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We bought lunch ingredients at the supermarket in the center, making it there just in time as they were just closing at 12 noon. Most stores and shops close from 12 noon to 2 pm, so it's a good idea to plan ahead if you need to do shopping. We took the funicular up to Allmendhubel, intending to walk to Grütschalp and there take the train back to Mürren. The hike wasn't quite as easy as we thought, as there was a bit more up and down than we planned for. I'm sure most experienced hikers would laugh at this and consider it just a minor stroll, but as we were not used to hiking and were just wearing flimsy sneakers, we took the advice of a kind Swiss family hiking along the way, who said that the rest of the way was quite rocky, and turned off the path onto a branch that led back to either Mürren or Winteregg. Remembering that there was yet another playground in Winteregg, with a restaurant AND a train station back to Mürren, this seemed to be a good decision. Now the fun and excitement started! Unbeknownest to us the path led right through a herd of enormous cows blocking the only path down! We were not expecting to be quite so close to nature, but we parents put on a confident front and led the kids through the herd, fully expecting to be charged any minute by an irate bull or at least an angry Swiss farmer! We made it through and found ourselves on the wrong side of a cattle gate. We climbed over and were sure we were totally lost, but a little further down was one of the ubiquitous yellow direction markers leading us to Winteregg. Then out of the forest came a procession of pigs! Well, it was our most memorable experience and I'm sure the kids won't forget it soon. We made it to Winteregg, played and ate a snack, then trained back to Mürren. Dinner that night at the Eiger Stubli. They have a well-priced kid's menu and even though my 12 year old son balked at ordering by name one "Goofy" (fish sticks) he enjoyed it as did my daughter her "Mickey" (spaghetti) for around 10 SF. This restaurant lets you order cheese fondue for 1 (most others require 2 people ordering it) for 19 SF. Very good service and food. While taking a stroll after dinner we noticed that Mürren has a cheese shop with all sorts of cheese T-shirts, fanny packs, knives and cutters, fondue and raclette pots, etc etc! Since we are big "Wallace and Gromit" fans, we felt Mürren would be a great place for a Cheese Holiday. The next morning we regrettfully left Mürren for Luzerne. The Tourist Office in Mürren printed off a schedule of direct trains for us and by leaving Mürren at 9, made it to Luzerne by 1 pm. The ride went through Brienz and the lake scenery was gorgeous. We toured Luzerne in the afternoon, the highlight being the Hall of Mirrors at the Glacial Gardens. If we had more time we would have liked to go to the Transportation Museam, but energy was lacking, and just feeding the swans by the Kapelle bridge was plenty for us. I do think that if I had to do it again, we would stay overnight in Zürich rather than Luzern. Perhaps for experienced old-hands like you , you can easily get to your flight at Zürich airport in time, but for us, with kids and checked luggage to retrieve in the airport, the timing was too tight. We even left Luzern on the 7:10 train to allow plenty of time, but it took us until 8:40 to get to the airport, then we had trouble finding exactly where and which left luggage place we had to go to, plus needing to go up and down via elevators rather than escalators because we needed luggage carts slowed us down. It turned out our left luggage was in Terminal B, and there was just 1 man slowly working there. After finally getting it, we had to run to Terminal A, wait in long lines to check in, walk through passport control, then dash to the plane. I had envisioned using up our remaining Swiss francs in leisurely Duty-free shopping. Instead, we grabbed some chocolates as gifts and zipped off to our 10:20 plane. Still, we did make it okay, and though a bit tense, did not mar our great stay in Switzerland. Would we go back to Mürren ? Absolutely ! We loved the quiet and calm beauty and hope one day to do more touring there. We felt our stay was long enough to get a feel for the area and show our children a bit of Switzerland and a glimpse of another culture. Copyright © 1997 Glenda Singer Something you didn't find? Search us! Questions about planning a similar
trip? Comments for the author? Would you like to add an article about your travel experiences in Europe? It's easy to do. Our Favorites Trip Tips and Tools Published July 20, 1997 Traveling
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