Winter Wonderland Tour through Europe - Day 7

February 12, 2017 - Tanya's Winter Wonderland Tour - Day 7 - Wengen, Switzerland

2/12/2017

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 61 DAYS

17 Interesting Facts About Wengen, Switzerland

HOWDY MY PEEPS! And, Happy Sunday!

Well, it appears that Mother Nature is not done with her snow dump on Long Island!

Starting this morning, the sleet and icy rain began to fall and I can only anticipate a real slippery mess if the temperatures do not increase.

Well, Tanya is just getting around, isn't she!! Today we are all about Wengen, Switzerland!

And although I've been to Geneva, I've never been to any of the other cities or villages around this European country.

So, let's take a look, shall we!

WENGEN

Wengen is a holiday resort lies on a wind-protected sun terrace at the foot of the Jungfrau, 400 meters above the Lauterbrunnen valley at an altitude of 1274 meters

It is located 45 minutes from Berne, less than 2hrs from Zurich, 2hrs 30 from Geneva. and easily accessible by train.

17 Interesting Facts
About Wengen

1. Wengen is a traffic-free village.

2. It is a charming and traditional resort, with Victorian built hotels and a calm, unhurried atmosphere.

3. Wengen has some of the most dramatic views in the Alps.

4. The Jungfrau lift pass covers Wengen, Grindelwald, and Murren with a total of 213 km of pistes up to 2970 meters.

5. The village has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells to 5,000 during summer and to 10,000 in the winter.

(credit: wengen.com)

6. Wengen was first mentioned in official documents 748 years ago in 1268, and the origin of the name is unknown.

7. Primarily an alpine farming community, the village began to be visited by tourists in the early 19th century.

8. Guesthouses and hotels began to be built in the mid-19th century, with the opening of the Launerhaus in 1859, with accommodation for 30 guests, and in 1880 the Pension Wengen was available to 100 guests.

9. The beginning of the ski industry and the true opening of the area for tourism, began in the 1890's with the building and opening of the Wengernalpbahn, which made the village more accessible to tourists who previously had to walk up the steep slopes to the alpine village.

10. The Wengernalp railway is a 19.091 kilometres long rack railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald via Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg, making it the world's longest continuous rack and pinion railway.

Wengernalpbahn (credit: commons.wikipedia.org)

11. The first ski races were held in the early 1920s with the British downhill championship held in 1921 and then in 1922, a ski race was held between Oxford and Cambridge.

12. From August 1944 to the end of World War II, Wengen served as a sort of open-air internment camp for allied prisoners, mostly US bomber crews.

13. It is one of very few car-free resort villages in Europe, although there are a few service vehicles, local farm vehicles, electric vehicles for taxiing to and from the railway station.

Wengen railway station (credit: en.wiki.org)

14. Wengen hosts the internationally well-known Lauberhorn ski races, and it is on the route of the Jungfrau Marathon.

15.The classic ski races have been held in Wengen since 1930, and traditionally consist of a downhill, a slalom, and a combined event.

16.In addition to being one of the technically most challenging downhill races, the Lauberhorn is the longest race in the FIS World Cup circuit and arguably the most scenic.

17. A special cultural feature of Wengen is the so-called "Pfeifende Lurch" (German for "whistling amphibian"). It is a legendary creature from myths and tales, that only exists in Wengen.

(credit: www.renytravel.com)

Well there you have the facts - but, the real question is: Why Visit Wengen for a ski Vacation?

* It is a charming, traffic-free village with friendly locals.

* Some of the most spectacular scenery in the Alps.

* Lots of long, gentle runs, ideal for leisurely intermediates

* There are nursery slopes in heart of village.

* Good resort for families and groups that include non-skiers.

* It’s easy to get around on mountain railways.

* It is central, as the ridge where the slopes of Wengen meet those of Grindelwald is reached either by train or by cable car.

* The views across the valley are stunning and they get even better higher up, when the famous trio of peaks comes fully into view – the Mönch (Monk) in the centre protecting the Jungfrau (Maiden) on the right from the Eiger (Ogre) on the left.

ME AND KELSEY ON LINE TO GET LOTS OF GOODIES AT THE MOVIES TO SEE "SING"

Yesterday, me and Kelsey took our butts to the movies to see Sing.

We've both wanted to see it since it was released in theaters and finally had to the time to do so.

I have to tell you - it was one of the best animated movies I've seen! I absolutely loved it - the storyline, the animation, the music. I laughed, danced in my seat and cried!

(Credit: Bellows Times)

Yes! My followers know that I ALWAYS cry at the G-rated movies. In fact, I will never again watch Toy Story 3 (it literally scarred me lol).

Anyhoo, I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to see it again.

Today, I made a big pot of vegetable soup and I'm curled up watching movies and relaxing.

Till tomorrow,

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: WENGEN, SWITZERLAND

What a wonderous time!

Greetings from another favorite of ours - the beautiful little hilltop Wengen with views that are just to die for!

Like I said yesterday, returning here to Wengen is like a dream. More like a dream come true and I will forever consider myself lucky and blessed to have these lasting heavenly experiences.

Waking up and not hearing traffic or city notices, but instead hearing the sweet sound of birds chirping and looking out at the view that surrounds me, seeing smoke stacks puff out of nearby chimneys and realizing that there are a number of Glaciers directly within my line of sight really confirms my adoration of this "somewhat" hidden gem. I really love it!

It's not even a week has gone by since we've been gone from home and yet we've already seen and done so much - we've kept a great pace and haven't felt rushed whatsoever and just so you know we've all been having a brilliant time - it's not just me!

As usual it's difficult to keep track of the days, especially when each day feels like 2...
Ya know, when you think about what you did earlier in the day and when you remember, you feel like it was another day altogether!! Yup that's my life.

Now since it is the daily scoop let me take you back to yesterday...

Our day started in Val d'Isere, France where we took a lovely little stroll through the village amongst British and French vacationers (who have made Val d'Isere an annual favorite).

We made our daily trip to a local bakery for a freshly baked baguette, finding the old town consisting of stone and wooden clad chalets and of course at the heart of the old town is Saint Bernard de Menthon Church, built in 1664 and named after the patron saint of mountain dwellers.

Saint Bernard de Menthon Church (c) travelincousins.com

Then prior to heading out we even found a lovely little Patinoire (rink) to play around on, be silly and enjoy with much a laughter for a bit.

Then the time had come to bid adieu to Val d'Isere and make our way back to Switzerland and to Wengen.

And what an absolutely glorious day it was to do a road trip. You know how much I enjoy road trips and this one was to boot - a road trip in Europe does it get any better?!

The huge reservoir at the bottom of the valley here tells an eerie tale. The original town of Tignes was purposefully flooded by the government in order to create a reservoir providing hydroelectric power to the region.

Despite protest Families were uprooted from their homes and legend has it that one woman refused to evacuate – hence “the lady of the lake”.
The ethereal statue by the roadside overlooking the reservoir commemorates the protest against lives being destroyed.

Note that every five years the lake is fully drained and the tops of buildings and winding lanes can be seen in the process. It is even possible to walk around the remains of the old village.

The ethereal statue by the roadside overlooking the reservoir commemorates the protest against lives being destroyed when the original town of Tignes was purposefully flooded by the government in order to create a reservoir providing hydroelectric power to the region. (c) travelincousins.com

The Tignes dam, had been designed to generate power for up to 10% of France. However, France developed nuclear power a few years later and ironically the Tignes dam which has never been used became redundant. It now serves as a huge 'battery' with the ability to supply power to the ski resort in the winter if required, and in the summer if the resources are low.

Shiver me timbers, it was my type of day and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

With a perfect blue sky, white puffy clouds and a postcard view at nearly every turn. Boy was it difficult to not constantly stop and get out.
The was seriously an awesome drive and turning out to be an awesome vacation - just as I imagined it would be!

After all - I did plan it to be a Winter Wonderland Tour.

Five plus hours later we arrived at the Lauterbrunnen train station (it is required to take a train to Wengen - as it is a car free village) and we found the parking lot to be completely full and not accepting any cars. This put us slightly behind schedule, having to take a later train and push our dinner reservations to a bit later.

But everything worked out and we made it!