(Wengen, Switzerland)
I’m now staying in Wengen, a beautiful mountain village perched on a cliff overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. You’ve probably seen this valley in many photos before (see above photo), even if the name doesn’t sound familiar. It’s one of the most photographed valleys in the world. But I’m here to ski, not just to marvel at the stunning valley landscape.
Alas, at breakfast on what was supposed to be my first day (of six) of skiing here, we learned that the entire lift system was shut down due to high winds. Parts of the railway system were shut down too. We had to find another way to spend the day.
I’d like to say that this was unprecedented. But it isn’t: in 2017, at Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), we were unable to ski because the entire lift system was shut down…also due to high winds.
Anyway, we decided to start with a hike down from cliff-top Wengen to the village of Lauterbrunnen on the valley floor. The vertical drop is about 500 metres, but it took less than an hour because it is almost straight down. It turned out to be an excellent warm-up for our remaining days of skiing.
From Lauterbrunnen, I suggested hiking to the small village of Stechelberg, located at the end of the valley. I figured we could have lunch at the Hotel/Restaurant Stechelberg, an old-fashioned establishment I visited about 15 years ago. This was ambitious, given the distance…and the fact that this was the only restaurant in Stechelberg. It could have ended in heartbreak. But we went ahead anyway.
Just like the descent from Wengen, the walk to Stechelberg was beautiful. The alleged high winds were barely noticeable this far down from the mountains. We encountered the usual assortment of cows, goats, and donkeys. We even passed a cheese vending machine, like the one I saw in Lenk in 2018.
We had the foresight to reserve a table at the Stechelberg restaurant, so we were able to walk right into a rustic lunch. Nothing appeared to have changed in the last 15 years. In fact, it looked like the local Swiss restaurants I saw as a child in the late 1970s.
Most of us walked back to Lauterbrunnen after lunch, making it a total of around 20 km of walking if you include the walking we also did in Wengen itself.
OK, so we didn’t come to Wengen to hike in March. But we still had a nice day outside and gained a new perspective on the amazing natural setting of Wengen and the valley far below.