To the center of Switzerland – Älggialp hike

“What is the name of the first place after the Brünig in the direction of Lucerne?”, more than once as a child I failed at this question and thus brought my father to the brink of despair. “I wonder if we never look out of the train window?” he replied to my perplexed look. Well, admittedly, I preferred to devour books on train journeys and hardly had time to decide at which stops the train stopped. But at some point, I was finally able to store the answer to this question in my long-term memory. Hang around. And although I’ve skied past it umpteen times, I’ve never stopped in the region, with the exception of one day of skiing in the Lungern-Schönbüel ski area (which has ceased operations). For me, the Brünig Pass was purely a link between Bern and my relatives in Lucerne. A thoroughfare that I perceived in fragments.

Since I have decided to pay attention to those regions that are bypassed by the “Grand Tour of Switzerland”, my trip took me to Lake Lungern last Friday. It was time to piece together an overall picture from the fragments.

Delicious Weekend Start

The Lucerne-Interlaken Express was filled to capacity with day-trippers on Friday. Most of them with the destination Interlaken. I leave the train at the Kaiserstuhl OW stop and reach the shore of Lake Lungern just in time to see the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the mountains. We are here for one night as guests at the Hotel & Restaurant Kaiserstuhl, which is located just opposite the bus stop between Brünigstrasse and the lakeshore. At first glance, the back of the hotel looks a bit shabby and the dirty sign with the word “restaurant” on it is reminiscent of old times. It’s not always the first impression that counts. My parents had stayed here in early summer on a bike trip through Switzerland and sent me a great view picture of Lake Lungern from my room via WhatsApp. When I asked how her stay was, my mom said “there are young people at work here, you’ll like it”.

Of course, my mom was absolutely right. If you find your way via the restaurant to the reception and then to your room, you will be surprised with chic, modern furnishings. Stylishly furnished rooms that have been renovated with great attention to detail. I particularly like the light basic tone and the skilful use of the wooden elements.

After we have deposited our luggage in the room, we are drawn outside again in this beautiful weather. We look for a spot on the terrace and order the house aperitif. The fact that the Hotel Kaiserstuhl originally started out as a simple restaurant on the thoroughfare from Lucerne over the Brünigspass is shown by the fact that the terrace is right next to the road and the parking lot was placed in front of the terrace. At least we can still see something of the lake and the mountain panorama behind the parked cars. However, the minus points of the location are easily compensated by the culinary offer. The cuisine is regional and original. Fish lovers can enjoy fresh trout from Lake Lungern – caught right in front of the hotel. The friend orders the whole trout and I’m torn between the fisherman’s sieve with trout crisps and the pasta with home-smoked trout fillet. My choice is the latter. First of all, I have the soup of the day and the house salad for my friend. This delicious evening is rounded off with a tiramisu.

The early bird catches the trout – morning mood at Lake Lungern

The next morning we are up early. Together with the first fishermen we enjoy the peaceful morning atmosphere at Lake Lungern and then fortify ourselves with a proper breakfast for the upcoming hiking tour.

Älggialp – In the heart of Switzerland

There are numerous excursion and hiking opportunities around Lake Lungern. Actually, I wanted to tackle the butterfly path from Schönbüel to Kaiserstuhl. Nowhere else in Switzerland is the area as rich in species as here between Schönbüel and Lungern. Unfortunately, the Lungern-Schönbüel cable car is currently not in operation and so this hike would have taken around eight hours as a round trip from Kaiserstuhl. As an alternative, we spontaneously decide to take a detour to the geographical centre of Switzerland. This is located just a few kilometres from Lake Lungern on the Älggialp, which can be reached either on foot in about four hours from Kaiserstuhl or by call-a-taxi from Sachseln (train station).

From the Älggialp we hike via Seefeldsee over the Chringengrättli up to the Abgschütz. When preparing for the hike, I elegantly overlooked the passage “requires surefootedness”. That’s why I have to swallow empty for a moment at the sight of the steep ascent with ropes and steps in the ledges. But it’s not as wild as it sounds. I master the passage without any noteworthy “dropouts” and am happy when we finally look down on Melchsee-Frutt at the top. The descent to the Blausee is comparatively a walk and no longer includes any tricky passages. Overall, a nice tour that requires a bit of a puff on the ascent. The effort is rewarded with beautiful views of Lake Seefeld and the panoramic view of the Central Swiss Alps.

Back at the Hotel Kaiserstuhl, we refresh ourselves on the terrace with homemade iced tea and then jump into Lake Lungern to cool off. The swimming pool is a five-minute walk from the hotel. A great location for an active weekend program in the Brünig region.

Practical information and tips for the hike Älggialp – Melchsee-Frutt

The route can be found on the map below. The hike from the Älggialp, where the geographical centre of Switzerland is located, via Abgschütz to Melchsee-Frutt is about 9.5 kilometres long, includes an ascent of 750 metres in altitude and a descent of 450 metres in altitude. The pure runtime is around 3.5 hours. The Älggialp can be reached from Sachseln train station with a call-a-taxi (one-way cost: 20 CHF). From Melchsee-Frutt you can either walk or take the cable car (one-way trip with GA/Half-Fare travelcard 9.50 CHF) down to the Stöckalp. From Stöckalp there is an hourly post bus to Sarnen.

An overnight stay at the Hotel & Restaurant Kaiserstuhl costs CHF 180 per night/double room including breakfast from Sunday to Thursday. On Friday and Saturday the price is 210 CHF per night/double room including breakfast. The 4-course evening menu costs around 60 CHF.

Note: My stay in Kaiserstuhl OW was supported by the Sinn Gastro. Thank you very much for this! As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.