The Adventures of The Curious Traveler: 2019

So it has been way too long since I've updated this! I've had some amazing opportunities to do some serious traveling since my last post so I want to go back and write about as many of the more memorable places and experiences as I can.

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

The first of which will be from my favorite trip of 2018, Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland (pictured left). I had a business trip that was going to take me to Evian, France and so I took an opportunity to take a few days before to visit a few places in Switzerland.

Lauterbrunnen is a small beautiful village in the Swiss Alps that should definitely be on your bucket list. I remember seeing a video on Facebook of someone driving through the town during the winter and immediately knew I had to visit it.

My colleagues and I rented a car in Zurich and drove to Lauterbrunnen on our own. This was such an amazing experience as it was my first time visiting the Alps. This place is so amazing! Everything is green and the air smells amazing! We passed by numerous small villages and farms. It was so scenic!

One thing to note is be prepared to venture off the beaten path. We happened to be driving along the route designated by our GPS when we came to a road closure. The GPS had a hard time finding another route so we just started driving in a different direction until our GPS could find another way to get us there.

Panoramic View of Alps, Switzerland

I'm so glad that we had this happen to us as we ended up in a valley with amazing panoramic views
of the mountains on all sides! Off in the distance we could see a massive waterfall behind a small town. We were determined to get as close as we could for better photos and slowly made our way towards it. We found a small road that we weren't too sure if we were allowed to be on but after seeing a few cars coming from the other direction we figured we were ok.

Waterfall near Unterbach, Switzerland

Once we got close to the town we came across an active runway for a small local airport in the small town of Unterbach. The only way into the town was to drive through the airfield along a designated road that was open to public traffic. It was definitely the first and probably only time I've driven across an active runway! We drove around until we found a small parking lot and got out to take some pictures. It was such a beautiful day and the air smelled so fresh! We could hear the roar of the waterfall in the distance and spent a good 15 or 20 minutes just taking in the scenery and getting tons of photos and videos.

After this we proceeded to make our way to the legendary Lauterbrunnen. This was definitely the most beautiful and amazing drive I've ever been on in my life. For the last 20 minutes of the drive we were winding through the mountains with a raging river off to the left. The water was this amazing greenish color and the water looked delicious. We could see people white water rafting through the river and if we had more time there we would have done that as well.

Gift Shops in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

As we finally made it into Lauterbrunnen it lived up to all of the hype I built up in my mind after seeing that video on Facebook. There were small shops and lodges on both sides of the road. Straight ahead of us we could see the beautiful waterfall at the edge of town that had hooked me from the video. There were loads of tourists and as a result it was quite difficult to find parking. Once we finally found a spot we started walking towards the waterfall at the end of the town. We stopped through a few gift shops and bought a few trinkets. One bit of advice is to bring some Swiss Francs with you if you plan on buying anything. Most of the shops did not take credit card so the only option is paying with Swiss Francs or Euro. The shop I was at accepted Euro but at a 1:1 rate with the Franc so everything ended up being more expensive than it would have if I had the local currency.

View from Lauterbrunnen from base of waterfall

Path through cave leading to the waterfall

Once we made it to the base of the mountain with the waterfall we found a path that allowed us to hike up mid way to the waterfall. At the base of the pathway we found a public water fountain that had fresh water that came from the waterfall. It was icy cold and was the most delicious water I've ever had in my life! I made my way up the trail, zig-zagging my way up to the waterfall. It was a steep climb and being out of shape it took me a good 30 minutes to get up to the waterfall. A little over half way through you will come across a tunnel that leads to a path through a cave. Once you make your way up you are treated to an amazing view of the valley as the waterfall is just ahead of you. A cool mist from the waterfall was definitely a great way to cool off after the hike up. I was lucky enough to have the entire viewing area to myself as I happened to be in between 2 groups that were before and after me. It was such a serene experience and one that I will never forget.

View from waterfall in Lauterbrunnen

The sign hanging outside the only pub in town

After making my way back to the base of the path we started making our way back to the car to head off to Evian. Before leaving we stopped in a small pub to have a quick drink. It was such a charming little place with a super friendly staff. The pub serves food and drinks but we didn't have time to stay for food. If you happen to go when the weather is nice you can eat or drink at the tables outside and enjoy the view. I definitely recommend stopping here if you have time or plan to spend a few days in the village.

This small town is definitely off the beaten path and isn't super convenient to get to. That being said, it is definitely worth all of the effort it takes to get there! I highly recommend just renting a car for yourself and drive through the alps on your own. This way you can stop off as much as you like and take in the beautiful Swiss air. There is so much to see and do out there that I wish we would have had a few days just to explore through the Alps. I definitely will be making my way back there sometime in the near future! Have you been to Lauterbrunnen before? Sound off in the comments and let me know if you've been there or if you plan to go! Scroll down for more photos from our visit.