Grindelwald Switzerland was the second leg of our European trip. Below I’m breaking down what we did and where we stayed in our three days there!
After our two day stay in Bellagio, Italy on Lake Como, we took a train to the beautiful Grindelwald, Switzerland. If you missed my Bellagio post, I suggest you start there. 🙂
As I mentioned in my Lake Como post, Ted and I took a decently affordable 10 day anniversary trip to three European countries, and I’m breaking down each leg in separate, detailed blog posts.
BTW, we were determined to stay under $5,500 all-in for flights, hotels, food, drink and excursions, and I’m happy to report that we did!
Getting to Grindelwald Switzerland
We arrived to Grindelwald via train in the early evening hours. It was our first time booking multiple trains from country to country, and we learned a lot.
From the Como San Giovanni Train Station in como, Italy, we asked a ticketing assistant for some help planning our route. The Trenord (Italy) trains don’t offer routes straight to Grindelwald, Switzerland, so we had to piece it all together at a couple different stations.
We got as far as Lugano, Switzerland before having to depart and purchase our next tickets. Ted took the lead on train and bus ticketing, which I really appreciated. I planned the whole trip otherwise, and he is much better at navigating than I am. 🙂
At the Lugano, Switzerland station, we found another ticket assistant, and confirmed we were choosing the correct lines for the Grindelwald destination. After confirmation we purchased our tickets to the Interlaken Ost, Switzerland station for 172 Swiss Franc (or $175).
From the Interlaken Ost, Switzerland station, we purchased our tickets to Grindelwald for 22 Swiss francs ($22), and grabbed some waters and pizza too.
The train views en route to Grindelwald Switzerland were absolutely breathtaking
I wouldn’t normally share lots of photos fro a train with light glares and my phone in the reflections, but it as so gorgeous, I just have to share some.
Arrival in Grindelwald Switzerland
Six long hours later, we finally made it to our destination! When we departed the train in Grindelwald and headed down the main street toward our hotel, we were speechless. The beauty of the Eiger Mountain, architecture, flowers everywhere was just amazing!
I was also a huge fan of the perfectly cool temperatures which averaged about 60 degrees each afternoon (mid September).
The walk to the hotel only took a few minutes, and the view was so stunning, that I kind of wished the walk took longer. If it weren’t for my heavy backpack, I would have asked to keep walking, ha.
Our swanky hotel paid for by our Chase Sapphire credit card reward points
We climbed a large staircase up to our hotel, Bergwelt Grindelwald, which was by far the swankiest hotel we booked for this trip.
Thankfully I used our Chase Sapphire reward points to pay for it, which greatly helped with the cost of our trip. I highly recommend the Chase Sapphire card, which has covered the cost of our larger trips since we got the card in 2019. We use it for almost every purchase possible and just make sure to pay it off in full each month.
If you don’t have credit card rewards program, you can book through this link.
Below are some more photos of the hotel to give you a better idea. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and the amenities were even better. And the style of the hotel is totally my vibe – I want to borrow some ideas for our home.
This hotel also offered a free breakfast buffet each morning from 7:30 – 11 am, which saved us a lot of money. We loaded up at breakfast, had a smaller lunch, and a normal dinner. I ate a homemade croissant every single morning of the whole trip, and I really miss them, ha!
Our first evening in Grindelwald Switzerland
After our long travel day, we took a walk through town to find some semi-casual dining. We stumbled upon the restaurant at the Hirschen Grindelwald Hotel, which was just ok, but worked for our needs. To be honest we weren’t very impressed with the standard Swiss food overall, and it’s much pricier than other countries. At least they don’t do tipping, which helped us save. 🙂
After dinner we opted for a chill night at Avacado, a bar across the street from the hotel.
We ended the evening at the hotel bar, which was very nice and run by Dennis, who makes the most amazing drinks and has such great attention to detail.
Day two in Grindelwald Switzerland
We woke up ready to take on the day, so we went down to breakfast, and then headed out on our excursion to Jungfraujoch Top of Europe. Ted is a HUGE mountain guy, and this was the only goal for him on this leg of the trip.
We went into this trip knowing that this would be a pricey excursion for us, but we decided to use the anniversary and birthday gift money we received to make ourselves feel better. 🙂
We walked about a mile or so to the terminal to purchase our tickets, and it might have taken us awhile since I had to stop and take so many photos, ha!
About Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe Adventure
Jungfraujoch is a unique year-round Swiss Alps mountain destination and UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s also referred to as Top of Europe, which is the highest railway station in Europe (3,454 m).
45 minutes on the scenic Eiger Express gondola and cogwheel train takes you to to the top, where you can explore the Ice Palace, Sphinx Observatory, Multimedia exhibits, restaurants, shops, and more.
We made it to the terminal and purchased our tickets, which were just shy of $400 total for both of us – very pricey, but worth it in our opinion.
With our tickets in hand, we boarded the tram car to the top, which took about 20 minutes and was absolutely beautiful.
From there we explored a bit and got some photos before getting on the cogwheel train to the very top!
Once at the top, we started to wander around exploring our options. We started at the Sphinx Observatory (built in 1937), which offers views of surrounding mountains and valleys including Jungfrau, Mönch, and Eiger peaks. These incredible views even stretch to Germany and Italy.
Jungfraujoch Ice Palace
After the Sphinx Observatory, we hit the Ice Palace, which mountain guides created in the 1930s with picks and saws in the middle of the Jungfraufirn.
Today, artists create the ice with amazing detail in nooks and crannies. The floors and walls are mirror-smooth, but even at minus three Celsius, they are melting. :/
It was so fun to slide around and discover the Palace with Ted – photos don’t do it justice, but here they are anyway.
Next we explored the multimedia exhibits and learned about the time and energy that went into building the Jungfrau railway. Sadly, 30 men were killed in the course of the project and 90 were injured.
A lazy afternoon in Grindelwald Switzerland
After some more exploring, we took a train down the mountain and set out on foot. We stumbled upon Eiger Lodge Grill and Bar, a converted tiny house with amazing rooftop views.
Of course we decided to stop in for a beer and split a burger and fries. The service, music, and atmosphere were great, but the mountain views were even better!
By the way, Ted and I split almost every meal while in Europe. It saved us a lot of money and was always the perfect portion for us. It also allowed for us to stop in more places to try their food.
After one drink we walked up some beautiful windy trails toward town. We popped into a CoOp grocery store to buy some snacks and drinks to keep in our room.
After a couple hours of downtime we put on our matching robes and slippers (as requested) and headed to the spa, where we had a 3:30 pm appointment. We started in the giant hot tub, and then tried all of the the different sauna options.
The spa was absolutely beautiful and peaceful, and I could have easily spent a couple more hours there.
We could have also booked a massage or treatment as well, but we were rolling on a budget, and I get facials and massages monthly back home at Hand and Stone. 🙂
After the spa, we headed back to the room to relax for a bit, then we headed to our anniversary dinner. We originally wanted to eat at the hotel restaurant, BG’s Grill, but forgot to make a reservation so we walked down to Barry’s restaurant.
At Barry’s we split a cheese fondue and a delicious steak meal. It was a bit pricey at 155 Swiss francs, but it was our anniversary dinner after all.
After dinner we headed back for a night cap at the hotel bar, where bar manager, Dennis waited on us again – he’s great.
Our final day in Grindelwald Switzerland
We opted to sleep in on our final day, but we made sure to make it to breakfast before closing, ha.
After breakfast, we walked around on the other side of town to discover the area even more, and of course I took a ton more photos.
Here are some highlights:
Then we stumbled upon one of the most beautiful grave yards I’ve ever seen, and I had to go in to look around. I’m not usually into graveyards or anything, but it was just so stunning, I had to go in!
We ended up walking four miles in a quiet country-like area, and it was so peaceful and gorgeous. There were cats and some cows, and sheep, who all wore giant bells around their necks. And people paraglide all day above the mountains – such a cool sight!
After our walk, we headed to Espresso Bar for a drink before we headed back to the hotel to pack for our final leg to Chamonix, France.
We also planned out our next train ticket plans from Grindelwald station > Interlaken Ost, Switzerland Station > Martigny, France Station > and finally the Chamonix, France Station. The train tickets totaled to $180 for both of us.
More on that in my next post covering our 3 nights in Chamonix, France – head over there at this link!