We spent two nights camping at the beautiful, world-class Camping Jungfrau, a place I have been wanting to visit since our first tour in Germany. The Lauterbrunnen Valley is a very scenic and touristed part of Switzerland, with a dead-end access road. Much of the local transportation is done by a series of cable cars, mountain trains, or funicular (inclined railway).
This was Jack's first camping experience, and he really took to it even better than we expected. I don't think we could say enough nice things about Camping Jungfrau. It is very clean and has all sorts of nice facilities and camping conveniences, and is especially good for families. Jack really enjoyed the large playground. The huge Staubbach waterfall towers directly over the campground.
The first day we spent hiking along one of the ridges above the valley, from Grutschalp to Mürren. We walked into Lauterbrunnen for a so-so bakery breakfast of rolls and coffee. We then took the funicular up to Grutsalp to begin our hike. We selected a fairly easy trail for Jack's sake. Although it was flat relative to many of the other trails, there was still plenty of rolling elevation changes.
Any day in the Alps without rain is great weather, so we tolerated the occassional clouds. Clearing skies revealed spectacular views of the Jungfrau, Eiger and Mönch peaks across the valley. Jack was a real trooper and took the hike in stride, although he reminded us to take snack breaks at every bench we passed. He enjoyed waving at any passing mountain train and watching for responses from the engineer or passengers.
I was frustrated that the batteries on my better camera died almost as soon as we started the hike, and I'd left the spares back at camp. Fortunately, Laura brought my trusty Minolta point-and-shoot as a backup, so all was not lost. Later, I would be quiet thankful for the small camera's performance, as many of the pictures turned out quiet nicely.
Originally, I had planned to stop for lunch in Winteregg at a place recommended by a friend, but the place looked cold and empty when we stopped. We also arrived there a bit earlier than planned, so we decided to walk on to Mürren. Once there, we took a cable car up higher on the mountain to Allmendhubel. By then, the weather had warmed up considerably. There was a wonderful restaurant with a nice playground and incredible views. There were loads of nice families from all over enjoying the great views and friendly company. With a traditional alphorn performer making hourly performances, and an interesting multi-textured foot massage walk, we could not have had a more Swiss Alpine experience.
We then walked a steep trail back down to Mürren, making a short detour for the "Children's Adventure Trail", a short obstacle course of sorts. Many of the adventures were a bit to big for Jack, so parts of it were the "Parent's Adventure Trail" for us. Laura especially enjoyed the zip cord cable slide. The final part of the trail into Mürren was incredibly steep, and our pictures don't do it justice. It was difficult to maintain footing on the gravel road, so we made use of a grabrail. There was a group of older Asian tourists behind us that I worried about.
We took a final cable car trip from Mürren into Stechelberg, and began the long walk back through the valley along the river. Although this route was very flat and cool by this time, we were really tired from a long day of walking and constantly changing altitudes and temperatures. This was the "character building" part of the trip, but Jack and Laura both were real troopers for the final hour of counting waterfalls back to the campground. We spent a relaxing evening eating take-out pizza from the camp cafe at the playground. Laura and I watched in exhausted amazement as Jack found new energy on a spinning rope merry-go-round.
Click on the map icons below to view some of the pictures and video we made at different points during the hike.
View Larger Map
The next day was much shorter. We broke camp early under an even clearer sky. Actually, it was probably too early, as we packed out tent still wet from the dewfall, knowing we'd have to dry it when we got back home. By the time we finally pulled out of camp, the sun was already reaching into the bottom of the valley.
After breaking camp, we drove towards the exit of the valley, stopping in nearby Grindelwald for what is becoming one of our favorite family Alpine experiences -- the summer rodelbahn. The robdelbahn is a summer luge, normally on a plastic sled in a metal chute. Jack loves it, as it is has elements of trains and roller coasters and slides all rolled into one. We took the cable car from Grindelwald high up to Pfingstegg. As always, the robdelbahn was so much of an unexpected rush that Jack and I decided to do it twice.
