Winter walks with a view in Bern

Do you want to visit the infamous “Röstigraben” (the linguistic border between French and German)? What are you waiting for? Go on one of the various winter hikes in the Laupen region. Start out at Laupen station, below the famous Laupen Castle, and follow the path to the Saane-Sense-Spitz. This point is often associated with the linguistic border, even though they speak Bernese on both sides. Continue on foot along the river and soon, the Flühlen mill with its impressive water wheel will appear at the end of the forest. Shortly after, another highlight will come into view: the Bramberg monument. It commemorates the Battle of Laupen in the 14th century, from which the Bernese emerged victorious.

This is an absolute classic, only 25 minutes by car from Bern. The starting point of this popular circular trail is the “Cholgruebe” car park near Bolligen. After about 1,5 hours of walking through the forest, you’ll be greeted by a 196-metre-high radio and television tower – make sure to take the stairs to the top. Once you reach the observation deck, you can enjoy the panoramic view from the Jura over the Mittelland, into the Emmental, and as far as the Bernese Oberland Alps. By the way: bringing a sledge will give you the upper hand on the descent. If the snow conditions are good, you can use it to race down the last part of the trail to the “Cholgruebe”.

The magnificent views on this circular hike in the Bipper-Jura will make you feel dreamy. You’re free to choose your starting point but ideally, it would be a larger car park. There, you’ll find free maps showing various hiking trails as well as the Legends Trail in the Bipper-Jura. You can discover numerous highlights along the way. For example, part of the circular hike leads along the Legends Trail where you can really immerse yourself in the mystical world of the Bipper-Jura and study anecdotes about the region’s legendary stories. We highly recommend a stopover at the mountain restaurant Stierenberg to relax your legs and satisfy your hunger. By the way: if you have enough energy, you might want to take a detour to the Ankehubel or even the Hällchöpfli, at 1,232 metres the highest point in the Oberaargau.

Fancy a dose of evening romance? Why not pack a thermos flask filled with the best herbal tea and watch the sunset on the hills of the city and region of Bern? Only at this time of year do the colours change so spectacularly from light blue to bright orange, purple red and lilac until finally only the stars twinkle above the firmament. If you have wrapped up warm enough, you can wait a little longer and, with a bit of luck, see a shooting star burn up. Views in a class of their own like this make you dream and enjoy.