On day two of our Switzerland trip, we headed west to Lauterbrunnen, a stunning village in an Alpine valley. From there, we first took the cog railroad to Wengen- a village accessible only by rail or foot. As we stepped off the train, we got a surprise and witnessed the annual Alpaufzug, where they drive cows from the village up the mountains to their summer grazing pastures.
We'd come back to Wengen, but for now, our goal was the cable car from there to Männlichen, the mountain between Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, offering excellent views of both valleys and the three most famous mountains in the area (the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau). The way up was breathtaking.
Once up, we hiked the short distance to Männlichen's peak and enjoyed sights to the east (Grindelwald, where you can see where we hiked down from First), west (Lauterbrunnen, plus the Alpine villages of Mürren and Wengen), south (the three famous mountains), and north (Interlaken area). My camera got a lot of work on the mild ascent.
After an hour or two, it was back down to Wengen, which was itself quite a nice town. We strolled its main street and enjoyed a fondue lunch from this Alpine perch.
Afterwards, we took the train back down to Lauterbrunnen.
And finally, Lauterbrunnen itself. The mountains ('cliffs' seem more appropriate) created beautiful waterfalls. Normally, you can walk behind one, though it was so early in the season that that path was closed. Boo. Still, we enjoyed the sights and watching parachuters land nearby.
Another enjoyable day in the books.
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