At The Top Of The World In The Swiss Alps

We had a wonderful time in Switzerland! When we were in the first stages of planning our trip, the goal was to get into eastern Europe quickly, where it is less expensive. When we saw we’d be passing through the Swiss Alps en route, we started looking for a way to spend a few days inexpensively, rather than blow through the region. After looking at Airbnb for places in the Alps that were in our budget, we found a (very) small ski cottage in the mountain town of Riederalp. The pictures looked amazing and the reviews were good, so we booked the place for 3 nights.

Riederalp is a car-free town located on a sunny plateau at an altitude of almost 2,000 meters above sea level (6,500 feet). The town can be accessed only by gondola and it takes about 20 minutes to get up there. Once you reach Riederalp, the sweeping views of the snowcapped Alps are breathtaking and you really feel like you are at the top of the world! It is a downhill ski area where you can ski from one town to the next. It also serves as a summer vacation area for families. While we were there, the place was basically empty but they were obviously getting ready for the summer season.

The Airbnb host wrote us asking how a family of four would fit into the little cabin. We said we’d squeeze in and be fine. Then, a few days before our arrival, our host messaged us to let us know that she had switched our reservation to a bigger place for no additional charge! We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to our apartment and saw how roomy it was (two bedrooms, a common space, and a kitchen—as compared to the three single beds and little else we had booked). The real surprise came when we stepped out onto our spacious balcony and saw the incredible view of the Alps.

While we were there, the temperatures were mostly in the 40s and frequently wet, although one day did get into the 60s and sunny. Quite a switch from Dubai, and we were glad to have rain and winter gear with us!

In addition to hanging out at home and soaking up the incredible view (when the clouds weren’t completely covering it!) with coffee, hot chocolate, and homemade meals, we generally explored the area (at a toddlers’ pace…). One day, we went for a walk in the mountains following the footpath right outside our apartment. The day was rainy and cloudy, but it was still a lot of fun to wander around in the fog. You couldn’t see more than 50 feet in front, with everything disappearing into a solid wall of white. We walked in the direction of a snow patch we had seen from our window, but it was so foggy, that we couldn’t really see where it was or how close we were to it, so we didn’t quite get to it. We went back later that day and were able to reach the snow and we got to do some fun (butt) sledding down the mountainside! The kids loved it, including Valentina, who went down on Joe’s lap and kept asking for “una más” every time she reached the bottom!

On our last full day, we woke up to sunny and clear skies so we walked to the other side of town to take the chair lift up to see the “Great Aletsch Glacier,” which is a huge glacier that looks like an immense ice river in a valley between mountains. It is the first UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site in the Alps. The ride up to the glacier was gorgeous. The kids really loved it! (In fact, after every time we rode a gondola, we asked Hugo if he liked it and every time he said “No, I LOVED it!”) At the top, a hub of trails spoke in various directions, with nice signs saying how long it will take to walk to various destinations/towns. We walked around some trails (again, at a toddler pace) and the kids poked around snow patches, and we all admired the amazing view of Aletsch Glacier!

Riederalp also had a nice playground. At first, it looked like it was only a very basic set of wooden structures but, as we explored it more, we realized that it was, in fact, awesome. It had large pipes inserted throughout the hillside that kids could walk through, a neat water feature with a pump to get water flowing, and pulleys and buckets near small rocks. Along with a gorgeous view of the Alps, it was perfect to let the kids’ imagination run wild!

On our last morning, we woke up early and took the first gondola back down to the town of Morel, got in our car and drove a few minutes to a train station where we drove—unexpectedly, using GPS—onto a train, which transported cars for 25 minutes through a skinny dark tunnel right under the Alps and into Italy. The train platforms were just wide enough for cars, with no sides to speak of, so the tunnel walls rushed right by your windows while you sat in your turned-off, dark car. It was a relief to see the sunlight again on the other side, but also shaved off an hour of mountain driving!