{"id":12688,"date":"2026-08-31T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/?p=12688"},"modified":"2026-07-26T15:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T13:15:42","slug":"switzerland-summer-alps-escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/switzerland-summer-alps-escape\/","title":{"rendered":"Switzerland in Summer: A Cool Alpine Escape"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Athens hits 40 degrees in August, the idea of a cool mountain escape starts to sound like a luxury. The Bernese Oberland \u2014 the heart of the Swiss Alps \u2014 is one of the most direct counter-heatwave getaways you can take this year.<\/p>\n<h2>Interlaken and the villages above it<\/h2>\n<p>Interlaken works as a gateway between two lakes, but the real experience is in the villages above it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lauterbrunnen<\/strong> \u2014 built inside a dramatic valley where waterfalls drop straight off the cliffs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>M\u00fcrren<\/strong> and <strong>Wengen<\/strong> \u2014 both car-free, ideal for travelers who want complete quiet.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grindelwald<\/strong> \u2014 livelier, with easy access to trails and cable cars.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The train to the top of Europe<\/h2>\n<p>The train up to Jungfraujoch, known as the &#8220;Top of Europe,&#8221; runs through a tunnel bored into the mountain itself and reaches 3,454 meters \u2014 one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world. It isn&#8217;t cheap (tickets easily run past 200 francs), but the view is hard to forget.<\/p>\n<h2>Hiking with a view<\/h2>\n<p>The route from M\u00e4nnlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is one of the most accessible view-hikes in the Alps \u2014 nearly flat, about two and a half hours, with the Eiger, M\u00f6nch, and Jungfrau peaks accompanying you the whole way.<\/p>\n<h2>Practical tips for the cost<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stay in the smaller villages<\/strong> instead of Interlaken, for better prices.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get a Swiss Travel Pass<\/strong> if you&#8217;re planning several train rides.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pack your own food for the hikes<\/strong> instead of eating at the mountain huts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Getting there from Greece<\/h2>\n<p>There&#8217;s no direct flight from Kalamata, but the flight from Athens to Zurich or Geneva takes about three hours. From there, the train gets you to Interlaken in two to three and a half hours.<\/p>\n<h2>Plan your own escape<\/h2>\n<p>At <strong>Penguin Travels &amp; Tours<\/strong>, we put together Switzerland getaways with the right mix of trains, hiking, and downtime \u2014 ideal for when the Greek heat gets to be too much.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Looking for a break from the heat?<\/strong> Stop by our office in Kalamata (Vasilissis Olgas 4) or call us at <strong>+30 27210 80701<\/strong> \u2014 we&#8217;ll plan a route that fits you.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Athens hits 40 degrees, the Bernese Oberland offers cool air, trains that climb into the mountains, and trails with views of the peaks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Switzerland in Summer: A Cool Alpine Escape","rank_math_description":"When Athens hits 40 degrees, the Bernese Oberland offers cool air, trains that climb into the mountains, and trails with views of the peaks.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Switzerland summer, Bernese Oberland, Alps trip","footnotes":""},"categories":[438],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12688"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12690,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12688\/revisions\/12690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penguintravels.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}