Soul Quenching Day in Mürren

Mürren is a traditional mountain village. The village is at an elevation of 1,638 meters (5,374 ft) and it can't be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spot in Switzerland. It is popular in summer for hiking and in the winter for skiing. The village features a view of the three towering mountains: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Mürren has a year-round population of 450, but has 2,000 hotel beds.

Mürren and Winteregg are two of my favorite places to visit. It is "soul quenching" when you sit on a bench and look out at all the snow covered mountains.

The Jungfraujoch, "maiden saddle", is a saddle connecting the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of 3,463 meters (11,362 ft) above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx.

Joch,"yoke", is a term for "ridge between two higher peaks".

The Sphinx Observatory, one of the highest astronomical observatories in the world, provides an additional viewing platform at a height of 3,572 meters (11,719 ft), the second-highest in Switzerland. It can be reached by an elevator from the Jungfraujoch. The observatory houses one of the Global Atmosphere Watch's atmospheric research stations. The Jungfraujoch radio relay station, which is not accessible to the public, is installed west of the Jungfraujoch, on the Jungfrau ridge. It is Europe's highest radio relay station.

The Mürren area was a principal filming location for the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service, released in 1969, in which fictional spy James Bond (George Lazenby) made his escape from the headquarters of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) and fled four of Blofeld's henchmen in a car driven by his girlfriend Tracy (Diana Rigg).

Mürren has its roots as a farming village. With the beginning of tourism – both winter and summer – it has grown in size and wealth. Winter sports particularly have been an important part of Mürren's history since the first British winter tourists arrived in 1911. During the First World War wounded prisoners of war stayed here pending repatriation and played a role in developing winter sports. In 1924, the Kandahar Ski Club was set up by Sir Arnold Lunn and eight other British skiers. The club takes its name from the Roberts of Kandahar Challenge Cup, first run in (1911). This, the world's senior challenge cup for downhill ski-racing, was presented by Lord Roberts, who won the Battle of Kandahar in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

The International Inferno Race, established in 1928, is comprised of cross-country, giant slalom, and downhill races. It is the longest (15.8 km, 9.8 mi) and largest amateur ski race in the world with a limit of 1800 participants. It is held in January. The fastest entrants will complete the 15.8 km from the Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen in only15 minutes.

We took the train from the West to the Ost station in Interlaken. From the Ost station we take the BOB train to Lauterbrunnen. You have to be careful when boarding the train as the train splits in Zweilütschinen and the front half of the train goes to Lauterbrunnen and the back goes to Grindelwald.

In Lauterbrunnen, you can take the cableway to Grütschalp.

Then, change to the narrow gauge train to "Mürren BLM", the train station in the north of the village. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to walk from one end of the village to the other.

Construction at the Mürren train station and the Schilthorn station.

Pictures taken by the train station.

The mountains are the Eiger and the Mönch.

You change trains here to go up to the Jungfraujoch.

Eiger and Mönch

Notice the basket to gather cut grass; the stool for milking, and the rakes.

We definitely won't be kidnapped.

View up toward the Schilthorn

Air out the duvets in the cold air. The cheese house is next to the main house.

Edelweiss

We had hoped the restaurant was open today as they serve delicious fondue with herbs. Their rest days are Tuesday and Wednesday. Will try next year.

Instead, we have found a new restaurant for the last few times. Breathtaking view.

We started sitting outside but the wind picked up and it was chilly.

They have 9 tables inside.

Yummy!!!!

The waitress was frazzled as she was alone. There were 9 tables inside and I think more than 9 outside. She appreciated it when we told her we weren't in a hurry. She told us she worked from 11 AM until midnight last night and she was the only waitress again today. They can't find help either. Michael gave her a tip and she started crying which made me cry.

Some of the flowers the cows were eating in the field.

I could hear the tinkling of the cow's bell long before I saw it grazing on the hillside.

It's a long walk up the steep hill to get to the location where you get your running start.

This is Michael's favorite bench. Usually, he reads while I hike further up the hill but today he actually fell asleep.

They put in a new fence. It's quite a hairpin turn, too.