Have you ever heard a bad review of the Swiss Alps? Probs not. Because they are freaking gorgeous. The hype is real for reason. I hope this post is a testament to that.

Munich Pit-stop

First off, we must visit our pit-stop in Germany on our way from Hallstatt, Austria to Grindelwald, Switzerland. The drive from Hallstatt to Grindelwald is over seven hours. Naturally we had to break for beer, food and coffee.

Munich was the perfect place to do so. At 10am we hit up a world famous beer hall for a pint and some sausage followed by none other than a latte and doppio (double espresso for Nate because he’s the most fancy with his coffee).

As mentioned in the previous post, I made sure to take ALL THE PHOTOS in Grindelwald, but tried to sift through and pick the best ones for this post. Didn’t want to overwhelm you. Hopefully they suffice.

Back story

The whole purpose of choosing Grindelwald for one of our locations was to be IN THE ALPS. We would be in tons of European cities over our four months on the continent. We wanted to see the all famous Swiss Alps up close and personal. Knowing this, we googled “best town for staying IN the Swiss Alps.” Grindelwald was one of the first ones to come up. We then chose a hotel that was NOT in the main town because again, we wanted to be all up in the alpine BIZ-NASS. Just wait and see for yourself.

We start off our time in Grindelwald with the view from our hotel.

Our B&B Takes the Cake

Our B&B made a huge impact on our time in Grindelwald. We stayed at Berghaus Bort which is the second highest bed and breakfast in Grindelwald. The first photo below was taken immediately upon arriving, and the second is the next morning from our room.

Hike to Falhorn

There are endless outdoor activities in Grindelwald but I had my sights on ONE – the hike from Grindelwald to Falhorn. I highly underestimated the difficulty of this hike. But regret NONE of it.

The great thing about staying at Berghaus Bort is that the cable car is literally at the hotel. You can ride it up to First, and down into the main town. So we hopped on and got a one-way ticket to First (the next town up and last stop of the cable car). This is where the walk-out bridge is located and where several hikes begin.

We did 1% research before starting our trek. All we knew was that the first stop would be a lake, and then you continue on to the “top of Europe” – Falhorn.

The signage is limited, it was VERY windy, and not the best weather for hiking. But when you’re in Switzerland, you do what’s necessary to get the best view. Or that was our goal anyway.

You’ll also need to note the lack of humans in these photos. You might see 5 total in any of these photos. But mostly NONE. That’s due to the fact that we were here at the end of the season, October. I am sure this is PACKED in the summer high season. Just worth pointing out.

We decided to continue on past the lake up to Falhorn. “UP,” is a proper usage of direction here. The portion from the lake to Falhorn (the hotel you see on the hill) was straight up the entire time, and it wasn’t a short jaunt. I don’t know if signage would have made it better or worse. Ignorance was bliss in this case I believe.

From the path up to Falhorn, the view of the lake got better and you finally start getting glimpses of the surrounding alps. But it’s at the top where you really get the panoramic views. Which is the entire point of hiking there.

We were here in early October and the hotel and restaurant at Falhorn would close in just 10 days for the season. So if by chance you’re wanting to experience the view from Falhorn, make sure to do it before October.

We grabbed a beer and hot cocoa at the top. Which was ideal timing because a storm was rolling in right as we finished.

You can see the sky change drastically in these photos because, well, the weather does that in the mountains. Instead of hiking back to First and taking the cable car down to Berghaus Bort, we just hiked all the way back to our hotel. Where we capped off the night with another beer, some cheesy-meat pie concoction, and the never ending view of the alps.

Switzerland, does not suck…

Verdict

Friend, please come here in your lifetime if you have ANY desire to do so. Like any other location, you can find and do what works for you. You could come to Switzerland, pay for a view and never leave your hotel resort. Or you could come and barely be inside your hotel. You can hang-glide, hike, bike, ski, ride cable cars, take tours, pet the cows with the MASSIVE bells hanging from their necks. Whatever you fancy.

Just know that we saw the alps from Italy, Austria and Slovenia. All are beautiful, but Switzerland truly is the best. It’s expensive, as to be expected, but so so so entirely worth the experience.

Next up, We head far west to Belgium and Amsterdam to finish out our road trip. Then it’s off to Ireland and Scotland before landing in Budapest for one month. Stay tuned. We’re almost finished!