go to Mürren the next day, we just switched it up. 

So, after the cable car, we took a mountain train to Mürren and then from there took a funicular to Allmendhubel.

Best train ride ever!

From here, we found magnificent views of the Alps, but also our favorite playground of all time. 

There were the usual swings and balance beams, but also a water maze, a wooden cow milking station and a gopher periscope. 

There are water sprayers in this maze that block your way, but then change every few seconds. So much fun!

Oh course, there was another restaurant right there, so after some coffee, pastries and a lot of time playing, we began the North Face Trail.

It was gorgeous, and the fields of flowers blew my mind. 

I am forever changed in how I feel about weeds. It’s hard to believe that this field of loveliness is filled with many plants that in the US we have weed-killer for. I guess the Swiss see it differently. And I’m glad, so glad to see it. 

We worked our way down the mountain, winding through valleys and streams, quiet woods and endless flowers.

We even found some huge snails.

The North Face trail, however, was not well-marked, and we ended up back in the town of Mürren way faster than we expected. Studying the map later, we learned that we had only completed a quarter of the trail. I suppose it wasn’t a huge loss. We were all satisfied with the morning. 

Since we had extra time, we planned to take on another hike called the “Detective Trail” that went on a similar route as the train we had taken, but just as we were beginning, a heavy rainstorm came in. So, we headed back to the campground to do laundry and cook some dinner. 

The rain brought out lots of snails, and Lucy began a collection. She sorted them, built a habitat and even conducted some snail races. 

After dinner, it was still raining, but we decided to walk up to Staubbach Falls.

This is the highest free-falling waterfall in Switzerland. It cascades down a nearly 300-meter cliff. The falls mist and puff, and at times seem to disappear only to reform and rush down the cliff-face. This waterfall and the surrounding valley we are staying in is wildly believed to have inspired the setting of Rivendell in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. I can see that. 

I took this photo from the nearby town of Wengen. You can see the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Staubbach falls in the distance.

With the rain keeping the crowds away, we had the path to the falls to ourselves. It was a walk up the steep and somewhat slippery steps, then through tunnel to get to a viewing platform just behind the falls. 

We are just behind the waterfall.