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  4 of 5, "Lovely village in spectacular setting" 01/09/2006 @ 09:47 |
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| 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: |
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| Revision #3 (Last edited: 03/10/2006 @ 18:56) |
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| Price Paid |
| 200 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Myself |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
Got a soft spot for Wengen since doing a season here a few years ago - it's a lovely little village on a plateau, looking across at the epic sheer cliffs across the Lauterbrunnen Valley, but with the Jungfrau towering up above, which makes for the most amazing view EVER.
Transfer time is 3.5 hours from Zurich or Basel, Berne is closer but only by about an hour. The Intercity trains go to Interlaken Ost in about 2 hours, then you get on a semi-mountain train for the 30 minute slight uphill to Lauterbrunnen, then you get on a hardcore mountain train for the last steep 20min climb up to Wengen. The trains always connect perfectly with a comfortable 15-20 min connection time so in total it's a 3.5 hour easy and scenic journey.
The village itself has just one picturesque main street with lovely bakeries, restaurants and shops. It's a nice place to take a stroll in the evenings after dinner. The whole place is quiet and virtually car-free as there's no way to get to Wengen except by train. The hotels and shops all have little electric cars however since these are a) more expensive than a luxury sedan! and b) not much good on hills or offroad, the taxi companies are allowed to use petrol vehicles. Even so, there are only a couple of these and the air in Wengen is fantastically healthy and fresh. Away from the main street, the village sprawls quite a way with wooden chalets in all directions but still feels small and rural and cosy.
Ski areas: There's 3, one of which is just above the village. To be honest I've always been so happy to pootle round that area and return easily to the village after, I have not explored the other 2 areas even when living there :o)
Wengen/Maennlichen area:
5 minute cable car ride up from the centre of the village, stops at the top of my favourite slope, how easy is that. The blue Maennlichen slope is huge and wide and has differing gradients in places and off-piste bits to the sides, so call us boring but we tend to spend half a day at a time just on this one slope, going down it 100 different ways! Then we start getting hungry and start making our way across the mountain to Kleine Scheidegg for their amazing apple pie "brick" and some bratwurst. This routine is not just for stomach reasons - the sun in the morning is only on the Maennlichen side, and only gets to the Scheidegg side in the afternoon :o), after which Maennlichen gets cold.
Getting across to Scheidegg from Maennlichen is quite easy, it's about 2 maybe 3 chairlifts, (there is one with padded red leather seats, love it!) and all red runs, although there is at least one narrow cat track to go along between slopes, as you make your way across. Getting back the other way to Maennlichen though requires a LONG ride on a draglift, which I don't think I or any of my party ever managed!
To get back to the village from Maennlichen you go back down in the cable car, it's a sheer cliff, you can't ski down. From Scheidegg - you can ski down but it's narrow all the way (people on all sides, argh) and flat in places. Best done on skis, but doable on a board if it's not busy and your base is fast! Otherwise just get in the train and ride down to the village that way. I don't like sticking my board in a cargo box with about a million pairs of skis and other boards on top though.
Grindelwald Area:
To get to Grindelwald you have to get to the bottom of the valley either by skiiing or taking the 40 minute gondola, then walk 10 mins to the train station Grindelwald Grund, take the train 5mins up to Grindelwald then walk uphill through the whole village to the 'First' cable car. Forgive me but I Just Can't Be ARSED!! It's lovely in Summer though.
Muerren Area:
This is easier, you go 15mins back down to Lauterbrunnen in the train and then up the other side to the slopes. There used to be a 15min funicular but due to the mountain moving (!) there is now a cable car there I think. Then you take another train across 15mins to Muerren, although I think you can get off halfway and there are lifts there. Muerren is car-free and as picturesque as Wengen so it's worth a journey of 1hr to check it out if you have never been, except again I could never be bothered as I've been there many times in Summer.
What else: there aren't many obvious powder stashes here compared to other resorts I have visited, although if you can get a guide or someone who knows the area there is probably lots to be had. I keep going back there though as it's so pretty and romantic. In January it's very uncrowded although I would never go during UK half term or any major European school holidays as it packs out and there are long lines. |
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| Strengths |
Scenery
Friendly Swiss people
Good lift system
Nice village |
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| Weaknesses |
Not a huge number of wide slopes for boarding
Mostly skiers |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
Various in Japan
St Moritz |
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