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Chances are, you're doing more than just Switzerland. But, even if you're just staying in the good old Berner Oberland, there's worthwhile--almost indispensible--information in the following two books: Let's Go: Germany, Austria and Switzerland, by the Harvard Student Agencies, and 2 to 22 Days in Europe, by Rick Steves (of Europe Through the Back Door fame). People on the road seem to do a lot of complaining about the Let's Go: publications, but I still think they're the best and would like to see some of the complainers try to get along without them. Meanwhile Mr. Steves runs a close second by illuminating for us some of Europe's little-known nirvanas, such as Gimmelwald. Both of these books, as you probably already know, are widely available in the English-speaking countries and fairly easy to find in Europe, too. If you are but oh-so-keen on hiking, and your needs are so extensive as to not be met here with Otto, look around for the yellow Kümmerly and Frey hiking guides, often available in English as well as German, for about SFr 20.00 Well worth it! Since each book in the series deals with a different specific area, it's good to have an idea in which area you'd like to concentrate your hiking before you go book shopping. The Kümmerly/Frey series, though found most everywhere in German, can definitely be found in English in the main bookstore right in the center of Interlaken. To further spark your interest in the area, have a look in the same bookstore for Eiger: Wall of Death, by Arthur Roth and/or The White Spider, by Heinrich Harrer. Both are rivetting accounts of the climbing attempts on the north wall of the Eiger. If you are a real Swiss-o-phile, like me, don't wait until you get home after your vacation to start looking for good reading material. Say you're into history; well, you'd better get your books in Switzerland because, with the exception of hiking books and general guidebooks, the selection in North America, for example, is somewhere between frightening and abysmal. Here is a list of publications that I read and digested before the mental regurgitation that became Otto took place:
Once you get home and are deciding where to spend your next alpine adventure, consider buying a copy of The Outdoor Traveller's Guide to the Alps, by Marcia Lieberman. This brand new and somewhat expensive book makes a good investment for those who want a broader overview--with some great flora, fauna, and photography mixed in. Those who need more specifics should pick up Walking Switzerland the Swiss Way, also by Marcia Lieberman, this time teamed up with Philip Lieberman. A book that I think is the best and, in some ways, most accurate is Footloose in the Swiss Alps, by Willian Reifsnyder. It's easy to pick out what's no longer accurate because the book is seriously outdated--much unexpected comic value there--and unfortunately out of print. Keep and eye out in second-hand bookstores. Maps other than those right here in this booklet are not ultimately necessary, but, if you are a map-lover or feel the need for a more complete picture, there is an awesome variety of not-quite-perfect-for-the-job maps available. Probably the best bet for the budget traveller is the yellow Kümmerly and Frey map "Berner Oberland - Lötschbergbahn - Oberwallis" because it shows every hike in this book in one shot. I personally bought it because the colors were nice, and I wanted to hang it on my wall. The trails were also marked in red, which is a bonus. Afterwards, no surprise, given the amount of area it covers, I found out that it wasn't very detailed. In fact, not every part of every hike in this booklet is on there. You would have to use it in combination with my maps. Nonetheless an excellent souvenir, it's available at Interlaken's tourist information office for SFr 14.00. Also favorites of mine for a long time were the Bundesamt für Landestopographie's maps, 254-T and 264-T, because they, too, have the hiking trails marked in red. However, even having both of these maps won't give you every hike outlined here, and the detail, while better than the map mentioned above, is still not that great. My afternoon of frustrated bushwhacking in the Back Lauterbrunnen Valley, looking for the trail through Läger back down into Tal was brought about because of map 264-T. I later found out I was on the Holdri Falls trail, which wasn't even on that map. The best maps, in spite of the fact that they are hard on the wallet and don't have the trails marked in red, are the series of brown regional maps also put out by the Bundesamt für...Blahblahblah. They have names you'll recognize, like Mürren, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. They have a scale of 1: 25,000 (whatever that means), which is the best you can get. Though they will currently run you SFr 10.50 a piece, they are to be found in nearly every shop, and, well, you won't be looking for Läger at Holdri Falls, if you have one of them. (If you buy one at Loeb, in Interlaken, it will cost a franc more, but it comes with a guide to map symbols and a plastic coverlet.) Yes, of course, there are a million different maps; shop around and have a look. Some of the tourist offices even give out free maps, Grindelwald, for one, and these are usually the ultra-attractive souvenir types, with the mountain vistas drawn right on them. These free ones and many of the ones you'll pay for are of course more decorative than functional. You must simply choose yourself according to your own needs. |
