Day 7 Murren – Schilthorn – Murren – Mannlichen - Murren

April 10, 2005. We were up early today to enjoy another Swiss breakfast and a major outing. By ten in the morning we were ready to head out. It was still foggy, but that did not deter us from the 10 minute walk through the quaint village to the Schilthorn cable car. Our destination was the Piz Gloria, the site of the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. (I’m a James Bond fan in a big way and have every one of the films in my collection.)

From Murren we took two cable cars to the summit of the Schilthorn which is 9,650 feet high. On the top of the Schilthorn is the famous Piz Gloria restaurant. This is the most dramatically located restaurant in Europe, with an incredibly inhospitable setting and an amazing futuristic architectural structure. As we approached the summit of the Schilthorn we broke through the clouds and into the sunlight. Off to the left were the peaks of the Eiger, Monch and the Jungfrau. The top floor of the Piz Gloria is a revolving restaurant and we drank a hot chocolate, as we enjoyed the magnificent view of the mountain peaks.

Then it was downstairs to the gift shop. I wanted a James Bond sweatshirt but they only had mediums left. It’s the end of the season. So I settled on a James Bond watch and a set of glasses for our new home. Nancy got some gifts for the grandkids.

The return trip on the cable car was both interesting and scary. About half way down the car suddenly stopped and we sat in the fog for twenty minutes. Everyone in the car, including the driver, only spoke German, so we had no idea what the problem was. However, everyone had a smile on their faces so we didn’t think it was serious. After about twenty minutes the car started up again and we moved slowly down to the mid station. From there we had no trouble getting down to our hotel.

We left our purchases in our room and started the second part of our day of discovery. From Murren we took the train and the cable train back down to Lauterbrunnen. Here we changed trains and headed off by cog wheel train to the village of Wengen. The Monch, Jungfrau, and Eiger mountains tower over this village which is located above the Lauterbrunnen Valley at an elevation of 4,160 feet. Wengen also has no automobile traffic so you wander freely up and down the streets of the village.

Just after noon the visibility got much better and the sun appeared over the peaks. Now we could really enjoy the fantastic scenery of rocks, snow covered peaks and little Swiss homes nestled up the mountain slopes.

Wengen has no street names but the hotels, restaurants, and other establishments are well marked by signs. We enjoyed lunch in a very small Swiss Café above the train station. After lunch it was time for Nancy to check out the quaint shops and she came away smiling after I bought her a Swiss music box and a special cheese knife.

In the middle of the afternoon we boarded a cable car which took us high above Wengen to the top of Mannlichen. This is the jumping off spot for many ski runs. There is also another cable car which takes you down the other side of Mannlichen to the village of Grindelwald. That’s where we will be going to tomorrow.

After a great afternoon we got back on the cog wheel railway and the cable train and returned to the Anfi Palace in Murren. What a great day in the Swiss Alps. It’s too bad I don’t have a video of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” to watch snuggled under our duvets tonight after dinner. 

Stay tuned for Day 8 in my “Around the World in 30 Days” saga.

Alan Salmon
eClub One