Friday July 29: Wengen to Mürren
A short walk today! The full stage is only 9.6 km, and it’s easy to eliminate some or most of it with a cablecar up and then a train to town, turning this into a nominal rest day.
Leaving Wengen, we walked steeply downhill to the valley and the town of Lauterbrunnen.
In Lauterbrunnen, we took the cablecar up to the balcony trail. From there, it was a simple two-hour walk on a flat balcony all the way to Mürren. There were great views of the Jungfrau and Mönch, and even the Eiger peeked out in the background.
We only passed a few other hikers, one of whom smelled like pizza; some hikers really get into the nature thing and don’t bathe much.
The rain arrived as we got to the car-free town of Mürren. We were too early to get into our room at Hotel Eiger, so we walked around pointlessly, seeing what was to be seen. The place is set up for tourism, of course. At lunch we heard uncomfortable amounts of American. My Goretex Shakedry jacket, which I loved for its ultra light weight and stylish sheen, turned out to be no longer waterproof. Alas, but better to discover this in town than on the trail.
The Hotel Eiger, though – it was luxurious! This was our only 4-star hotel, and it was well worth getting there early to enjoy it. Our bedroom had a sitting area and even a patio, not that we want to sit out there in the rain. We went down to the pool, where we swam next to a floor-to-ceiling view of the Jungfrau in the mist. I finished in the sauna, though Chris fled after a glimpse of some dude’s wayward genitals.
After an aperitif, we had a perfect dinner of chateaubriand and meringue glacée, just like Chalet Brandt used to make.
This was definitely the best hotel we stayed in!