I stayed at the Bernerhof hotel in Wengen (60 SF which included breakfast). Wengen is a picturesque ski town, built on a mountain slope. It is predominately gas motor vehicle free like Zermatt, but more spread out and less dense. I preferred it to Zermatt . Wengen was almost deserted at this time of the year because the ski season had not quite started – Dec. 20 seemed to be when business would pick up. Being off season implied the rate I got on the hotel was very good.

Tuesday Dec. 12th I took the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is a nice town in the bottom of a wide flat valley, with the sides of that valley being very steep. My time was limited so I did not spend anytime in Lauterbrunnen, but for the future I would recommend staying in Lauterbrunnen instead of Wengen – it provides a very convenient jumping off place to see either Wengen or Murren. I would definitely not stay at Interlaken because it is too touristy.

From Lauterbrunnen, I went to Murren via a cog railway and then a regular train. All this was covered by the Swiss Pass. I walked around Murren a little, but it too was almost deserted, similar to Wengen. Murren was nice, but time being short (returning to Geneva that night), I did not tour the town.

I hiked from Murren back along the train route to the cog railway station. The trail was excellently maintained: all rocks removed so it was smooth, gentle downward slope, and fine crushed gravel spread in icy spots. Looked as if it has even been plowed in the few spots there was much snow. THIS WAS THE BEST HIKE I HAVE EVER HAD. The scenery was awesome – great visibility. The Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau views were much better than from Jungfraujoch. Also great views of Wengen, which was much lower.