KLEIN SCHEIDEGG 2024-12-10
A weekend trip to Interlaken and its surrounding areas in December 2024, part 2. Read all posts here.
One thing I always look out for at a hotel is whether it includes breakfast or not. I'm fine if breakfast is excluded if there are breakfast spots nearby that I could try out. If this isn't the case, I make sure they have a continental breakfast, because it ensures that there will be hot items, like scrambled eggs.*
*I learned that the Swiss (and probably other Europeans) are totally fine eating cold cuts and toast for breakfast. I'm Asian. I need hot stuff!
A stay at The Hirschen Hotel Restaurant does include a hot breakfast buffet. It doesn't have to be fancy and they can have the same items out everyday—I don't care! As long as I have scrambled eggs, sausages, and some sort of bready carb (if not pancakes, my go-to bread is Butterzopf), I'm good.
I thought this napkin was so cute so I took one home to frame it! Now I need to remember where I put it...
My perfect breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sausages, rösti, 2 slices of cucumbers and 2 tomatoes. And of course, 2 slices of zopf with butter and jam, paired with coffee.
To Middle-earth!
The night before, I looked at surrounding areas to visit since there wasn't much else to see and do in Interlaken. I came upon Klein Scheidegg, which according to a review I can no longer find this article, was where J.R.R. Tolkien was inspired to write The Hobbit, because he had stayed in an area with a beautiful lake surrounded by lush green fields and huge snowy mountains.
It was this image that piqued my interest. (Credit: Getty)
So, off we went! This, dear readers, is where I learned a grave lesson:
When traveling, researching and taking the seasons into consideration really helps.
The journey upwards
The Lauterbrunnen region is famous for its stunning views. We took a bus from the hotel to the station that would take us up into the mountains. The passengers were primarily tourists, so we knew it was a hot spot and perhaps, we had made the right decision.
Wilderswil Station.
I don't know what the "Alpengarten" is referring to, but look at this cute red train! I love old trains!
The tables on the train have a handy map to show where this train will take you.
As we climbed higher, the landscape changed from brown to white. At this point, most of the villages where the train stopped were filled with chalets and fancy hotels.
I think this village is Wengen, but don't quote me on that.
The train continued onwards, past the Alpine villages. The more snow there was, the fewer the stops.
So much snow! Gee, I wonder what one would do at the top of a snowy mountain?
Ice on the mountain tops! Am I looking at a glacier?
Klein Scheidegg
I wasn't paying attention to the number of passengers getting off at the stops. By the time we arrived, there were only a small number of tourists departing the train and most weren't dressed to go skiing. So imagine my surprise when we arrived to see that the area was quite sparse. There was the train station, and then two or three buildings to the left and right of it. The rest was just snow.
Arriving at Klein Scheidegg.
The station.
I was vlogging the entire time, in hopes of finding the lake that allegedly inspired Tolkien.
"A rare bird!" I had exclaimed. Turns out this is a common blackbird. I just never see them in the city.
I feel like I've seen this building in many photographs of the Alps.
Oh, what's that? A sign indicating the beginnings of a ski slope?
It was at this point that I realized, I might have made a wee mistake.
Ski season
I'll link my vlog at the end of this series, but this is the part where I start to breath a bit rapidly as we trudged towards where I believed the lake would be, as skiers and snowboarders whizzed by us. In fact, there wasn't even a visible footpath down to where this alleged lake was.
Slightly defeated but still hopeful, I turned my attention towards the restaurant nearby. I figured, since we came all the way up here, might as well eat some nice Swiss chalet food, right? It had been a few hours since we had breakfast, and there was nothing else we could really do.†
† Skiing didn't even cross our minds because we would have to rent all the gear including the clothes, and what would we do with our clothes and shoes? Come all the way back up here to get it? Daniel is the most un-Swiss person as he doesn't do winter sports or particularly engage with nature. (Ya know, typical Swiss things.)
Restaurant Eigernordwand is a typical mountain chalet restaurant you'd see at a ski resort. The place was packed with skiers and snowboarders looking for a comforting meal in between their sessions. It was a cafeteria-style restaurant, where you'd pick out your meal from various buffet stands and then pay at the register. The dishes you'd expect are hearty and carb-heavy, perfect for the usual active and sporty folk who patronize this area.
My go-to Swiss comfort dish: Gehacktes mit Hörnli, complete with applesauce on the side.
Daniel's favorite Swiss comfort dish is Älplermagronen.
We managed to find a vacant spot in between some skiers. I can't remember the price anymore, but it was definitely cheaper than the restaurant in Interlaken (I mean, it's home-style food). I felt a little self-conscious about being overdressed and thus felt out of place, but at least the food was affordable and tasty. However, this thought started to cement the idea that I may not find what I seek.
Making the most of it
After lunch, we went to the balcony of the restaurant to see if I could spot the lake from a higher vantage point. I couldn't. Nor could I see a way down the mountain on foot, sans snow equipment. So, I finally gave up.
When this happens, there's nothing else you can do but enjoy the view.
View from the restaurant's terrace.
This is the town of Klein Scheidegg. The train station is on the right, in the back. There's a souvenir and snow sports shop in front of the hotel on the left.
Daniel wondering why we're here as he freezes his ass off.
This is probably how tourists get trapped. I didn't want to leave feeling disappointed, so I decided to check out a souvenir shop. I've only gone to these places twice in Lucerne, to buy my sister a Swiss Army Knife with her name engraved. (She lost both of them.‡) But I was so bored that I figured, let's finally see what these shops have to offer.
‡ CORRECTION: My sister wanted to clear her name and say that she didn't lose either of them! One of was confiscated at customs (she put it in her carry-on lol) and the other she still has! I had it engraved with her roller derby name: Skid Marx.
I ended up with CHF 40 worth of souvenirs: A rock that had been dyed pink, a pin cushion with pretty embroidery on it, and an old French book about minerals. Whoopsies.
The Jungfraubahn pulling into the station.
This wasn't our train, btw.
We had seen all we could of Klein Scheidegg, as non-winter-sporting tourists. It was only after 14:00, so I decided that we'd make a stop in Lauterbrunnen on our way back to Interlaken, since it was en route. Stay tuned for the next episode.