No doubt, the best things in life are usually unplanned. Typically, many things I do on vacations aside from confirming lodging, train, and airline tickets are unplanned. That's how my family of four spent our vacation in Switzerland this summer.
I remember our last night in the charming alpine village of Grindelwald, scrolling through Google reviews in our hotel suite at Hotel Spindle, searching for dinner ideas. Let's put the last night in a town after eating three restaurant meals a day for eight days in a row in some perspective for you.
Food in Switzerland is quite expensive compared to restaurants in North Carolina. Entrees above $30 are what I consider high-end restaurant fare. In Switzerland, a McDonald's meal deal, which includes a quarter-pounder, fries, and a drink, costs 25 Swiss francs. That's about $30 in U.S. dollars. Once you visit a McDonald's in Switzerland, you gain a whole new appreciation for its trendy cafes and local, sustainable ingredients.
Fondue may be the Swiss national dish, but the country has been influenced by both Italian and German cuisine with its own twists. The brown gravy and onions over a bratwurst, instead of a side of mustard and sauerkraut. The fabulous tangy German salad that I could eat by the gallon is also missing in Switzerland, and is instead replaced with Rösti, a pan-fried potato pancake.
By night nine, a family can be a little disgruntled and tired of too much togetherness, no matter how much we love each other. My daughter misses a bagel at Starbucks, my husband is tired of paying for food, and my son, well, he doesn't want a repeat restaurant or lunch-type sandwiches for dinner. He and I are usually tasked with the food searches. He is browsing in his bedroom, and I am generally browsing from my bed. Occasionally, we will yell, "How about this place?"
That's what happened on the night we went to the oldest restaurant in Grindlewald.
THE PINTE RESTAURANT
I had admired the Pinte Restaurant building for several days while in Grindelwald and even took photos on my first day in the village because the building is so quintessentially alpine with its green shutters, gingerbread molding, and window flower boxes. It was less than a block or two from our hotel, so we passed by it frequently.
We did not have reservations, but it's recommended that you make them. We got lucky as walk-ins, and we were seated at the very table next to the front door that you see in all the marketing photos. Fondue is only served outside. The inside of the restaurant is as charming as its exterior.
The menu is entirely in German, with only a few English words described for each dish. It's such an authentic Swiss menu that we asked numerous questions and even had dishes verbally translated as accurately as possible.
Ghackets mit Hörnli
I chose a macaroni pasta with a bolognese sauce served with applesauce. The traditional name is Ghackets Mit Hornli. The server described it to me as minced meat with pasta in a conventional bolognese-type sauce with applesauce. The applesauce is served on the side, but I dotted some on top of mine. I likely did not eat the dish as intended, but regardless, it was one of my favorite meals during my time in Switzerland. I want to create the dish at home. This recipe for Ghackets Mit Hornli is similar to what I had in Grindlewald.
PLAN YOUR TRIP to GRINDELWALD, SWITZERLAND
My husband and son are big fans of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I've seen one movie. We'll leave it at that, but when we were planning this trip, he mentioned that the Lauterburnnen Valley area was the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's novel for the elves' home. We decided to put this area on our list of places to explore while in Switzerland. When visitors visit this area, they tend to stay in one of four places: Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren, and Grindelwald. We visited all, but Murren, which is a Rick Steves' favorite destination. Interlaken is the gateway to these destinations. Many tourists also stay there because it allows them to travel in many directions within the country with ease. When I travel, I prefer to dive deeper and stay in the surroundings I want to explore, rather than taking longer day trips. Grindlewald. I am so glad I chose Grindelwald because it turned out to be one of my favorite villages. It's larger than the other villages, and the hotels in the area met my expectations, which are relatively high for an affordable cost. The location, look, decor, food, and amenities must all fall into place. For our Grindlewald hotel, we chose Hotel Spinne, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.
Do you need help planning a vacation? My friend is a travel agent. Please let Kim at Bernbach Travel know that I referred you, and she will contact me to get my opinions on your vacation. I always have them, as you know.
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