Drive from Geneva to Murren/Wengen...

"Johannes" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 11:23:13 GMT, "Norman" wrote:

Autoroute says it should take two hours twenty minutes but it looks longer
on the map. The train takes over 4 hours so I'm not sure which to go for.
Has anyone done this drive?

If you go to Wengen is the Euro Airpot at Basel the better choice.
Easy Jet and BA fly to Basel from UK.

Johannes


Thanks Johannes,

Unfortunately I've already booked to Geneva. Looks like we'll stick to
somewhere over that way.

Norm.

Felly sgrifennodd Turan Fettahoglu turan.fe@invalid:
One more reason to come by train. You have to put your car on the train
through the Lötschbergtunnel, and the fare is quite high.

No you don't - you can drive through Bern. I'm planning to drive from
Lauterbrunnen to Geneva this winter, and intend going through Bern. I'd
not considered any alternative.

Adrian
--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk

Felly sgrifennodd Johannes :
Imho this route is rubish. The Rhone Valley is LONG from Lake Geneva
up to Goppenstein. You go better over the Freeway: Geneva - Lausanne -
Berne - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen.

Except that motorways in Switzerland aren't free.

Adrian

--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk

"Adrian D. Shaw" wrote in message
...
Felly sgrifennodd Johannes :
Imho this route is rubish. The Rhone Valley is LONG from Lake Geneva
up to Goppenstein. You go better over the Freeway: Geneva - Lausanne -
Berne - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen.

Except that motorways in Switzerland aren't free.

They are if you hire a car in Switzerland, because hire cars always come
equipped with the motorway tax sticker. In any case I wouldn't consider 40
CHF for a whole year's use of the entire motorway network something to
consider when planning a route. It is certainly a lot less than the car
hire, or the petrol for the trip, or the Lotschberg train navette.

--

A group of us are staying in Interlaken for a few days in January.

I've seen that it's near to Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald. Which is
the easiest and quickest to get to by car?

Or is the train always better?

On 22 Nov 2005 04:34:05 -0800, "Rich"
wrote:

A group of us are staying in Interlaken for a few days in January.

I've seen that it's near to Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald. Which is
the easiest and quickest to get to by car?

Grindelwald.
Wengen & Müren is ony accessable by train.

Johannes

Felly sgrifennodd Johannes :
On 22 Nov 2005 04:34:05 -0800, "Rich"
wrote:

A group of us are staying in Interlaken for a few days in January.

I've seen that it's near to Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald. Which is
the easiest and quickest to get to by car?

Grindelwald.
Wengen & Müren is ony accessable by train.

But why not go by train anyway? It's easy, and probably included on your
ski pass (from Interlaken Ost anyway).

If you go by train, Muerren would see you on the slopes quickest (get off
at Winteregg).

Adrian
--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk

On 22 Nov 2005 19:50:03 -0000, (Adrian D. Shaw) wrote:

Felly sgrifennodd Johannes :
On 22 Nov 2005 04:34:05 -0800, "Rich"
wrote:

A group of us are staying in Interlaken for a few days in January.

I've seen that it's near to Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald. Which is
the easiest and quickest to get to by car?

Grindelwald.
Wengen & Müren is ony accessable by train.

Err, no they're not, at least not from a skiers perspective. Sure, you
can't drive directly into the villages, but that's surely not what's
required here.

For Murren you can just park at Stechelberg and get straight onto the
cable car. There are four stages up to the very top at Schilthorn, but
they're all co-ordinated so there's no waiting between stages. The
second leg gets you to the village level, the third accesses the high
slopes of the Schilthorn and the last bit's only to get you to Piz
Gloria and its one black run down. Worth doing, though, if only for
the 007 connections.

For Wengen you can park in Lauterbrunnen and take the cog railway from
there - this access the slopes all the way round to Kleine Sheidegg.
OK, technically it's a train, but is more analogous to a ski lift.

If you drive to Grindelwald you're best to get the same train from the
other end - park at Grund and take the train up to Kleine Sheidegg.
Don't be tempted by the apparent proximity of the Mannlichen bubble -
it takes over half an hour to make its ascent, and then you have to
start navigating across the mountain to get to the best skiing.

But why not go by train anyway?

Because it's slow and inconvenient? There's only about one train an
hour (two at peak times) from Interlaken Ost (and that's a fair walk
or taxi ride[1] from the main part of town, IIRC) that can take you
stright onto the Wengen-Kleine Sheidegg link.

If you go by train, Muerren would see you on the slopes quickest (get off
at Winteregg).

Err, I think you're mistaken on this. There is no direct train service
connecting Winteregg with Interlaken. To get there you'd need to
change twice, once at Lauterbrunnen (and walk across the village) and
once again at Gruetschalp. Or take the train to Stechelberg and
proceed as above.

So, back to the original question - yes, I'd definitely recommend
driving up from Interlaken to ski the Wengen/Grindelwald/Muerren
areas. My normal preference would be to park at Grund, but if it's
_very_ busy (like Sunday 10 am on sunny holiday weekend) there may be
less traffic on the road to Lauterbrunnen.


[1] Notice how I didn't think about the train connection? Why
complicate things further by using yet another train?
--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

Felly sgrifennodd Ace :
Wengen & Müren is ony accessable by train.

Err, no they're not, at least not from a skiers perspective. Sure, you
can't drive directly into the villages, but that's surely not what's
required here.

Ok insert the German word "Bahn" in place of train.

For Murren you can just park at Stechelberg and get straight onto the
cable car. There are four stages up to the very top at Schilthorn, but
they're all co-ordinated so there's no waiting between stages.

The top stage excepted - that's a single car, and often has long queues. It
can't take all the passengers from the cable that arrivees at Birg in one
go.

But why not go by train anyway?

Because it's slow and inconvenient? There's only about one train an
hour (two at peak times) from Interlaken Ost (and that's a fair walk
or taxi ride[1] from the main part of town, IIRC) that can take you
stright onto the Wengen-Kleine Sheidegg link.

Yes, you're right, it is one an hour. But there is a bus from the centre
which links with the train at Wilderswil. I think that's included in the
pass if you're staying in Interlaken.

If you go by train, Muerren would see you on the slopes quickest (get off
at Winteregg).

Err, I think you're mistaken on this. There is no direct train service
connecting Winteregg with Interlaken.

No it's not direct; I didn't mean to imply it was. Sorry if a false
impression was given. But the change at Gruetschalp is the smoothest you'll
ever do (and a sight to watch!).

My normal preference would be to park at Grund, but if it's
_very_ busy (like Sunday 10 am on sunny holiday weekend) there may be
less traffic on the road to Lauterbrunnen.

But the car park in Lauterbrunnen is often full. All the people staying in
Wengen and many of those in Muerren park there. I think you're more likely
to find a place to park at Grund. If in doubt, go early!

Adrian
--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk

Thanks for the info guys - I'll pass it on to the other's I'm going
with.

Also, we're going to be there for 3 days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I guess it would be fun to visit Muerren, Wengen and Grindelwald.

Any tips on which day would be best for each? Any ideas which is best
for beginners and intermediates?