Swiss Mountain Frolick and Fare

On a recent trip to Grindelwald, Switzerland, we traveled up up up in every direction. Postal buses, gondolas, hikes... all paths led to heart skipping natural beauty and cozy, melty Swiss food.

Traditional swiss Rösti, grated potatoes cooked with speck and topped a farm egg and Alpkäse, alp cheese. Alpkäse is a type of swiss mountain cheese that is strictly produced using milk from cows grazing high up on the alpine grasses and flowers.

A peek into a Swiss aging and curing cheese hut, up in the mountains surrounding Grindelwald

Traditional Käseschnitte: melted Raclette cheese on bread served with potatoes, pickles and pickled onions. Raclette cheese is produced with a strict ratio of water and dairy fat that makes it a perfect melting cheese. Hearty, simple and incredible.

One year old alpkäse in the aging hut for hikers to sample during an annual Alpkäse festival

Our son Anton in a fascination daze as we slowly ride up on a gondola to some mountain trail heads

We made it! Bachalpsee, a small magical mountain lake in Grindelwald located at an elevation of 2,265 meters. I highly recommend hiking up to this lake when planning your Berner Oberland adventure.

One of the regional gondola rides brings you to Pfingstegg. Here you can ride the rodelbahn en route to a network of rad hiking trails that traverse across and down, back to the valley and into town. One of our favorites.

just down the path and around the bend we met a hunter who turned out to be a chill swiss man who told us all about the local wild game

At the end of a long hike we feasted on housemade sausage and spätzle, little swiss eggy dumplings that are boiled then sautéed. Some of the best local housemade sausages and other regional dishes are at the Hotel Wetterhorn.

Darkness slowly falls inside the forest... time to wander back to the chalet and slumber to the sound of distant cow bells

GRÜEZI GRINDELWALD!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! BONNE ANNÉE!

Winter is here and all I do is daydream of a very magical place. One of the most breathtaking places during this time of year is the Swiss village of Grindelwald. Tucked underneath the Eiger mountain and hugged by an entire family of surrounding protecting peaks... Grindelwald, my father's hometown, is straight out of a crystal little snowglobe dream. 

A vintage poster advertising the First ski region of Grindelwald, pronounced feerst

The vast ski region surrounding Grindelwald and Interlaken. For more in depth details go here

You can take a gondola or train in any and all directions, then ski down and over to various old chalet restaurants that serve house made bratwurst, rösti (a traditional swiss potato hash with various additions like local swiss cheese, bacon, or an egg), spätzle (delicious and buttery small swiss dumplings sometimes cooked with cheese and carmelized onions), homemade soups, raclette (melted raclette cheese over potatoes served with small pickles), fondue, salads with my favorite dressing, locally brewed beer and many other comforting Swiss specialties.

The view from our family apartment's terrace looking directly at the Eiger mountain

Various local cheeses at our favorite cheese shop in town, Chäshittli Molkerei Gertsch

Hand carved wooden animals at a near by farmer's market

Here is the same view with a glimpse into what Grindelwald looks like in early Fall... also a favorite time of year there:

The view of the Wetterhorn mountain looking east from the master bedroom of our flat

If you want to visit Grindelwald, we occasionally rent out our apartment. If you want to know more just contact us here.

“The Rubi Family apartment is a modern homage to one of Grindelwald’s famous mountain guides, Adolf Rubi.  The apartment is filled with trophies, artwork, hand crafted Swiss antiques, historical artifacts and actual built-in furniture from the original Chalet Alpenblume, which sat on the same site.  The current generation of Rubis has lovingly preserved the family collection and designed the apartment to embody the spirit of the old chalet.  The wrap around balcony offers a majestic 270 degree vista of the entire range of mountains from the Wetterhorn in the east to Mannlichen in the west.  When you stay at the Rubi apartment, Grindelwald’s history surrounds you on every wall, and the magnificent mountains are outside every window.”- Adrian