Switzerland Day 2: Interlaken, Lake Thun/Lake Brienz, Jungfrau/Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen/Schilthorn

The train trip from Bern HB to Interlaken is approximately an hour long (IC61 or IC81, one or the other leaves every 30-90 minutes so make sure to check before leaving for the station). If you want to see the lakes from the train when you arrive in Interlaken, sit on the left side of the train. Lake Thun (Interlaken West) and Lake Brienz (Interlaken East) both have ferry boat rides (included in the Swiss Travel Pass), starting at around 1030am and every 1-2 hours. In terms of choosing – after a fair bit of internet research, they are reportedly both very beautiful. We chose Lake Brienz because it is a bit smaller and so the ferry ride is a bit shorter, though still approximately 2-2.5 hours long round trip. I don't think it would be worth doing both, especially with only a day in Interlaken. 

After the ferry ride, we tried to put our bags in baggage storage at Interlaken East but the bins were all full, so we brought them on the train with us to our next stop, ultimately a gondola trip up a mountain. While Jungfraujoch, “the top of Europe,” is the most popular of the cable car rides, it can also cost more than $200 for a round trip ride (though a ticket should be 40-50% off with the Swiss Travel Pass). Also, it is a peak that is actually lower than the surrounding peaks so I am not so sold on the idea that it is the best view.

We elected to instead take the cablecar up Mount Schilthorn's “Piz Gloria.” To get there, we took a local train (R62, approximately every half hour from Interlaken East, and the trip is about half an hour long) from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, where we were able to find baggage storage in the train station (it requires 5 CHF in coins, but the ticket counter folks can exchange CHF bills for coins). From there, we took a bus (the 141) from right outside the train station to the “Stechelberg Shilthornbahn” stop, which took about 12 minutes. Busses run every half hour or so. The bus drops you off at the ticket counter for the gondola; with the Swiss Travel Pass it cost about $50 per person for a ticket to ride all the way up to the top. There are four stops: Gimmelwald, Murren, Birg, and then the top Piz Gloria. At each stop you have to get off and get on a different cablecar. We elected to walk around at each stop to take pictures, and on the way down we walked from Murren to Gimmelwald. There are some cute “self service” refrigerators in Gimmelwald that sell sausage, beef jerkey, cheese, etc. And there is a vending machine in Murren that sold cheese. In the vending machine!! Tips for the trip:

• Just taking the cablecar up to Murren is actually included for free with the Swiss Travel Pass, and you can get some pretty good pictures from there.
• If it is rainy and/or cloudy out, make sure to look up online what the view from Birg and Piz Gloria is – our view was completely just clouds so we couldn't actually see anything. Definitely was not worth paying extra to go beyond Murren, and not actually see anything. 

On the walk from Murren back to Gimmelwald, we decided it was approaching dinner time, so we called and made a reservation at Restaurant Weidstübli in Lauterbrunnen. We took the same bus (141) back to Lauterbrunnen and walked to the restaurant – somehow managing to find a cute covered bridge to walk over. We shared a salad and a delicious Rosti, then walked back to the train station, got our bags, and headed back to Interlaken, where we had elected to stay the night. The internet says not to bother staying in Interlaken as it is just a transit hub – and to instead stay in one of the cute villages in the area (like Lauterbrunnen or nearby Grindelwald). But because we were on a tight time schedule, it was just easiest to stay in town. We picked the historic Hotel Central Continental near Interlaken West, which had good rooms, two balconies (one off the bathroom!), and a solid breakfast. 

While there, we checked out a couple of bars – I would definitely recommend Hangar 32, and definitely not Bounty Bar (it doesn't seem to have a functioning website?). 

If eating in Grindelwald, I had heard that Onkel Tom's Pizzeria und Weinlokal was a good restaurant. In Interlaken, Restaurant Café Gleis 3 and Des Alpes Interlaken. But I didn't try them so I can't personally vouch for them!

Bottom line: The ferry ride on Lake Thun was beautiful, and Interlocken is definitely a “must go” spot. I think skipping Jungfrau for Mt. Schilthorn was a good call, given the big price difference and in theory similar views. However, unless the weather is amazing, I wouldn't recommend the gondola above Murren.