Teacher Trekker

Hotel Jungfrau

We stayed at the Hotel Jungfrau at the Fiescheralp ski resort area. It turns out my friend’s father knows the owner of the hotel. This relationship explained our decision to stay at the hotel. Too bad that didn’t help us get a discount. The hotel itself and its rooms were small by American standards, but an average size for those in ski resort areas.

The room was satisfactory. It was not a suite by any means, but it was not a dump either. Visually the room appeared to be dated in terms of style, but that was misleading. Although it reminded me of a movie from the 1970’s with the brick orange tiles in the bathroom the accommodations were not left in disrepair since that era. The room was clean and all of the furnishings were relatively new. The room came with three twin beds and a large wardrobe with a lock for guests to secure their valuables. The beds were comfortable, but the pillows could have been thicker. There was a flat screen television with a plethora of channels, the vast majority of which were in German/Swiss-German, but there were a few channels in English.

Funny enough, I was more entertained by a Harry Potter movie and a Discovery channel documentary in German than whatever horrible movie was playing on the English movie channel. The bathroom was also small, but manageable for two people. I could not imagine how three people would operate in this size room, but that is a problem for another group of travelers. Although the room was tiny and what I would even consider small by Southeast Asian standards, it had everything we needed: a clean warm room with a bed to sleep in and a bathroom. What else do you really need? Remember we were there to snowboard, not sit in the room all day, so the room was exactly what we needed.

Food

We ate at the hotel restaurant three times during our weekend at the ski resort. Actually, I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there. It was mostly out of convenience. There was really no reason to walk anywhere else to go and eat. Breakfast was included in our hotel stay. It was a self-serve buffet. There were a variety of different type of cereal, cheeses, deli meats, pastries and breads. Eggs were also available to order. There were also other breakfast dishes on the menu for anyone who wanted something the buffet did not offer. The lunch and dinner menus are actually the same and available for viewing on the hotel’s website. When we ordered lunch I wasn’t feeling very well due to altitude sickness, so I only ordered chicken nuggets and French fries from the children’s menu. I would have been much more interested in trying one of the local dishes, but I was in no condition to experiment at that meal. I apologize for not having any photos.

For dinner there was a special not available during lunch, which I ended up ordering. The first course was a tomato soup and a good one at that. The main dish was a chicken breast coated in bear’s garlic with noodles and vegetables. I have never had the herbs used to cover the chicken and was very pleased with the dish. Dessert was a chocolate mousse with fruit that was very rich. Overall, the meals were all good, but overpriced. I needed to remind myself I was in Switzerland and at a ski resort, which results in a virtual monopoly on prices. These factors together explain why things here were so expensive.

Other Dining Options

There were a number of other restaurants at the Fiescheralp ski resort area. Like Hotel Jungfrau, the other hotels each had their own restaurant. We could have gone to another restaurant, but we chose to eat at our hotel. It was just more convenient to eat there and then grab our gear to hit the slopes. From what I was told by a friend who frequents this area often during the winter season, the other restaurants serve pretty much the same dishes at similar prices to where we ate. Considering that, it was her recommendation to eat at our hotel, and I didn’t have any complaints over the course of the three meals I had there.

Skiers and snowboarders can also choose to eat at the Kühboden\Fiescheralp dining area that is in the main building where you purchase tickets and pick up both gondolas (to the summit above; to the parking lot and town below). It’s like any other ski lodge dining area. There are various stations that have all different kinds of foods ranging from soups to sandwiches to other hot dishes. Nothing stood out when we grabbed an early lunch there one morning. It was your typical overpriced ski lodge food.

Evening Spirits

Every night around 10-11 p.m. the local bar, Steffi’s Kubstall, is flooded with travelers looking to kick back, relax and enjoy a number of adult beverages after a long day on the slopes. The bar had people ranging in age from their late teens to their early fifties. Most groups were sitting and interacting only with people of similar ages. There were the just old enough to drink and not vacation with their parents crowd. They were quiet and hiding in the corner. There were also a few families with children who would have been drinking if their parents weren’t with them. They were visibly jealous of everyone else’s’ boozy good time. The majority of the bar was filled with patrons in their early twenties. Somehow there was no one our age there, but age is only a number, and we had fun talking with everyone we met.

The bar was dark and only lit by red neon lights and a fireplace in the corner. The bartender was very friendly. It turns out he is originally from Macedonia. He was also the DJ and over the course of both evenings played everything from classic rock, like Carlos Santana, to current pop and dance hits, to a number of German songs. Despite being only one man, he ran a tight ship and was able to serve drinks while taking musical requests all night.

On our first night at the resort, we were actually some of the first people in the bar. I went out of my way to make friends with the bartender. He offered me some sort of warm alcoholic beverage. Despite the fact that the bar was only 50 meters from the hotel, I was still freezing and took him up on his offer. The drink was okay. I’m not a huge fan of warm drinks in general, and the addition of whatever liquor was added to the tea did not appeal to my taste buds. Instead I tried Swiss brown ale that I ended up drinking both nights we spent at the bar. As the evening progressed, more and more patrons came into the bar, and by midnight the small lodge was packed. Before leaving I made sure to tip the bartender as I would in America. He was more than appreciative, and I looked forward to going back the next night.

We went back the following evening, but this time I had a trick up my sleeve. I brought some moonshine that I purchased at the Duty Free shop before boarding the airplane in New York City with me to the bar. My Macedonian friend did not mind. I ordered a brown ale, and he had no complaints. I offered him a drink, and he willingly accepted. We continued to drink the moonshine during the night. I shared most of it with people I met at the bar as they ordered their drinks. At one point the speakers blasted contemporary and traditional German music that had everyone, but me screaming at the top of their lungs. It reminded me of being home in America listening to out of tune drunkards yell the lyrics to Bryan Adam’s “Summer of ’69” at 2 o’clock in the morning. It was actually extremely entertaining watching these college age kids stumbling all over each other with squinty eyes and ear to ear smiles singing to each other.

Wrapping Up

There were a few other bars in the resort area, but we did not go to any of them. From what I could tell, most of the bars were right next to a hotel. Some were owned by the hotel and others just located right next door. Since the weather was so cold, most in need of food or drinks went to the closest restaurant and/or bar to their hotel to spend their evening. We could have walked another 100 meters if not less, and we could have eaten somewhere else or gone to another one of the bars, but it wasn’t necessary to travel even that much. It appeared that most people used the same logic. Had the temperature been slightly warmer and the wind not gusting at the voracious speed that it was blowing, perhaps we would have chosen to walk further and try another place for the fun of it, but it was unnecessary considering the conditions. In terms of lodging Hotel Jungfrau provided us with all the necessary amenities, but I can’t blame anyone for finding a deal and staying somewhere else. However, if you are in the area, I would gladly recommend grabbing a drink and spending your evening at Steffi’s Kubstall.