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GimmelwaldThis car-free village in the Bernese Oberland has offered peace, quiet, and alpine beauty to foreign visitors since the late 19th Century.
Can an obscure village in the Swiss Alps remain off the beaten path after being featured in a television travel series and popular budget guidebooks? In the case of Gimmelwald, the answer is moot--if only because this car-free village in the Bernese Oberland was a tourist attraction (albeit a minor one) long before its discovery by Rick Steves, PBS travel guide and author of Europe Through the Back Door, who devotes Day 18 to "Alps hike day, Gimmelwald" in "22 Days in Europe: Rick's Favorite Itinerary." Consider this description from The Tourist's Handbook to Switzerland, published in 1884:
The prices have gone up since Robert Allbut wrote this passage more than a century ago, but Gimmelwald hasn't changed all that much. It's still economical by Swiss standards, and the setting remains as picturesque as it was when Frau von Almen catered to an earlier generation of English-speaking tourists. So what's to do in this village of 130 people? Not much, unless you're a hiker or skier. The former can explore miles (or kilometers, if they prefer) of marked paths, and the latter can take advantage of the Schilthorn aerial cablecar, which stops at Gimmelwald on its journey from Stechelberg (in the Lauterbrunnen Valley) to the 65 km (40 miles) of ski runs and 10 lifts above the popular ski resort of Mürren. If the weather turns sour, Bern--the Swiss capital--is an easy day trip from Gimmelwald. Getting to GimmelwaldAdrian von Greyertz gives directions to Gimmelwald by train and cablecar at his Web site, "Gimmelwald, Switzerland" (see link below). If you're driving, you can park your car at the 1,500-vehicle lot in Stechelberg and use the cablecar for the 5-minute ascent to Gimmelwald. Cablecars depart every 30 minutes from 6:25 a.m. to 11:25 p.m year-round. Related Web linksGimmelwald, Switzerland
Gimmelwald: The Swiss Alps in Your Lap Wikipedia:
Gimmelwald About the author: Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation. After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post. For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials. Photo © iStockphoto/Wekwek. |
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