This iconic view focuses centrally on the steepled-church, a sure indicator of this particular valley. The tall limestone cliffs on either side serve as the playground for basejumpers from around the world who venture here to play. Our hostel hosted a few of these parachute masters, and everyone gathered around the dinner table at the end of each day to review the footage. Their most common launch point was above the lighter-colored, star-shaped patch of limestone on the leftmost cliff. They took us one night to “the only pub in town,” with walls covered in photos, memorabilia, memorials, and news articles about basejumpers who’d ventured there. 

Lauterbrunnen is truly a unique valley in the Berner Oberland region. The Berner Oberland, or “Bernese” in English, is located south of Bern, the Swiss capital city, and in the canton of Bern. “Oberland” translates to highlands, though the scenery departs vastly from other “Highlands” that may come to mind (namely, the Scottish Highlands). Absent are any stormy cliffs from this region. And while Lauterbrunnen has long been the gem, the mecca, of the Berner Oberland, this region is populated with dozens of other stunning Swiss valleys that haven’t yet caught the attention of the masses.