Serenity and Silence Among the Swiss Mountains

If Switzerland is Europe’s outdoor version of the Louvre, the Bernese Oberland is the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

You’ll find some of the world’s most spectacular sculptures here: the prestigious peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. The Jungfraujoch, an 11,300-foot-high rail station, is carved inside a mountain.

If you like a room with a view, try the restaurant atop the 9,748-foot Schilthorn, or have lunch on the terrace at Kleine Scheidegg or Mannlichen. The views from there belong on post cards.

And the Alpine garden of the Schynige Platte, the lakes of Thun and Brienz and the resorts of Grindelwald, Wengen and Gstaad are pretty enough to paint. This compact, scenic wonderland is best seen by train, gondola, steamer or on foot. Cars can’t reach some of the most memorable places.

On a seven-week, five-nation journey by train my wife and I scheduled eight days in the Bernese Oberland halfway through our trip. The idea was to rest.

First, we returned to Grindelwald, which lies at about 3,500 feet at the foot of the Eiger; you reach it in 45 minutes by private railroad, the Berner Oberland Bahn (B.O.B.) from Interlaken.

Views of the 13,022-foot Eiger, the 12,139-foot Wetterhorn or the 13,376-foot Schreckhorn can be seen from some rooms in virtually all the hotels in Grindelwald, but no artist could have painted a better picture of those massive slabs of snow-covered rock than was framed in the window of our room in the Belvedere Hotel.

From our bed we looked up at the infamous Eiger while listening to a symphony of cowbells. Clouds seemed to float by our window.

Memories of the noise, crowds and traffic of Paris, Brussels and Strasbourg were quickly erased as we walked the paths high above the village, meeting only an occasional native or cow.

Relishing the solitude of the village and hotel, we left them only twice, riding the B.O.B. (which, be warned, does not accept Eurailpasses) up to Klein Scheidegg and on to the Jungfraujoch, and taking a 30-minute, 3 3/4-mile gondola ride up to Mannlichen, a shorter ride down into Wengen and the B.O.B. back to Grindelwald via Klein Scheidegg.

In Grindelwald one should have a room with a view. The Belvedere, which has undergone an extensive renovation, offers spectacular ones. It is a four-star, family-run hotel just a five-minute walk from the railway station, but away from the center of town and tourists.

Superb Breakfast

Rates for the Belvedere’s double rooms, including private bath, vary from about $98 to $127 U.S., except during peak seasons.

For a half-pension supplement of 25 francs (about $4) per person, you get a superb buffet breakfast and a five-course dinner. From July 16 to Sept. 2 the room rates are $118 to $154.

Looking for an attractive new resort to try for a few days before we headed for Italy, we settled in at Spiez, which we reached by train in less than 90 minutes from Grindelwald via Interlaken.

A village of about 7,000 on the southern shore of Lake Thun, Spiez dates back to at least the 10th Century. Like Grindelwald, it looks good on a post card and is popular with artists and poets.

From the railway station one looks down upon a small village lying in a natural amphitheater surrounded by the lake, orchards, vineyards and wooded hills. From town it is only a short walk downhill to the 30-square-mile, 700-foot deep lake.

Steamers run frequently to Thun, Interlaken, Beatenbucht, Merligen and Oberhofen. Some of the villages seem to cling to the sides of the mountains. Others, at higher elevations, such as Beatenberg, can be reached by funicular.

Spiez is at the gate of the Bernese Oberland. Its site on the railroad between Bern and Interlaken makes it a splendid base from which to see this part of Switzerland.

Bern is only an hour away by train, the Interlaken Ost station only 25 minutes away, and the rail center of Brig an hour and 25 minutes distant.

From Spiez via those cities, a traveler can easily make day trips to Lucerne, Gstaad, Montreux, Zermatt, Grindelwald, the Jungfrau region and even Stresa, Italy. You can even go all the way to Venice without changing trains.

One popular day trip takes you from Spiez, via Interlaken Ost, to Wengen, up to Kleine Scheidegg at the foot of the Eiger, inside the Eiger up to the Jungfraujoch, down to Grindelwald and back to Spiez via Interlaken.

One rainy morning the manager of our hotel, the Des Alpes-Alpenhof, suggested a trip to Bern. “You won’t get wet,” he said. He was right. Bern has four miles of ancient arcades, Europe’s largest sheltered shopping area. The medieval city beside the Aare is a paradise for pedestrians.

On another rainy morning the hotel manager brought a brochure to our breakfast table and said, “Why don’t you visit Solothurn today. It is a lovely little village.” So back to Bern we went to catch one of the 30 trains a day that stop in Solothurn.

Switzerland’s best preserved baroque town was a delight. It lies in the valley of the Aare at the foot of the Jura Mountains on the French border about 45 minutes by train north of Bern.

Made for Strolling

Leaving the railway station tunnel, we walked only a few hundred yards and, after crossing the river, entered the narrow streets of the traffic-free old town. The village, which seems to be all gates, towers and gables, is made for strolling. Everything in town worth seeing is reachable on foot.

The Romans built a fort there in AD 370 and traces of the wall are still visible. Every Wednesday and Saturday farmers set up shop in the town center to sell flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Oddly, the village has 11 churches and chapels, 11 ornamental fountains and 11 towers, and the Cathedral of St. Ours has 11 altars, 11 bells and 11 steps leading to the entrance. The reason: In 1481 Solothurn became the 11th canton to join the Swiss Federation.

The Fine Art Museum showcases “The Solothurn Madonna” by Hans Holbein, and another museum, the Old Arsenal, has the second-largest collection of weapons in Europe. There are, for example, 400 suits of armor.

Steamers make trips up the Aare from Solothurn to Biel, leaving from the foot of the Crooked Tower, a village landmark.

But on a nice day there was no need to leave Spiez. We sat on the terrace outside our room and looked down at the lake and up at the snowy peaks of the Jungfrau region.

If one must exercise, there are lovely walks to take to the vineyards and woods or over to Faulensee, a pretty health resort on the lake that can also be reached by steamer. Other walks to Burg Woods and Burg Hill (2,263 feet) offer splendid views of the mountains and lake.

A short walk downhill from the Des Alpes is the Schloss Spiez, a centuries-old medieval fortress castle and bell tower standing on a rocky spur overlooking the lake.

Thun, a city of 25,000 only 15 minutes away by train (longer by steamer), also has a castle, a picturesque town hall, a traffic-free old town and a colorful market and is worth a visit.

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Spiez is not just for loafing. Trout, it is said, abound in the lake and the nearby rivers of Kander and Simme. A license is required. Mountain climbing is available through a branch of the Swiss Alpine Club. For other athletes there are rowing, sailing, tennis, swimming and ski touring. Information in the tourist office at the railway station.

The Des Alpes-Alpenhof is a small three-star hotel a short walk from the station and the lake. Unless you are carrying heavy luggage, there is no need to take a taxi. Meals in its restaurant, as they are in virtually all Swiss hotels, are above average and attract a large number of locals, especially on a sunny day when they can dine on the terrace.

A double room with private bath at the Des Alpes costs from $60 to $80 U.S. a night during the off-season, and about $75 to $100 in the summer.