We love family trips to the Alps.  There is so much to see and do, and it is an adventure the kids will never forget.  The Hollenbaugh family brought their daughters on a custom self-guided Best of the Bernese Oberland tour, adding Zermatt and Chamonix this summer.  At the end of their trip, they sent us a couple photos along with this nice note.

Dear Abby and Alpinehikers,

We just returned from our Bernese Oberland self-guided hiking trip in Switzerland and wanted to thank you for all the arrangements you made for us and all the advice. It was a wonderful trip and Switzerland is truly beautiful, as you know! I know you said to share pictures and stories so I will attach a couple of pics, but I took over 3000 photos between my Nikon and my phone, and my daughter took at least that many (same equipment). I have no idea how many my other daughter and my husband took!

We especially enjoyed the hikes and stay at Tschingelhorn Berggasthaus. Great to get closer to the backcountry and attempt to converse in German with vacationing Swiss families. They were quite surprised to find Americans there! Luckily a family at a neighboring table did speak a little English (the father teaches middle school English) and they were eager to get and share information (and only mentioned Trump a little). The hiking instructions on the way in, after the arched bridge, were a bit unclear. There is no “go straight” there. Its straight along the river or straight off the bridge and a little jog left then right to follow the bike path/road to the next bridge and cross to the hiking trail, I guess, though we stayed on the road until the path reconnected with us.

We thoroughly enjoyed the via ferratta in Murren, saw a base jumper “exit” right next to us, and the klettersteig in Kandersteg! That second one approached my limits of risky behavior! The hikes in all the towns were just right, lots of choices and suggestions for stops and side trips, of which we took full advantage.

You’ve gotta love the trains in Switzerland, and the rail pass was fantastic! I should probably have gotten local passes or the half fare card as we spent quite a lot on all the cable cars and lifts! We like to pack a lot into our trips!

The lodging was wonderful and the food was impressive at every stay. We were especially impressed with our hostess and room in Murren, and the food at the Sunstar in Wengen! Buying picnic lunches was a great hint and we did start buying wine at the Coop as well.

I’m sure there is more I could say but mostly I just wanted to say thank you. If you want more feedback on specifics, let me know. I usually plan and book all our trips myself, but I could not have done it better than your company did. Obviously you have some expertise and experience in this country and this area!

Thanks, Laura Hollenbaugh and family