Three fun-filled days in Innsbruck quickly came to a halt. Early morning, enjoyed coffee and breakfast. Checking out was rather quick. Today, we drove from Innsbruck, Austria to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. It sounded like a rather long drive (time wise long, not necessarily by distance) with plenty to see along the way.
Driving map: Innsbruck to Seefeld and Stams
Our first scenic stop was Seekirchl, a legendary but tiny church in Seefeld. The second stop was Stift Stams. Talking about Stifts, once upon a time, an Austrian lady in the ticket booth at Stift Melk told me (without my asking) "All Stifts are abbeys, but not all abbeys are stifts". To this day, I still remember!
Back to Seekirchl. According to the Tirol tourist office, they say this about this church: “The symbol of SEEFELD IN TIROL, the Seekirchl is the "Little Church in the lake", also called ‘Heiligkreuzkirche’, was built by Archduke Leopold V in 1629 and completed in 1666. Seekirchl in Seefeld in Tirol.”
The building has an unusual style for Tirol, as it was built following the floorplan of a rotunda. The outside shows a delicate silhouette with an attractive onion tower. At that time church was located in the middle of the artificial Kreuzsee, which was, however, drained in 1807.
Seekirchl in Seefeld
Seekirchl in Seefeld Altar
Seekirchl in Seefeld
Wish we had more time in Seefeld, I would have taken a walk into the village and looked around. But we didn’t!
We jumped into the car and drove downhill for just a short drive to our next destination, Stift Stams.
According to some info in the “cloud”, this monastery served as a place of burial for the Tyrolian rulers, back in the 13th century. Today, it serves as a monastic community, helping to shape the spiritual and cultural life of Tirol. In addition, it has a large gift shop and a restaurant.
Stams - Stift Stams: a high Baroque style Monastery in Tirol
Stams – Heiliger Johannes der Taufer (it is located next door to the Stift Stams complex)
Stams – Stift Stams in Collage
Stams – Stift Stams in Collage
After thoroughly enjoyed this impressive landmark, continued west along the Inn River we drove. Imagine on your right is a range of mountain and another mountain range on the left. We were about to make a quick stop at Schloss Landeck, but we didn’t due to the compression of time. Good thing we didn’t. Little did we know, there were 2 incidents ahead on the Swiss side that would delay us by 2 hours.
Driving map from Stams to the border town of Feldkirch, Austria
Soon we arrived at Feldkirch, and it was 14:30, and we looked for a restaurant for some lunch in vain. Maybe it was too late for lunch! The couple of restaurants that we passed by were closed. Now what!
We pulled into a parking lot at the train station and found a restaurant inside the station. At this hour, unfortunately the only food they served was either goulash soup or goulash. I would rather have fish. But…. So we asked the waitress to bring us the goulash with the soup! As you can see. This is definitely not your Michelin starred place. Hey, it sure beats starvation!
Fine dining at Feldkirch (being sarcastic) collage from SONY
Driving map from Feldkirch to Lauterbrunnen
Soon we reached the Austria/Swiss border of Rhein Bangs where we tried to buy a Swiss vignette. Didn’t see any person inside what appeared to be the cross-border guard station (closed). Next we looked for a gas station in vain. The town was very quiet and no one was on the street. Finally I decided to ask inside a small grocery shop. The kind lady pointed me toward the post office just across the street. In seconds, a vignette for 40CHF transaction was done.
On the Swiss side, there are many tunnels (of course because the country is full of huge mountain ranges). We encountered 2 traffic jams. First one lasted 1 hour 30 minutes; and the second 30 minutes.
Rolling on a Swiss highway until "bumper-to-pumper" began: Where the first gridlock took place
Rolling on a Swiss highway
We would have stopped by Interlaken for dinner. But due to the fact we were running late, and that the hotel locks its door at 9pm, we passed.
By the time we arrived at Lauterbrunnen, it was 20:30.
Quickly checked in and immediately ran out for dinner. Most restaurants would shut down kitchens around 9pm-ish.
Our hotel for 4 nights is the Hotel Staubbach, 5 minute walk from the famed Staubbach Falls. The beauty of Lauterbrunnen is well known. I was blown away by how incredible it really is to see it in person. The weather had been terrific since the days in Innsbruck, no exception here in Berner Oberland. Quite unlike in Germany! Thank God for that!
We've visited Switzerland before, but this was our first to the Berner Oberland area.
This hotel is one of the most basic abode I've stayed in. Breakfast included. The room rates were very high for a simple room with a balcony albeit with a bit of waterfall view. Everything in Switzerland tend to be more expensive than most of Western Europe.
The major attributes of this hotel are the waterfalls and its proximity to the railway station. We could see the falls from the breakfast room. The staff in this hotel were quite friendly and helpful. Couple of them spoke perfect English.
Next up: Explore the scenic region of Berner Oberland.
Luaterbrunnen, Berner Oberland
