ROUTE 110. INTERLAKEN TO LAUTERBRUNNEN AND GRIN DELWALD (BY THE WENGERN ALP). HE distance from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen is 8 miles, from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald 13 miles. Diligence twice daily to Lauterbrunnen, 2.75 francs. One horse carriage to Lauterbrunnen and back 9 francs, 2 horses 17 francs, gratuity to driver optional. Diligence to Grindelwald twice daily in three hours, fare 5 francs, carriages 16 and 30 francs. To Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald and back, one horse carriage, 20 francs, 2 horses, 35 francs. Leaving Interlaken we proceed through a pleasant country abounding in orchards and meadows. At about two miles from the town, on the right, are seen the ruins of the Castle of Unspannen, the reputed residence of Manfred. It was the fortress of Berthold, the founder of Berne. On a rock called the Bose Stein, on the right of the road, is an inscription recording the murder, perpetrated on the spot, of his own brother, by one of the barons of Rothenfluh. Near Zweilutschinen (5 miles) the White and Black Lutschine unite, the course of the Black Lutschine being toward Grindelwald. (A view of the Wetterhorn is obtained here.) The road follows the White Lutschine to Lauterbrunnen. The valley of Lauterbrunnen proper may be described in general terms as a narrow and deep ravine, but a ravine of a gentle character; rich in trees and foliage, with a bare, perpendicular cliff of enormous height on the west, and a wooded, but steep and lofty mountain, on the east. The rapid Lütschine, justifying by the colour of its glacier water its name of white, sweeps along it, for the most part close to its eastern barrier, so as to leave on the other side only a small ledge of flatter ground which is richly cultivated. LAUTERBRUNNEN (Hotels: Steinbock, Staubbach). This village lies in the valley about 2,400 ft. above the sea, and so hemmed in between precipices that the sun is almost entirely excluded during the winter months. The place is remarkable for its numerous cascades, from whence it derives its name, a literal translation being "nothing but fountains.” About half a mile from the Inn is the Staubbach ("Dust-stream"), one of the loftiest falls in Europe, measuring between 800 and 900 ft. in height. The torrent is in shape like the tail of a white horse streaming in the wind over the rock. "It is not noon-the sunbow's rays still arch The torrent with the many hues of heaven, And roll the sheeted silver's waving column O'er the crags headlong perpendicular, And fling its lines of foaming light along. And to and fro, like the pale courser's The giant steed to be bestrode by As told in the Apocalypse."-Man- MURREN (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST"), a little village now much resorted to for its splendid views of the Oberland, may be reached (by bridle path) in two hours and a half from Lauterbrunnen. GRAND HOTEL VICTORIA. Situated in the Centre of Interlaken and the Principal Promenade, with Splendid View of the Jungfrau. 300 Bedrooms furnished with every comfort. 20 Private Sitting Rooms with Balconies, and a magnificent Dining Room, ventilated after the newest system, lighted by Electric light, and calculated to hold 300 persons. Spacious new Coffee Room, General and Ladies' Drawing Rooms; Reading and Billiard Rooms. Bar, etc. Lift, Baths, and Shower Baths. CONCERTS IN THE HOTEL. Fine Shady Gardens; Lawn Tennis Grounds ; Children's Play-Ground. Wines and Cuisine of the Choicest Description. From the 15th September to the Middle of July, reduced Prices and Parties taken as Boarders. E. RUCHTI, PROPRIETOR. Horse to Murren, 12 francs. The path leaves the valley a little to the south of the Steinbock Hotel. Soon after leaving, we cross the stream which forms the Fall of the Staubbach. One hour after this, on leaving the wood, we have a magnificent view of a whole amphitheatre of mountains, including the Jungfrau, Eiger, Mönch, and Silberhorn, and others, with numerous glaciers. The prospect is most imposing. Murren is soon reached, where the Wetterhorn and Furke become visible. From Allmandhubel, a height above the village, the view is even more extensive. Excursion in about two hours to the Falls of the Schmadribach, a fine cascade in the midst of magnificent scenery. The ascent of the Schilthorn, 9,745 ft., is made from Murren for its superb view of the Jungfrau. Two routes lead from the village of Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald. By the first, or carriageroad, the distance is about 13 miles. To reach it the traveller must retrace his steps toward Interlaken as far as to the bridge over the Zweilutschinen, and then, crossing the river, keep the northern bank of the Black Lutschine for about seven miles. A route preferable for the healthy and robust, in fine weather, is the mule-track which leads from Lauterbrunnen over the Wengern-Alp, or Lesser Scheideck. If there be a series of views worth visiting the Oberland to behold, they are to be found on this elevated route, which is one of the grandest of accessible passes. The way may be about 14 measured miles, but it occupies seven hours' walking, and may be travelled with perfect safety. The traveller, starting from the Staubbach, crosses the torrent and enters upon a wooded hill almost as steep as a cliff. The path is one of the most zig-zagged in all the Oberland. After ascending for about an hour, the traveller reaches a green upland slope, diversified with timber, and laid out in pasturages, with chalets. The holdings are so small, and the buildings so numerous, that the whole slope seems to form one wide-spread village. Here the national wrestling match takes place on the first Sunday of August in each year. The retrospective view from this elevation shows the valley of Lauterbrunnen, and the Staubbach seems to be like a snowy wreath on its black rocky background. Beyond this plateau the path leads to the right of a lofty, perpendicular cliffy range, which forms the eastern barrier of the upper valley of Lauterbrunnen, and courses the base of the Wengern Alp in a southern direction. About a mile and a half below the top of the pass, on the slope of the Wengern Alp, and on the edge of the cliff which separates the Trumeleten-thal from the Scheideck, is the inn called Hotel de la Jungfrau. The accommodations are of a superior character, but the view of the Jungfrau constitutes the staple attraction of the house, which stands directly opposite to the Queen of the Oberland. The height of the Jungfrau is 13,700 feet above the sea level; thus this is the fourth among Swiss, and the eighth among European mountains. Every day in summer the traveller stopping at the Wengern Alp may see and hear the ice avalanches as they rush, with the noise of thunder, down the side of the Jungfrau, and fall into the depths of the Trumeletenthal at its base. They are detached by the heat of the sun from 12 to 2 o'clock, and on some days great numbers of them are seen. About an hour's walking brings the traveller to the top of the Lesser Sheideck Pass (Hotel: Bellevue). From this point the path descends, and a beautiful valley is seen spreading out to a vast extent, lying along the base of the great mountain chain of the Bernese Alps. The mountains which enclose it present here a most imposing aspect. GRINDELWALD (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST.") In its valley immense rocks and colossal mountains rise, at the foot of which extend the two celebrated glaciers. The upper glacier, situated between the Wetterhorn and the Mettenberg, is one and a half league in length, full of rifts and crevices. It is reached by a fatiguing journey of 31⁄2 miles from the village. The lower glacier, situated between the Mettenberg and the Eigher, is the more interesting. It is a sea of ice, three leagues in length, terribly torn and cleft, and scattered with pyramids of a grotesque form. "Scarcely three hundred years ago an open pass several leagues in length led over the chain into the Valais, from which people came to the church of Grindelwald to celebrate baptisms and weddings. To-day all is covered with a wild and impassable sea of ice." In the seventeenth century the glacier increased in an extraordinary manner, and was no longer to be contained by its valley. Bursting its barriers, it carried away the dwellings which lay in its course, and destroyed the church of St Petronilla, the bell of which, cast in 1044, is yet in the church of Grindelwald. Tradition relates that at one time the Mettenberg and Eigher formed but one mass, behind which was a lake of considerable size. THE FAULHORN.-Grindelwald HIS route is about 18 miles in length. Time, 7 hours; Guide (not needed), 12 francs; horse, 25 francs. Three miles up the valley, a little to the right of the path, is the Upper Glacier of Grindelwald. From Grindelwald to the top of the Scheideck is a third of the journey to Meyringen. On the right, at every point of the way, the Wetterhorn ("Storm-peak") rises in a bare wall, apparently close to the path; from which, however, its base is distant a quarter of an hour's walk. The ground is by no means difficult. From the height of the Great Scheideck the view back upon Grindelwald is very fine. From the Great Scheideck, down into the valley of Hasli, at Meyringen, the trip is one of exceeding magnificence. Before |