Heyyyy everyone!
Lauterbrunnen. What to add. Beautiful and cheesy at the same time.
The small town belonging to the Interlaken region is located in the middle of a photogenic valley. It reminds of any other Swiss or Austrian subalpine town. With one difference. Dozens of waterfalls run down the rocks surrounding the valley. No wonder Lauterbrunnen is in the bucket list of so many people.
Where to get a good picture?
There is a train passing through the city, which will take you to the left side of the hill, where cars are not allowed. We walked to the left from the bridge over the river (which is a short walk from the large parking area called KirchenPartplatz). There is a nice view of the entire valley, including the largest waterfall and church. The street is called Heim-Egg.
Another great view of the church (pictures with wooden fence), which was unfortunately under reconstruction, is from here.
If you have more time, I would definitely take a cable car ride. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that and I kinda regret that because I bet there’s a spectacular view from up there. We experienced something different though. A huge thunder hit us when we were as far from the car as possible. Hiding in a barn didn’t really help us, because we got soaked in fifteen seconds of running towards that barn. Well at least all the people disappeared so we had that place just for ourselves.
Another great spot for taking pictures is right at the KirchenParkplatz. You can admire & capture the waterfall with the iconic wooden house just next to the public toilets.
What’s the downside of Lauterbrunnen?
Two things suck about this place. First thing are the prices. Cafes, restaurants and hotels owners know how many people show up in Lauterbrunnen every year, and therefore they adjust the prices to that. I had a cappuccino after a week without a single cup of coffee. I paid about 10 EUR for it. Now imagine how much the hotels cost.
The second issue is the parking. There are only two or three large car parks on the edge of the town and when they’re full, there’s not much you can do. Parking is prohibited in the downtown area unless you are a guest of one of the hotels. If you’re lucky to find a spot in the big parking area, it costs you about 10 Swiss Francs. Then you have to walk to the center.
To conclude this, you should definitely stop in Lauterbrunnen during your roadtrip around Switzerland, reserve at least half a day for it and don’t forget to charge your camera batteries! 🙂
P.S.: I hope you saw my other photospot tip for Switzerland, I was writing about in my last article.
E.
