Day 5: Allmendhubel, Switzerland - Playgrounds & Meltdowns

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Allmendhubel, Switzerland

After being on top of Europe, we needed a little break.  So we slept in and awoke to a cloudy and chilly Mürren morning in the alps.  

We took our time and made our way uphill to my favorite coffee place, “Intersports”, where we indulged in a hot chocolate, cappuccino, and cortado. 

The owner of the coffee shop is also an avid trail runner, so I took pictures of an article about her experience in Mürren.

After careful inspection, I confirmed the coffee shop did use a La Marzocco machine; a criterion I use to decide where to get espresso drinks.  

Then we went back down the upper side streets of Mürren to the Allmendhubelbahn, which is a funicular train.  Dictionary.com says it best as, “(of a railway, especially one on a mountainside) operating by cable with ascending and descending cars counterbalanced.”

We rode the rail up the the steep mountain to a place called, “Allmendhubel”.

Allmendhubel is known for its Panorama Restaurant and Flower Park adventure playground, as well as multiple starting points for hikes. 

The Flower Park adventure playground is truly epic and every kid’s dream playground.  Even some kids at heart. 

After a ton of fun, we decided to try out a hike.  Just a quick 30-minute down hill hike along the Northface trail.  What could go wrong?

Well, when you travel with kids, you have a Wild card in your deck.  Think of it like rolling the dice of chaos for your vacation.  You could have amazing luck and have the time of your life.  Or everything can go sideways.  

These moments were precious...

Even if the parents are onboard for having a positive memory-building adventure with fun and optimism… it’s the kids that determine the wheel of fun or fatalistic meltdowns.  

So.  The hike didn’t go as well as we hoped.  And then… it started raining.  

I won’t go into the details of what some might consider a horrific death march… but for parents, it’s just a Wednesday in the mountains. 

Anyways.  We made it back to town with our sanity in tact.