> SlowTrav > Stories > Pauline's Pages > 2002, Switzerland, Italy

Grindelwald Notes

Grindelwald Mountain Ride Pass

Grindelwald, house with flowers. 09/02

We paid 165CHF each for a 5 consecutive day pass for all mountain rides from Grindelwald (includes First gondola, Mannlichen gondola and down to Wengen, trains to Interlaken or to Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen, rides to Murren, mountain buses). It is a good pass for hiking - gives you access to all the mountain rides you would use. It is expensive - twice the price of the Engelberg pass with one less day.

This is the first trip where we have purchased these mountain ride passes. We saved money with the passes and they free you up from thinking about the costs each day. It lets us change our plans mid-day. You don't have to think if you need a one-way or return ticket (one-way is more than half a round trip) - you just hop on the ride and go.

Mountain Ride Costs

From Summer 2002 tourist information.

Mountain Ride	One Way	Return
Bussalp (bus)	16.40CHF - 10 euro	32CHF - 21 euro
First (gondola)	29CHF - 19 euro	46CHF - 30 euro
Grosse Scheidegg (bus)	17.20CHF - 11 euro	32CHF - 21 euro
Kleine Scheidegg (train)	28CHF - 18 euro	46CHF - 30 euro
Mannlichen (gondola)	29CHF - 19 euro	46CHF - 30 euro
Pfingstegg (cablecar)	9.90CHF - 7 euro	15CHF - 10 euro
Jungfraujoch (train)	88CHF - 57 euro	145CHF - 94 euro

Was the cost of the pass worth it?

These are the rides we did with our pass and what they would have cost:

Sunday	Bad weather, didn't use pass
Monday	First: 46CHF return
Tuesday	Mannlichen: 29CHF one way (may have cost less - we only went half way) Kleine Scheidegg: 28CHF one way
Wednesday	Mannlichen: 46CHF return Kleine Scheidegg: 28CHF one way Wengen to Mannlichen: 29CHF one way (I am guessing at this price)
Thursday	First: 29CHF one way Grosse Scheidegg: 17.20CHF one way Pfingstegg cablecar: 9.90CHF one way
TOTAL	262.10CHF

Conclusion: We paid 165CHF for the pass and took rides that would have cost 262CHF and we only used the pass for 4 of the 5 days. I think it is well worth the cost.

Grindelwald Vacation Rental Review

Chalet Berghof
www.grindelwald-apartments.ch

The apartment we booked in Grindelwald is owned by the people we rented from in 1997, the last time we were in Grindelwald. On that trip we stayed in a ground level apartment in their house. But now they have built a new chalet with six apartments on three levels - so we booked on of them.

The apartment is lovely. We have a 600 square foot apartment on the top floor. High, sloped wooden ceilings like our apartment in Engelberg. There is one large room for living room (with satellite TV and phone), dining room and kitchen. The furniture is all very pretty and comfortable. The floor is carpeted with a low pile carpet, tile in the kitchen area and bathroom.

The kitchen is well equipped with stove, oven, good sized fridge, dishwasher, coffee maker, toaster, lots of dishes, enough pots and pans. Granite counter tops. As is usual in Switzerland, there were no supplies other than a bit of dish detergent and some coffee filters.

There is a separate small bedroom with a comfortable bed - the usual two singles joined together with separate duvets. The bedroom has a nice sized window and you wake up to views of the Eiger and the other mountains.

The bathroom is beautiful - all tile floors and walls, granite countertop, big bathtub and shower. Lots of good light and good hot water.

There is a shared washer and dryer (pay) in the basement. Also a sauna, but you must call the owner to book it. There is a private parking lot.

When we arrived, we pressed a buzzer on their sign and in a second were talking to the owner's daughter on her cell phone. She was there in 10 minutes to let us into the apartment. Heidi, the mother, also runs a shoe shop in town (Heidi's Shoes). Payment in cash or travelers checks (in CHF). We have been here a couple of days and still have not paid - the owner is supposed to drop by. You do not have to stay Saturday to Saturday.

Grindelwald Restaurant Reviews

Interlaken: Spice India, Postgasse 6, Interlaken, tel:033-821-0091
Recommended. Excellent Indian restaurant just off the main shopping area. Lunch for two 75CHF. A welcome change from Swiss mountain restaurant lunches.

Interlaken: Schuh, Hoheweg 56
www.gamag.com
Recommended. Lovely large cafe with good pastries. Since 1885. Outdoor seating on the edge of a large park.

Grindelwald: Restaurant Schmitte, in Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof
Recommended, expensive. This restaurant is in a lovely 4 star hotel. We ate there in 1997, but did not eat there on our most recent visit in 2002. We did look at the menu. They have several vegetarian selections, but no fondue and no fish.

Grindelwald: Restaurant Brandegg, At Brandegg Train Station
Recommended. Very nice mountain restaurant with large outdoor terrace. They are known for their Apfelkuchlein dessert - apple dumplings. Coffee, hot chocolate and 2 Apfelkuchlein with vanilla sauce 20.40CHF. Looked like they had good lunch dishes, but we only stopped for an afternoon snack.

Grindelwald: Hotel Restaurant Wetterhorn, Bus from Grosse Scheidegg or Grindelwald or drive from Grindelwald.
Recommended. Lovely restaurant at the end of the road from Grindelwald. Large outdoor terrace. Good food. Lunch for two (soups, beers, rosti, melted cheese sandwich, coffees) 64CHF.

Grindelwald: M. Ringgenberg-Ruoff Tea Room, on the main street
Recommended. Lovely tea room with nice indoor seating and big windows looking out to the street. Also a few tables on the sidewalk. Go into the attached bakery to pick out your pastry and carry it back into the tea room. Good coffee - but all coffee in Switzerland is good. 2 kuchen 11CHF, 2 coffee 3.80CHF.

Wengen: Restaurant Hotel Bernerhof
Not recommended. We looked for a restaurant where I could have fondue and Steve could have fish, but did not find one which offered both, so we went to a place where we had eaten before because they had some vegetarian items. We could not remember if we liked it or not before - but this time we definitely didn't like it. The restaurant felt very closed in with heavy cooking smells. The food was okay, but we were not comfortable there.