Why do elves live in Lauterbrunnen

Elves live in the Lauterbrunnen Valley because J.R.R. Tolkien has visited here and the valley inspired him to set the home of Elrond and his elves in famous Rivendell (in German: Bruchtal). If you know the place it is easy to understand why he could see one of the most prominent races of The Lord of the rings settled here, the area is green and peaceful, a quiet valley between sharp rock walls.

In fact we like to come here not only because of the flair of the area but also because it is not a typical Swiss place. In Switzerland whether you go up into the high alps or onto a mountain pass that is extremely difficult to reach and you think you are like on the surface of the moon - you will find wire fence left and right to your trail, telling you to stay the hell clear of the lush meadows/fields/uninhabitable rocks behind the fence. Spring guns and mantraps seem to be assisting this harsh command suggesting you better sod off. And believe me, the fences that look electric ARE electric. I ran into one myself a couple of years ago.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley is peaceful, you can let your dogs run freely, you are not bothered by wires, fences and other devices, and it is just the way a hiker expects his trail to be.

The most famous tourist attraction of the valley are the Trümmelbachfälle, a really spectactular waterfall that drains the melting water of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau all alone. For me it is a bit too high up, since I am afraid of hights, I tried it a couple of times but always failed to reach the hightest viewing point. But still it is a brilliant experience!

Beside the Trümmelbachfälle there are lots of smaller waterfalls everywhere in the valley to be seen.

The kiddos love the place. Dessa for example knows that there is a watering place at one side of the valley, and she usually starts running about 500 meters in advance to take a deep dive in and enjoy her "Kneippkur".

Indy of course is more interested in exploring the place with his balli.

And the whole family sometimes likes to rest a while on one of the benches that you can find here in the shade from time to time.

From here you can also watch the basejumpers that come from all over the world to throw themselves off the steep rock walls into the valley, often you see hikers in the middle of a trail standing frozen like statues staring up onto the cliffs waiting for basejumpers to come down. Lots of accidents happen here every year, and actually I would not want to be a farmer in Lauterbrunnen with a good chance every day to find a squashed basejumper in my backjard. And if they are not squashed they still might be landing there and trample on my veggies!  But I guess the farmers get some nice compensation from the local government, otherwise they would not tolerate it.

This is one of the rock walls the basejumpers throw themselves off. Definately not my cup of tea.

After our walk we usually enjoy coke and cake at the local café place. It is not cheap - well, what is in Switzerland? - but the bagels with cream cheese and salmon are wonderfully crispy, and the Cremeschnitten.....don´t ask. A Finnish friend had the opportunity to try one a couple years ago, and she still lives to tell the tale!

The view from our favorite table is great too!

The Jungfrau is the highest mountain of the threesome with Eiger and Mönch, and you can go up there with the Jungfraubahn to the famous "Jungfrau Joch - top of Europe", with the world´s first "Drehrestaurant", that offers a 360° view and was used as a location for a James Bond movie. But that is another story and might be told some other time.

A little further down the valley there is the location of the "Air Glacier", the heliport of Lauterbrunnen. In fact helicopters are used like mules here, they transport goods up to the alpine areas, they rescue people that get in trouble in the mountains, and they also transport tourists who want to catch a good view of the mountains around.

But they do not break the silence of Rivendell. From where we like to walk you can sometimes hear them like bumblebees when they buzz off into the mountains, but nobody is bothered by them, they are too far away and we are too used to them.

So why would an elve live here in Lauterbrunnen? Because of the great nature, the mountain scenery close by, the great cakes at the café place and the possibility to fly, fly away with an helicopter in no distance. And if I was Elrond I might buy my own heli and take off into the lovely scenery of Lauterbrunnen and Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau....