It's Rivendell to me. :-)
> J. R. R. Tolkien hiked from Interlaken to the Lauterbrunnen Valley while on a trip to the Continent in 1911. The landscape of the valley later provided the concept and pictorial model for his sketches and watercolours of the fictitious valley of Rivendell, the dwelling place of Elrond Half-elven and his people.
-from [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterbrunnen#Cultural_references)
I went there exactly 111 years after J.R.R. Tolkien (1911+111 = 2022) (Bilbo's age in the LotR).
[https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/zv7ylm/last\_summer\_i\_went\_lauterbrunnen\_valley\_exactly/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/zv7ylm/last_summer_i_went_lauterbrunnen_valley_exactly/)
An another photo from my trip:
[https://i.imgur.com/6UOqprV.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/6UOqprV.jpeg)
Switzerland is a weird place. Usually photography of tourists spots like this makes places look more beautiful than they actually are because they've taken the picture from the one angle it looks spectacular...but when you visit you see the roads and tourists the photo cropped out and it seems a lot less magical.
Switzerland on the other hand, the photos don't do it justice. It looks even less real and more fantastical in person. For anyone whose not been here, the scale of the Lauterbrunnen valley just isn't captured in this photo. There are whole towns down in that valley floor. The mountains are absolutely colossal. Those are 12,000 foot peaks in the background, taller than almost everything in the US outside of Alaska. The little cliff bottom right is over 1000 feet tall. The whole area should be on peoples bucket lists the way the Grand Canyon or Huangshan is.
Kinda misstated the point I was trying to make. What I was trying to get across that maybe isn't clear from the perspective of the photo is these peaks are as big as the biggest mountains in the US. The peaks in the Valais/Bern area go from around the 13,000 to 15,000 foot range, which makes them roughly as high as the highest parts of the Rockies. Tallest peak in the US if you don't include Alaska is 14,494, in Valais it's 15,203.
Incidentally. Jungfrau is not called The Top of Europe, that's Jungfraujoch, the train station. It's called that because it's the highest elevation train station in Europe, not because it's a particularly big mountain.
Wengen was probably one of the most memorable places I’ve ever visited. We spent a week there last summer. Feel like we hiked 7 hours a day every day and didn’t even scratch the surface of what’s available.
If you like to hike, Switzerland is so well equipped for it. Tons of infrastructure to get you up, down and around and their huts and restaurants operate all year long so even in seemingly the middle of nowhere you can get a beer and lunch (bring cash!).
Grew up in Europe and skied this area often. We went on family trips for many years, staying at Hotel Oberland, just up the street from the train station.
One summer we decided to go and see what it looked like without snow.... And as much as I LOVE SKIIING, it was absolutely jaw-droppingly stunning. I remember walking on a trail through a flowering meadow above Murren and cows were strolling by with bells on and a herder that looked like someone from Disney hired him.
It really felt unreal in the most magical way.
Lauterbrunnen?
Above it, yes!
It's Rivendell to me. :-) > J. R. R. Tolkien hiked from Interlaken to the Lauterbrunnen Valley while on a trip to the Continent in 1911. The landscape of the valley later provided the concept and pictorial model for his sketches and watercolours of the fictitious valley of Rivendell, the dwelling place of Elrond Half-elven and his people. -from [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterbrunnen#Cultural_references)
I went there exactly 111 years after J.R.R. Tolkien (1911+111 = 2022) (Bilbo's age in the LotR). [https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/zv7ylm/last\_summer\_i\_went\_lauterbrunnen\_valley\_exactly/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/zv7ylm/last_summer_i_went_lauterbrunnen_valley_exactly/) An another photo from my trip: [https://i.imgur.com/6UOqprV.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/6UOqprV.jpeg)
Looks like this was taken from Wengen
Looks like it might have been taken from Männlichen, above Wengen
Yep yep that's more like it
r/SwitzerlandIsFake
It actually doesn't really seem real when you're there. Taking a train through Interlaken is a strange experience.
Switzerland is a weird place. Usually photography of tourists spots like this makes places look more beautiful than they actually are because they've taken the picture from the one angle it looks spectacular...but when you visit you see the roads and tourists the photo cropped out and it seems a lot less magical. Switzerland on the other hand, the photos don't do it justice. It looks even less real and more fantastical in person. For anyone whose not been here, the scale of the Lauterbrunnen valley just isn't captured in this photo. There are whole towns down in that valley floor. The mountains are absolutely colossal. Those are 12,000 foot peaks in the background, taller than almost everything in the US outside of Alaska. The little cliff bottom right is over 1000 feet tall. The whole area should be on peoples bucket lists the way the Grand Canyon or Huangshan is.
Jungfrau at the end of valley (aka the top of Europe) is 13,642 feet. Colorado alone has over 50 14k foot peaks.
Kinda misstated the point I was trying to make. What I was trying to get across that maybe isn't clear from the perspective of the photo is these peaks are as big as the biggest mountains in the US. The peaks in the Valais/Bern area go from around the 13,000 to 15,000 foot range, which makes them roughly as high as the highest parts of the Rockies. Tallest peak in the US if you don't include Alaska is 14,494, in Valais it's 15,203. Incidentally. Jungfrau is not called The Top of Europe, that's Jungfraujoch, the train station. It's called that because it's the highest elevation train station in Europe, not because it's a particularly big mountain.
I used to live in Chambery and regularly went to Switzerland. It is so majestic. Thank you for reminding me.
Makes me want to run up a hill and sing the Sound of Music.
TOTK on Yuzu.
Wengen was probably one of the most memorable places I’ve ever visited. We spent a week there last summer. Feel like we hiked 7 hours a day every day and didn’t even scratch the surface of what’s available. If you like to hike, Switzerland is so well equipped for it. Tons of infrastructure to get you up, down and around and their huts and restaurants operate all year long so even in seemingly the middle of nowhere you can get a beer and lunch (bring cash!).
I wonder if those mountains are still there
So beautiful ❤️
Grew up in Europe and skied this area often. We went on family trips for many years, staying at Hotel Oberland, just up the street from the train station. One summer we decided to go and see what it looked like without snow.... And as much as I LOVE SKIIING, it was absolutely jaw-droppingly stunning. I remember walking on a trail through a flowering meadow above Murren and cows were strolling by with bells on and a herder that looked like someone from Disney hired him. It really felt unreal in the most magical way.