View from the top of the Royal Walk trail

On our second day, we decided to go up the other side of the mountain to visit Wengen and to take the journey up to Mannlichen. To get to Wengen, you must take the train which departs right from Lauterbrunnen and goes directly to Wengen. You can purchase your tickets to Wengen at the same ticket office in the cable car station. Once in Wengen, we got off the train and walked to the cable car station to go up to Mannlichen. Again, here you want to ensure you are buying the ticket you would like for your journey. Our plan was to go up to Mannlichen and then hike part way down the other side of the mountain (on the Lieselotte trail), and then take the cable car back up to Mannlichen and then go back down to Wengen to take the train back to Lauterbrunnen. The agents at the ticket office will help you get the correct ticket for your individual plans. For the Lieselotte trail, there is a guide and map that you can get at the ticket office. When you complete that hike you can then bring it back to the ticket office when you are done and turn it in for a prize. More on that later! 

Once we got up to Mannlichen we were again in awe of the mountains in front of us. Being on this side of the mountain, we were even closer to the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau and it was thrilling to be up so high again.

View from the top of the Royal Walk trail

We then turned left and followed the Royal Walk trail to hike up to that point. It was not the easiest hike for the kids but they did a great job and all of us made it up there to take in the breathtaking views. From there you not only see the mountain peaks but also of the Lauterbrunnen Valley including views of Lauterbrunnen itself as well as Wengen.

We then made our way back down to the Mannlichen cable car station and then continued further until we arrived at the Mannlichen Restaurant and playground. It was still mid-morning at this point so the kids played for quite a while. There was a tall slide that was hidden inside a 2 story cow as well as multiple swings and climbing equipment. You could even take your turn bowling!

After the kids were done playing, we had lunch at the restaurant and the food was very good there. There was a large variety of items to pick from as well as kid-friendly food options too. We then made our way to the Lieselotte Trail. This is a child-friendly trail that brings you down half of the mountain side towards Grindelwald. It is themed trail of a cow (Lieselotte) that goes on vacation in the Swiss Alps and there are 13 different stations for kids (and adults for that matter too!) to complete activities at as you are hiking down. As you go to each station you can punch a letter onto your guide. Once you have completed the trail and have discovered the mystery word, you can bring it back to Wengen to turn it in for a prize (ours was at the bakery!)  You can find the trail guide online or as I mentioned before it is also available at the gondola ticket office.

Lieselotte trail

Some of the trail activities included ringing a cow bell, using binoculars to try to find marmots, a long jump, and playing an alphorn. We loved this trail! It was so easy to keep the kids engaged as they were always ready to go to the next station and see what was in store for us next and they really wanted to get each of the letters stamped on their guides to get their prize at the end. We were also able to pass by cows grazing in the mountain pasture which was pretty neat.

Lieselotte trail

The trail guide says they it takes about 1.5 hours to complete the hike but it did take us about 2.5 hours as we took our time. At the end of the hike, you end up in Holenstein and can take the cable car back up to Mannlichen. Once back in Wengen, we brought our completed Lieselotte trail map with the surprise word filled out and each of the kids was able to get a treat at the bakery as a prize. After we arrived back in Lauterbrunnen, we went to a restaurant near the Staubbachfall Waterfall called Weidstübli which was delicious.

Weidstübli restaurant

Outside after dinner there was a band playing and we were able to relax listening the band play as the kids played. We found out that the area was actually a campground called Camping Jungfrau. Overall, we had such an amazing day again up in the mountains and a relaxing evening listening to Swiss music as the sun set.

Have you been to this area of Switzerland before or hiked any of these trails? If so, what was your experience like? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!