[Culturechat] Lungern area
Anita Killen
soul25@worldnet.att.net
Tue, 05 Jun 2001 17:34:47 -0500
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All of these suggestions from Phil King are great things to do. I'd
like to add a couple of things, though.
1. From Meiringen take a bus up to the top of the Reichenbach Falls and
walk back down to Meiringen (SLOWLY, enjoying the Falls and the great
views of Meirining).
2. The next train stop from Meiringen is Brienz (where you catch the bus
to Ballenberg), where you can take a charming boat ride on what I think
is the most beautiful lake in the world, Brienzersee. Your train pass
is good on the boats and you can get off and on as you please, as they
run hourly. You could have lunch on the terrace of the Grandhotel
Giessbach at Giessbach Falls. We took the tram up from the boat and
walked back down on a nice forest path that crosses over the falls. At
the other end of the lake is a charming village, Bönigen, where you can
see some very interesting hand carved houses. Every trip to Switzerland
I have ridden the boat on Brienzerzee at least 3 times.
3. Interlaken is right past Bonigen by boat and is the termination point
of the train from Lucerne through Lungern and Meiringen. From
Interlaken the whole world of mountains opens up to you! One short trip
I particularly enjoyed is the one to Schynnige Platte, from where you
have gorgeous views and can visit the "Alpengarten" and sit on a bench
listening to the cowbells peal from across the valley below. From the
cog rail train going up there you can see 2 lakes at once - Brienzersee
on the right and Thunersee on the left. Idyll will provide you with a
book that tells about all the day trips you can make from Interlaken or
from Meiringen, where the "3 Pass" and "4 Pass" loops by post bus leave
from. Be sure to take at least one of those! The Idyll information is
great for reading on the plane on the way over the ocean!
I know you'll have a great trip!
Anita Killen
philip king wrote:
> We stayed in Lungern for 3 weeks in 1993 and in Meiringen for 2 weeks,
> followed by a week in Thun, in 1999. We love the Heartland. In
> Lungern, there is a lift up Schoenbuel, the ski mountain behind the
> town. Good hiking up there, plus not real strenuous. Meiringen is
> only a short train ride from Lungern over the Brunig pass. A nice
> trip is to go to Meiringen for a look around and maybe a visit to the
> Aareschluct, a gorge cut into the rock by the Aare river. This is
> very interesting ( a "don't miss") and involves maybe a hour of easy
> walking. Then return to Lungern, but get off the train at Brunig and
> hike down to Lungern. This is maybe 45 minutes of not steep downhill
> walking and quite pretty. One view gives you a great look down at the
> town of Lungern. In Meiringen, there is also a lift -- actually a
> series of two lifts --- almost in the heart of town that takes you up
> the Hasliberg to excellent hiking and beautiful mountain vistas. The
> Untours guidebook recommends lots of hiking you can do in the
> Heartland. Definitely do as many of these as you can. Take good
> hiking shoes, or better yet, boots, with you. Make sure you break
> them in and they are comfortable before you go. Your orientation
> meeting will also give you lots of ideas. The Bahnhof restaurant in
> Lungern is excellent and reasonable. Meiringen has several good
> restaurants. Meiringen also has a Migros and a Co-op, two pretty
> good-sized grocery stores. One of the attractions we think is a
> "don't miss" is the open air museum, Ballenberg, not too far by train
> from Lungern.It features structures from all over Switzerland that
> have been transported to the site and reconstructed, much like
> Greenfield Village in Michigan, or maybe Colonial Williamsburg.
> Ballenberg is a full day's visit. It is an excellent look at everyday
> life in earlier times in Switzerland. I don't remember the admission
> fee, but it was reasonable. Have a great trip. Phil King
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All of these suggestions from Phil King are great things to do. I'd
like to add a couple of things, though.
<p>1. From Meiringen take a bus up to the top of the Reichenbach Falls
and walk back down to Meiringen (SLOWLY, enjoying the Falls and the great
views of Meirining).
<p>2. The next train stop from Meiringen is Brienz (where you catch the
bus to Ballenberg), where you can take a charming boat ride on what I think
is the most beautiful lake in the world, Brienzersee. Your train
pass is good on the boats and you can get off and on as you please, as
they run hourly. You could have lunch on the terrace of the Grandhotel
Giessbach at Giessbach Falls. We took the tram up from the boat and
walked back down on a nice forest path that crosses over the falls.
At the other end of the lake is a charming village, Bönigen, where
you can see some very interesting hand carved houses. Every trip
to Switzerland I have ridden the boat on Brienzerzee at least 3 times.
<p>3. Interlaken is right past Bonigen by boat and is the termination point
of the train from Lucerne through Lungern and Meiringen. From Interlaken
the whole world of mountains opens up to you! One short trip I particularly
enjoyed is the one to Schynnige Platte, from where you have gorgeous views
and can visit the "Alpengarten" and sit on a bench listening to the cowbells
peal from across the valley below. From the cog rail train going up there
you can see 2 lakes at once - Brienzersee on the right and Thunersee on
the left. Idyll will provide you with a book that tells about all
the day trips you can make from Interlaken or from Meiringen, where the
"3 Pass" and "4 Pass" loops by post bus leave from. Be sure to take
at least one of those! The Idyll information is great for reading
on the plane on the way over the ocean!
<p>I know you'll have a great trip!
<p>Anita Killen
<p>philip king wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE><style></style>
<font size=-1>We stayed in Lungern
for 3 weeks in 1993 and in Meiringen for 2 weeks, followed by a week in
Thun, in 1999. We love the Heartland. In Lungern,
there is a lift up Schoenbuel, the ski mountain behind the town.
Good hiking up there, plus not real strenuous. Meiringen
is only a short train ride from Lungern over the Brunig pass. A nice
trip is to go to Meiringen for a look around and maybe a visit to
the Aareschluct, a gorge cut into the rock by the Aare river. This
is very interesting ( a "don't miss") and involves maybe a hour of easy
walking. Then return to Lungern, but get off the train at Brunig
and hike down to Lungern. This is maybe 45 minutes of not steep downhill
walking and quite pretty. One view gives you a great look down at
the town of Lungern. In Meiringen, there is also a lift
-- actually a series of two lifts --- almost in the heart of town that
takes you up the Hasliberg to excellent hiking and beautiful mountain vistas.
The Untours guidebook recommends lots of hiking you can do in the Heartland.
Definitely do as many of these as you can. Take good hiking shoes,
or better yet, boots, with you. Make sure you break them in and they
are comfortable before you go. Your orientation meeting
will also give you lots of ideas. The Bahnhof restaurant in Lungern
is excellent and reasonable. Meiringen has several good restaurants.
Meiringen also has a Migros and a Co-op, two pretty good-sized grocery
stores. One of the attractions we think is a "don't miss"
is the open air museum, Ballenberg, not too far by train from Lungern.It
features structures from all over Switzerland that have been transported
to the site and reconstructed, much like Greenfield Village in Michigan,
or maybe Colonial Williamsburg. Ballenberg is a full day's visit.
It is an excellent look at everyday life in earlier times in Switzerland.
I don't remember the admission fee, but it was reasonable.
Have a great trip. Phil King</font></blockquote>
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