 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Just after some tips about Grindelwald if anyone can share. We're going as a couple, but the OH may choose not to ski, or do very little. If she's not skiing, then we will want to meet up for lunch / coffee (when she's not hogging the spa that is!!)
1. Lift passes. Depending on the offer I may go for 2 ski passes. Will that allow her to travel as a pedestrian up/down the pods without paying extra? I ask because last year we went to Zermatt from Cervinia and on the way back she had to pay on the last link of the matterhorn glacier express back to Cervinia. So I'm wondering if that's a Swiss thing? I'm looking at the new Eiger express as being a possible one to charge extra [for anything].
2. I'm reading the piste map like I would in France where a pod is an up/down for pedestrians. Is that a safe assumption in the Jungfrau area? I'm not banking on using any chairs as the pod seem to cover a decent area.
3. I'd like to go up to the Schilthorn from Grindelwald. We've done that from Wengen in summer & walked a bunch of the way, so I'm assuming it's ok to ski and pedestrian for us? I'm fine with the black runs down from there. It's timing I'm more bothered about (mainly pedestrian timing tbh).
4. Hotels seem to be either at the GW terminal end of town for the Eiger/Wengen, or at the First end. Is there a particular reason I should aim for one or the other? I see a shuttle bus, but the timetable doesn't seem that frequent & walking in boots is just not my thing..... If anyone knows of hotels with great spa's, then that's a big motivator for the OH.
Jezz - bullet points and everything - I'm on a roll!
Thanks in advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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So yes, she'll be able to take the train from the village itself down to Grindelwald Grund and connect onto the Kleine Sheidegg railway that runs all the way up to the Eiger Glacier station or round to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen, with plenty of really nice places at the train stops where you can arrange to meet up for lunch.
Another option is to take the train down to Grindelwald Terminal and then use the Mannlichen bubble, which I'm guessing is what you mean by pods, although that looks like it's been replaced by a much bigger cable car since the last time I was there. ISTR a decent restaurant at the top and possibly one at the halfway station as well.
As for the Schilthorn, well yes you can get all the way up to the top as a pedestrian, should give a good couple of hours each way for the journey, although the SBB website shows it as 1:40. Yes, with typical Swiss efficiency the railway website includes buses and cable-cars as well so is the best way to work out her timings.
I'd tend to stop at the lower end of the village closer to the railway station for her convenience and yours. It's about ten minutes walk between the First lift and the station but I would imagine you're more likely to be skiing from the Kleine Sheidegg most of the time, so convenience for the station is probably more important. The shuttle buses are perfectlly adequate as well.
The only Spa Hotel I can recommend is the Sunstar, stayed there a couple of time with SCGB groups. Perfectly nice, good food, nice pool and spa area. But there are others I've not stayed in, take your pick.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Grindelwald is compact and user friendly @slider3, the buses are reliable and frequent.
Sunstar Hotel is opposite the access to First gondola station, not sure about spa facilities.
Heading back towards town the relatively new Bergwelt hotel is worth looking at and I know the spa is top level, pricey.
Possibly the most convenient hotel is the Derby right on Grindelwald station, no knowledge of spa.
The main gondola lifts (Eiger express & Mannlichen) are both pedestrian lifts, in fact Eiger express was built to move "pedestrians" up to Jungfraujoch, skiers are of secondary importance.
A trip to Mürren is perfectly easy using the main train down to Zweilutschinen then switching to the up train for Lauterbrunnen, travel time 38 mins from memory.
It is only fair to point out that Schilthorn is not available this winter. The final stages of work on the new cable car system requires demolition of the old lift, undertaken through this ski season.
One other hotel comes to mind, The Glacier, smart good spa.....pricey!!!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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To clarify, travel time of 38 mins is Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen station. An additional half hour is then required up to Mürren.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@slider3,
Make sure she gets the half price train pass otherwise it can get expensive. There are loads of places you can get to by train from Grindelwald so if she doesn't want to ski there will still be plenty she can still do.
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@slider3, by "pod" do you mean gondola? If so, a word of caution about what you've said about France in terms of pedestrians being able to ride them up and down. That isn't always the case, so always worth checking the pedestrian map. Most resorts seem to have a map like the one I've linked to above.
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Skiers used to be covered by their ski pass on the Bernese Oberland Bahn/mountain railways as far as Interlaken Ost - it was many years ago but I think the OH discovered that the hiking pass covered similar. Things may well have changed but I am sure an expert will be along soon.
There was also an option for a day upgrade, at a substantially reduced price to the undiscounted fare to the Jungfraujoch on top of the skiing and hiking pass.
The Jungfrau website has always been dreadful at explaining what your pass covers.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| countryman wrote: |
Skiers used to be covered by their ski pass on the Bernese Oberland Bahn/mountain railways as far as Interlaken Ost - it was many years ago but I think the OH discovered that the hiking pass covered similar. Things may well have changed but I am sure an expert will be along soon.
There was also an option for a day upgrade, at a substantially reduced price to the undiscounted fare to the Jungfraujoch on top of the skiing and hiking pass.
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The ski pass and hiking pass both still cover rail travel as far as Interlaken Ost. They also include a substantial discount on the (normally exorbitant) fare up to the Jungfraujoch, the passes already cover you as far as the Eigergletscher station so you just pay the extra to go from there up to the Jungfraujoch.
In regards to @musher's comment about getting a half price train pass for your non skiing wife if she gets the hiking pass that covers all the local rail trips as far as Interlaken Ost, so the half price train pass would only be worthwhile if she decides to make several trips further afield e.g from Interlaken Ost to Meiringen or I believe the half price card also applies to boat trips on lake Brienz ( which still operate in winter).
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Thanks for the replies - that really helps. Seems reasonable to assume then that the ski pass will also cover her while walking on the gondola's because they are on the walking map too. I may mail them and check. Aside: I love that they have a chair lift up from the two "beer" symbols  . Good to know about the discount on the last part of the Eiger though - we would both fancy a quick look up there this time around.
Schilthorn closed - urgh! Going to have to think about that one. When we were in Wengen for summer the clouds rolled in all week so there was no view - it's a mountain after all... But one of the attractions of going back to ski was to roll the weather dice again for that view......and it's closed - doh! I can live without one black run of course, but the sense of irony is strong.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| countryman wrote: |
Skiers used to be covered by their ski pass on the Bernese Oberland Bahn/mountain railways as far as Interlaken Ost - it was many years ago but I think the OH discovered that the hiking pass covered similar. Things may well have changed but I am sure an expert will be along soon.
There was also an option for a day upgrade, at a substantially reduced price to the undiscounted fare to the Jungfraujoch on top of the skiing and hiking pass.
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The ski pass and hiking pass both still cover rail travel as far as Interlaken Ost. They also include a substantial discount on the (normally exorbitant) fare up to the Jungfraujoch, the passes already cover you as far as the Eigergletscher station so you just pay the extra to go from there up to the Jungfraujoch.
In regards to @musher's comment about getting a half price train pass for your non skiing wife if she gets the hiking pass that covers all the local rail trips as far as Interlaken Ost, so the half price train pass would only be worthwhile if she decides to make several trips further afield e.g from Interlaken Ost to Meiringen or I believe the half price card also applies to boat trips on lake Brienz ( which still operate in winter). |
The rail card does work on some boats and mountain railways but not all of them. I wouldn't think there is much of interest in Meiringen in the winter (but very nice in Summer).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| musher wrote: |
@slider3,
Make sure she gets the half price train pass otherwise it can get expensive. There are loads of places you can get to by train from Grindelwald so if she doesn't want to ski there will still be plenty she can still do. |
The half-tax card costs chf190, which is a lot of train rides before you start to break even.
Yes, much of the country's transport system is included, including most of the ferries around various lakes across Switzerland. There are othher discount schemes as well, like rent-a-bike at some places. https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/half-fare-travelcard.html
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