Lauterbrunnen Valley Girl
Oh. My. God. Like, the LV was like so...totally...bitchin'. And the waterfalls? Gnarly, for sure.
The Lauterbrunnen Valley, or Valley of the Waterfalls, was well, bitchin'. To be honest, any other adjective really won't do it justice anyway. Some of the most iconic Swiss scenes derive from here and I've been anxiously awaiting sinking my teeth into this area since before I left. In brief, it did not disappoint. In fact, it blew my expectations away.
This is the place you want to come to have the wow moments. The peaceful, quiet, verdant pastures of the valley surrounded by steep, towering cliffs (the bases of some of the largest peaks in the Alps). Massive, sheer cliffs. Like the-kind-you-have-to-crane-your-neck-so-far-back-to-look-at-that-the-glasses-on-top-of-your-head-fall-off massive. But the mountains themselves are just the entree to the dessert of waterfalls that are pouring toward the ground in almost every direction. It. Is. Breathtaking.
And that's just the landscape. Quaint car-free, ski villages like Murren and Gimmelwald await exploration at the top of, what feels like, the world. I can only imagine what it looks like up there blanketed in fresh snow. It must be other-worldly.
I was definitely in a world of my own hiking down from the half-way point back to the bus stop in the town of Lauterbrunnen. By myself with rarely a passer-by. Absorbing in awe what was around me. The pounding waterfalls in the distance. The para gliders drifting through the valley overhead. The familiar, clunky sounds of the cowbells. All in the shadow of the impressive Jungfrau peak in the background. I had an inner battle going on the whole time as I had to fight myself not to stop every ten feet to take a picture. But every ten feet somehow seemed more magical than the last ten. (See pictures below although I apologize for any redundancy.)
Trummelbach Falls was a highlight on my hike down as well. Over 20,000 liters of water gush down from the glaciers at the top through the mountain every second. It's creepy, deafening, and amazing all at once. The water has carved out some pretty cool paths in the mountain which I tried to capture (see pictures below).
I'll be going back to the LV this month to explore the other side of the valley and the highest railway station in Europe. Like, totally, for sure.
Bis zum nachsten Mal (until next time),
Robin
