Beginner’s Guide to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Jenn: [00:00:00] Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast, Meggan. It feels like forever since we've done a Beginner's Guide episode.

Meggan: I know it's very exciting. Let's, let's give the people what they want.

Jenn: Yes. Yes. Here we are. If you didn't know, beginner's Guides episodes are our most popular episodes, so we are giving you a beginner's Guide to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. So Meggan visited on her big European adventure a few years ago, June, 2022. I'll link that episode in the show notes, but I'm excited to deep dive into this beautiful area of Switzerland.

So let's start with a little history of the area. So Lauterbrunnen has roots dating back to the Middle Ages, and it was first mentioned in historical records around the 13th century. That's a while

Meggan: Tiz Tiz

Jenn: Because of the steep terrain, this [00:01:00] area was pretty isolated back then.

Uh, but mountain climbers started using Lauterbrunnen as a base in the late 1700s, which started a demand for hotels. A Road from Interlaken was built in 1834. The Bernese Oberland railway arrived in 1890 and the important Jungfrau , railway was built in 1912, bringing even more visitors to the area. The area starts to become known for winter sports like skiing, curling, and bobsledding. We were just watching the Winter Olympics, and, uh, here they

Meggan: Yep. There we go.

Jenn: back. Uh, besides winter sports and mountain climbing, the area is known for its 72 waterfalls, including the Staubbach Waterfall, one of the highest free falling waterfalls in Europe, which Meggan will talk more about soon. So today Lauterbrunnen [00:02:00] is a popular destination and it is struggling a bit with over tourism. So this is a really small town, around 2,400 people live there. In 2024, the city was considering introducing a fee to visit similar to the Venice access fee . Uh, so no word on whether Lauterbrunnen is going to actually implement that going forward. But it's a good idea to check ahead. It's a fee that you pay, um, if you're just coming for the day, essentially. Usually that fee is waived if you're staying in a hotel and sometimes the fee is waived if you arrive via like public transport instead of your own car.

So who knows what will happen in the future. But good idea when you're listening to this to just double check on that.

All right, so now we know all about this beautiful, beautiful area. Meggan, how do we get there?

Meggan: I mean, there's a few options as there usually is. We personally arrived in beautiful Lauterbrunnen, which is [00:03:00] a valley, by car, as we had accommodations booked in town, and I believe after that we used our car like one time I'll talk about where we went. Because once we were there we used commuter rail or trains or gondolas the whole time.

And that does come at a fairly high price. So I want you to keep that in mind. We took every type of mountain transportation we could literally find, like I said, cable car, gondola train. I loved it. Um, we arrived in Lauterbrunnen after our stay in Heidelberg, Germany, which was about a four hour drive away.

And also a truly lovely place I would definitely recommend to visit as well. So arriving by car is of course a popular option, but even more popular is arriving by train from another destination within Switzerland. There are many options and the train station in Lauterbrunnen is very central. Even if you have a rental car, you could still park it at a train station in another city and come in that way if you don't wanna have to worry about having a car during your visit.[00:04:00]

Uh, we had like parking at our hotel. So it wasn't a big deal. We did buy a train pass before going online, which was nearly, I think, $200 a person. And it did work great. However, there were still, um, activities that it did not include, which were expensive, such as visiting Jungfraujoch, uh, that we had to pay for separately. So just keep that in mind when you are, or if you do buy a pass in advance, see what it does cover and what it doesn't cover. Uh, Lauterbrunnen isn't huge like Jenn mentioned, but it is a great base for so much else to see, which I will talk about in a bit, as the area is rich with stuff to do.

Jenn: Yes. So where to stay. This is a big, uh, topic usually when you're, when you're visiting somewhere, and I can imagine that even though this is a small town, it does have lots of options since it is a popular tourist destination.

Meggan: and there are lots of options on where to stay, so whether you need something cheaper, such as a hostel, there are also Airbnb's guest houses [00:05:00] and of course hotels. We personally stayed at Hotel Silberhorn. It was very close to the train station and grocery store. We also had a really amazing view of the famous waterfall in town, plus the mountain as it had windows on multiple sides.

Jenn: Hmm.

Meggan: So we were able to see different views out of different windows. You could actually pee and see the mountains out the window right in front of you.

Jenn: I mean, that sounds amazing.

Meggan: A pee with a view. Um, it was a really incredible room overall. It was a hotel room, so there wasn't really a kitchenette or anything. It was a hotel room. Just very, very nice one. It had like a woody cabin vibe to it and we really loved our stay there. Definitely recommend it, but there are lots of choices and we made our booking on booking.com as we usually do.

So this was a pandemic booking a trip that we finally got to take on our third try. And we had booked other accommodations, within the town [00:06:00] prior to that. But when it came time to actually go, we did land on this hotel and it was a really great choice. I'll never forget, like our room had a balcony and when you came outside and I think I had waited so long for this, and I got outside and I saw the waterfall for the first time from the balcony. Like I know that I cried. I remember crying on the balcony because I was just like, I waited so long for this and like, there it is before your eyes. It was really surreal.

Jenn: Oh yeah, I can imagine. Yeah. After, after rebooking that

Meggan: Yes,

Jenn: three times. Yeah. Final. Finally being there and like I think a wooden cabin vibe is exactly what you would want in like a mountainy town,

Meggan: In Switzerland? Yes.

Jenn: it sounds perfect. So when I visit, I will be looking them up.

Meggan: All right.

Jenn: Alright, so let's talk about what to do.

Meggan: Yeah, definitely. So you've already mentioned this, which is Staubbach Falls or Staubbachfall, and it, uh, also has a hike up, which I'll talk about in a moment. So this [00:07:00] was located about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Like I said, I looked forward to seeing it for two years or three years. It was very much worth the wait You also mentioned it's one of the tallest free falling waterfalls in Europe and don't miss walking up the path so you can actually go up a path and go in behind the falls in the summer months. It is worth it if you're able to, and it is a free activity. And by golly, take advantage of a free activity.

You'll be like, Ooh, I don't have to pay for this. Um, and at night they light up the base of the falls. So you can actually go and see it in the nighttime as well, and it looks really, really cool. So, yeah, definitely a, an enjoyable free naturey activity.

Jenn: that sounds lovely.

Meggan: Indeed. Next I wanna talk about within Lauterbrunnen is Trummelbach.

So we chatted with some other tourists on a random like gondola that we took, and they actually told us about this place. We didn't know about it. So it's closed as of now. So I think it's likely one of [00:08:00] those warm weather visits because it says temporarily closed on Google, so I'm assuming it's a summerish activity.

Um, we likely could have walked, but this was the one place we chose to drive from our hotel and it was about a six minute drive. The cost as of now to do this and go inside is $29 Canadian as of 2026, the waterfall is actually inside of a mountain and it has carved a path through the mountain.

Jenn: Wow.

Meggan: It, it was, it was mind blowing and the water is actually coming from like three different nearby glacier walls. So it is like just barreling and it, so I'm assuming it started small and then made this huge cavernous way through the mountain. And the sound is so loud and the power of the water moving through the mountain is just incredible. I do wanna mention there are stairs to climb and there are lots of great spots to view the water rushing through.

I would definitely recommend it. We got there just as a [00:09:00] big tour bus was pulling up. Um, so no, sorry. We actually left at that time. So we feel like we like hit the lottery because we were exiting. The tour bus was arriving. So like anything, when you go early, it's always better.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah. You know, you know us. We like to be there early.

Meggan: I like to be there early 'cause I like to have stuff more to myself.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Alright, next up, Jungfraujoch. So top of Europe it is called. This was a really incredible and costly experience, so we were able to get the train from Lauterbrunnen, which took us up to Kleine Scheidegg. So from there we had some time to walk around. We got some very beautiful scenic pictures, Switzerland is up there with Iceland in terms of natural beauty. I, I thought it was just breathtaking. , And then we caught a cog train up into the mountain to the observatory at the top, which isn't actually the top because the [00:10:00] observatory is like a saddle between two peaks.

So Jungfraujoch and Monch. And I'm sure I'm not saying that properly, but those are the two mountain peaks. And then the, um, the observatories in the middle. I wish I could remember the cost with this for both of us, which was in addition to the pass, uh, we had already bought. But I'm gonna say it was at least a few hundred extra dollars to do this one activity.

I totally think it was worth it. Um, I would spend the money again, but it is something to keep in mind depending on your budget.

Jenn: Yeah. I mean, you're, if you're already there,

Meggan: And you should know that going in advance. If you've done your research, you're gonna know how expensive Switzerland is. And

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: I mean, you have to deal with it or you, you don't go, I guess,

Jenn: Yeah,

Meggan: you know.

Jenn: those are the options I

Meggan: Indeed. Um, so another mountain experience is called Schilthorn. Uh, that is a less crowded and cheaper than Yungfraujoch, uh, if that is your thing. And why wouldn't it be? Uh, we had intended to do this one as [00:11:00] well, but we actually had a TV in our hotel room that showed conditions of all the nearby mountaintop. Very convenient.

Jenn: That is convenient.

Meggan: I know. And the only other day we had available, the conditions were not great, so we couldn't go. Like it was really quite snowy up there.

And I'll never forget the day we did almost every activity that exists in the area. I've never been so tired in my whole life. Peter got me up so early because he'd been watching the TV channel and he's like, today's the day. He is like, we have clear conditions we need to go.

Jenn: Go, go,

Meggan: That's, that's exactly how the whole day was.

We're like, we didn't stop once anyway, I, I, it was exhausting but exhilarating. Um, there are quite a few options to get from, uh, Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn, including driving a cable car hiking. That's not for me, but it could be for you, or the train. So it depends on how you want to get there. It did look really cool, so I recommend it if you have time and you wanna save some money as [00:12:00] well,

Jenn: Oh yes. And if the conditions are good.

Meggan: Correct.

Jenn: That, uh, TV station, maybe there's a website that

Meggan: Yeah, maybe.

Jenn: Would be very, very helpful for people to have. I'm gonna, let me do some digging and maybe by the time this episode goes out, I'll have a link for you in the shownotes

Mm.

But don't, don't hold me to that. I'm gonna try fo you.r

Meggan: Don't leave us any nasty comments in case we can't find it.. Excellent. That's a great idea. So, uh, next we'll move on to sort of like a nearby town, uh, where I definitely recommend visiting Grindelwald. We went there specifically to do First Cliff walk, um, which is a metal walkway suspended from the mountain side.

Jenn: That sounds scary. Meggan, was it scary?

Meggan: So I'll, I'll get there. So we did take a train, uh, into Grindelwald of course, and then we got a gondola up to the cliff walk. Peter did actually get up there and decide it's not for me. So we got a few pictures taken with him, like out on it a little bit, but he's like, I can't. And I'm like, I [00:13:00] am going to do this.

I did it alone.

Jenn: Whoa.

Meggan: I know I really pulled up my big girl diaper and off I went because you could see, of course with metal, you could actually, it like had little holes so you could actually see. Like the fall below. Anyway, I didn't wanna miss the opportunity. Um, it is truly an engineering feat and you just hope that like they knew what they were doing as you're walking on it.

Um, but it does offer some spectacular views. I'll include pictures when we do the, the social media for this because it's beautiful and I definitely recommend it. The views from the mountain. While you're up there and the gondola ride up there as well, they're breathtaking once you're up on the mountains.

So besides the cliff walk, there are other activities up there such as go-karts, scooters, zip lining, and hiking. It is a cool area that's actually called Grindelwald-First, so it's kind of like an activities area. So ensure you check on these activities before going, because a lot of this is warmer weather activity.

Overall it's a [00:14:00] beautiful little town as well. You could easily choose to stay there instead of Lauterbrunnen, uh, during your time in and around Interlaken. Uh, other things to do in the area are go check out the beautiful, Bachalpsee Lake, um, and some really spectacular, of course, hiking, cafes, restaurants, and a bit of shopping as well. So Gimmelwald, Murren, and also Wengen are nearby towns as well. They're all beautiful and worth the visit. We went to both, sorry, we went to actually all three, but not for activities as much as like to take the cable car rides up, look around, grab a coffee and lunch.

But again, especially with the over tourism of Lauterbrunnen. Not that these places probably don't have a bit of that, but these are other options in the area where you could stay and have all the same activities to be able to do. So overall, we loved our base of Lauterbrunnen and we did so much while we were there and we still didn't really get to explore or see half or more of it.

But, you know, our wallets could only take [00:15:00] so much. Um, so we had to move on to Austria where we felt like we had all the money in the world.

Jenn: Good.

Meggan: Like, oh, the cheese is only two Euros.

Jenn: amazing. Speaking of food, Meggan, let's talk about the food in Lauterbrunnen.

Meggan: Yes, definitely. So I do find sometimes I feel like when meals are expensive that you don't really get, you know, what you're paying for. So we honestly didn't eat out a ton while we were there, if I'm being very honest. And we knew that in advance. We figured we would do a lot of like grocery store stuff.

We had, of course like wine in our room if we wanted to sit out on the balcony. We went to a pub one night and we had a few drinks. But food wasn't high on our priority in town. Um, I do wanna mention the Silberhorn restaurant. So right in our hotel, and this is where we ate our first meal in town. It was honestly delicious and very convenient.

Of course, we ended up each getting a Rosti, which is a classic [00:16:00] Swiss potato pancake. I had been pescatarian for five and a half years at this point, but I had decided, for some reason, I guess I threw caution to the wind and I knew I was going to eat meat again on this trip, and I don't know why I decided this, and I don't know why this was in my head, but this was the very first meal that I did it.

Jenn: Wow.

Meggan: I know. So I ordered the breakfast version of the Rosti, so it had an egg in the middle. I was eating eggs 'cause I was pescatarian anyway, but it had like bacon all around and Peter was all, he was like really a little bit upset that I was gonna break this. And he's like, are you really sure like you want to do this?

And I was just like. I believe I am. And so like I ate the bacon and it was delicious. And I've heard people say who like go back on the meats, um, that their body has like an adverse reaction. But my body was just like, where have you been?

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Come to mama.

Jenn: That's

Meggan: So I definitely recommend a rosti. Very delicious kind of, uh, traditional.

So I would highly recommend that. [00:17:00] Um, the grocery store. So ironically, but I guess not 'cause it's Switzerland, but chocolate was dirt cheap. Like I'm talking 45, 55 like cents on the euro. Like we ate a lot and we brought a ton home. And it wasn't, it was good chocolate. Like it was, we're like, we felt like we found the jackpot there.

Um, otherwise we had, you know, really great sandwiches, coffee drinks, like, um, in a little like cup with a lid and already pre-made yogurt. The nearest grocery store to us in town was the co-op. It had everything we needed. Our bellies were full and we didn't spend a crazy amount of money there.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And then finally restaurant Weidstubli Lauterbrunnen. It does have a 4.5 rating on Google. I knew, of course, with Switzerland being expensive. I was gonna throw a caution into the wind with one meal, and that was gonna be fondue.

Jenn: Hmm. Good choice.

Meggan: thank you. I was just [00:18:00] like, we're gonna, we're gonna go for it. So we went to this restaurant, we picked it out in advance, and we got cheese fondue for two and two servings of bread, plus some water.

I think I talked about this in the other podcast, but it was $90 Canadian.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: I just, we just paid the bill and carried on with our lives. It was, I knew it was going to be, and it was delicious. I'm glad we had it. It was very good. The price was a little much. Um, however, in 2022 of June, the Canadian dollar was actually doing amazing versus the Euro and even this Swiss Frank, it was still way too much, but back then it was one of the highest peaks it had been in years, so I felt like, why not?

Jenn: That was helpful. Good timing.

Meggan: I know. I agree. So all of those places are in Lauterbrunnen and tons of other places to eat, including those other smaller towns as well. So many options. So whatever sort of suits your budget or what you're looking for, you will find there. Again, I just recommend doing some Google [00:19:00] Maps research on that.

Um, and yeah, lots of choices though.

Jenn: Yeah. All right, so we've gotten to the fun facts part of the episode, so fun fact number one, there is some debate on what the name Lauterbrunnen means.

Meggan: Hmm,

Jenn: Brunnen means spring or fountain, but Lauter could mean clear, clean, bright, many or louder.

Meggan: sure.

Jenn: So any combination of those, all of them make sense, I guess.

So that's why they can't

Meggan: Right.

Jenn: figure out. in 1911, 19-year-old JRR Tolkien explored this area, and it's a little known fact that these landscapes provided the inspiration for settings described by him in the Lord of the Rings.

Meggan: Really

Jenn: [00:20:00] Yeah.

Meggan: inter, very fun, very interesting.

Jenn: Yes. So the Staubbach inspired German playwright, novelist, scientist, and poet Goethe write his poem, song of the Spirits over the Waters. Obviously it was originally in German and not in English.

Meggan: Yes. 'cause I was gonna say that's a very long title, but it's not meant for the, for the English. So.

Jenn: Yes. Um, and this area, Lauterbrunnen is known for being the mecca of Wingsuit base jumping. And the Swiss Base Association estimates that between 15,000 and 20,000 base jumps are made in the Lauterbrunnen Valley each year.

Meggan: Wow, that is a lot.

Jenn: That's a lot of people jumping off a mountain.

Meggan: That is indeed, bless their hearts, especially in little wing suits.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: that is terrifying.

Jenn: me. Yeah. We didn't, we didn't mention base jumping under the things [00:21:00] to do, but, um, I, I, I would be, uh, interested to know if any of our listeners are into base jumping

Meggan: Yes. I mean,

Jenn: so, uh, send us a message if that is something that you're into. I just, I'm curious and

Meggan: like to know. Yeah, I, I'd like to know all about it because I'm just not that kind of gal, but bless your heart.

Jenn: Yeah. So that is it for this week's episode. We hope you found it helpful. We have many, many, many other Beginners Guides episodes, so be sure to check those out on our website, travel mug podcast.com. can find us and photos of Lauterbrunnen on Instagram and Facebook at Travel Mug Podcast and to support the show, you can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can support us on buy me a Coffee. Or share the show with a travel loving pal. And until next time, bye.

Hi, everybody.[00:22:00]

I'm going to try to write a video in Spanish. I'm going to put some subs in the back, that can be a problem, and I'll have to get my deaf assistant So, enjoy.