Wengen and Murren, Switzerland

Last fall we returned to Switzerland, since our prior visit was such a delight. The only downside had been that some of the hiking trails were still closed due to snow – so this trip was timed for optimal hiking!

We stayed in Wengen again, this time at the Hotel Baren in their standalone cottage called the Kleine Bar (“Little Bear”). Initially I thought the receptionist told us we were staying in the “Little Bed”, which had both of us picturing some child-size room that I’d booked by mistake! 

It was a comfortable and pleasant base – like most Wengen hotels, it has casual ski vibes with carpeted stairs and basic furniture, and the Baren stands out for their delicious restaurant. Breakfast featured bread and jam, cold meat and cheese, yogurt, and a hot water bath to boil your own eggs, complete with hourglasses of different duration depending on whether you wanted soft, medium, or hardboiled. There was also an old fashioned orange juice squeezing machine, which I especially enjoyed although it was a sticky undertaking!

The lovely breakfast staff also served at dinner, where my favorite dishes included a salad with lightly smoked (and sqeaky) fresh farm cheese and local beef entrecote with Alpine herb chimichurri. And I was happy to have more Gantenbein wine – both the pinot noir and the Chardonnay, which we tried for the first time and discovered to be even more delicious than the pinot! It’s rare to find Gantenbein even in Switzerland, but Hotel Baren has a connection to source a case or so every year.

Day 1: Mannlichen and the Panorama trail

It had rained overnight (cozy!) but was dry in the morning, with some fog and clouds.  We took the gondola up to Mannlichen, where it had been too snowy to do anything on our last visit.  This time, everything was open so we started with a ~1 mile roundtrip up a rather steep incline to a viewpoint.  As “flatlanders” (as D would say) we found this a bit of a challenge considering the altitude, and coming down was almost harder given the slippery gravel. But the views from above the clouds were superb.

The main event was the Panorama Trail, which leads across a winding ridge from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, about 2 hours of pleasant and scenic walking.  While the Monch, Eiger, and Jungfrau mountains were mostly behind clouds, we did get a few glimpses and the rest of the views were equally interesting.  We mostly had the trail to ourselves, passing or being passed by other walkers now and then.

We had a light Alpine lunch on the deck at the Chaletbar (flammkuchen, aka tarte flambee, aka crackery thin flatbread topped with some cream, salami, and finely shaved local cheese) accompanied by Swiss white wine for me and a lager for Dan. 

Then we continued our walk another 30 minutes down the mountain to the next train station, Wengeralp.  I was excited to see some Swiss cows up close!  (I didn’t mention the entrecote.)  From there, just 10 minutes train back to our home base.

Day 2: Murren and the Northface trail

This was the best weather day of our trip, perfect for a longer hike.  After breakfast, we headed down on the train to Lauterbrunnen, then back up the other side of the valley on a cable car to Grutschalp, then hopped on the train to Murren.  We stopped for a coffee at the Skyline Shop & Bar, where 2 years ago we met Veronika, who gave me her recipe for raspberry tart.  We got to see her again and catch up, which was fun!

Then, with the sun a bit more overhead, we departed for the Northface hike from Murren.

This is more or less a loop, which can be done either clockwise from the Murren cable car station (mostly uphill) or counterclockwise from Allmendhubel (mostly downhill).  Most sites recommend the downhil path, but we did the uphill variant, which allowed us to walk towards the views instead of having them at our back. 

We climbed a fair amount, and the trail was tricky in places, but we were rewarded with stunning views both up close (cows in the meadows, little alpine huts) and of the mountains beyond.  After about 90 minutes, we started descending and stopped for lunch at a little guesthouse with a somewhat crotchety owner bequeathed of a dry humor (when I didn’t finish my soup, he said, “that’s a 39% tariff!”, and when I tried to order their house special “alpine tea” he poo-poohed, “no no, that’s wine with liquor, it’s not for you”).  D had a schnitzel sandwich that he reported as being “one of the best sandwiches of 2025”, especially after our exertion.

The only slight downside of a day around Murren is the time involved returning to Wengen (which I still prefer as a base). From the end of our hike we took the funicular down to Murren, then the train, then the cablecar back down to the valley, then another train up to the other side of the valley.  If you mistime any of those transfers or if the line is too long, it’s an extra 30 minutes wait for the next scheduled departure. Fortunately, though there were some crowds, we were always able to squeeze aboard!

Day 3: Gimmelwald, Kleine Scheidegg, and the Eiger trail

The weather was all over, a mix of fog, clouds, and sun, and so were we!  D wanted to go paragliding again (I passed as it made me rather nauseous last time) so we returned to Murren in the morning.  We took a walk down to Gimmelwald and took the cable car back up, then had some espressos (hi again, Veronika!).  D set off for his adventure while I returned to Wengen and continued on the train to the end of the line at Kleine Scheidegg, then transferred to a cogwheel train to go to Eiger Gletscher, even higher up.

I had intended to take a fairly easy trail down, but couldn’t find it and ended up on a narrow path atop a steep, rocky ridge.  A bit scary as I almost lost my footing a few times, but the clouds parted enough for me to see the Eiger peak above me and I was excited to spot three ibexes, with huge curved horns, just below me. 

Thankfully I also found a path that cut back across to the main trail and descended to the Fallbodensee reservoir, which was mirror-like on this still afternoon.

From there, it was an easy stroll back down to Kleine Scheidegg where I met D, who had come up after his paragliding.  We left Wengen the next day very satisfied with our adventures and looking forward to a return for more hiking, more alpine cheese, and more Gantenbein!