🎶 Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream, Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream. 🎶 Well, it was Trübsee lake, not a river, but still the feeling was sooo amazing… Rowing a boat through the calm water! Not only that, but it earns you many romantic points with your partner! It is said that rowing a boat is the third most romantic thing to the heart of a woman, after gifting flowers & cooking a fancy meal (and of course aside from a luxurious gift 😉). But let me start from the beginning of the trip. A trip that included hiking mountains, hanging over bridges, rowing lakes and taking cable cars out of other things to do in Engelberg. So if you are looking for plans out of the city for the long weekend, here is a full program & things to do in the area of Engelberg-Titlis!

Day 1: Engelberg Hiking-Titlis walking!

So… fast rewind back and we are hopping on the Titlis Rotair – a cable car taking us up to a 3,238 metres peak! This is the world’s first revolving cable car. No need to rush to the best spot as it allows everyone to have a perfect view! Even in July the peak was covered with snow and the temperature was close to 0 degrees, which caught us off guard 😁. The weather was somehow foggy which pumped up the heart beating (recall my phobia of heights?) as we crossed the hanging Titlis Cliff Walk bridge, feeling and (barely) seeing the bridge hanging from nowhere! At the peak you can also visit the ice cave. A friendly advice: don’t be clumsy testing your stability or you will surely fall on your…. back 😉.  On a clear weather day, Hiking in Engelberg tops the list of things to do in Engelberg. It’s on the way down that we stopped at Trübsee and had the memorable private boat ride. As usual Swiss culture of trust impressed us. There was only an unattended small note asking  you to donate 10 CHF to the area preservation in return for using a boat! Back to Sörenberg where we were staying. The area had multiple hiking trails to explore some of the best for Engelberg hiking. As we were hiking  we came across a couple of rabbits and multiple cows having their evening meal. The real trophy was the cheese makers spread in the area. The “Alpcäse” cheese is super tasty and the owners are very generous. So we bought some cheese and even tasted as much! The richness in taste is amazing as it’s highly dependent on the diverse flora which the cows munch on in the mountainous fields. Before sunset we headed back to our cosy studio with an open garden to enjoy the light chilly breeze and marvel at the sun hiding behind the mountains.

Day 2: Brienzer Rothorn Hiking

Early in the morning we headed to Brienzer Rothorn. There are no words or even pictures that can describe how beautiful the view was! The turquoise blue of lake Brienz shines from far down like a jewel on the necklace of  the surrounding mountains! We unpacked a small picnic supply we had and were lucky to find a wooden bench, where we sat and mesmerized on the breathtaking nature. Although we went up Rothorn by cable car, but there was also a classic original train running that can take you up from Brienz. The area includes multiple Brienzer Rothhorn hiking trails so make sure to have your hiking boots with you. Watch out to check the weather forecast online ahead. It’s quite accurate by hour and you can see the web cams. We actually modified our visit timing so as to avoid the fog period. Hiking in Brienzer Rothorhorn is on top of the things to do in the area, as the trails are always matched with wonderful views of the Lake and surrounding mountains.

Useful information

We chose Sörenberg as our base for this trip. It is a tiny place just a few hundred meters away from the Brienzer Rothorn cable car station and 1h30 min away from Engelberg-Titlis. Sörenberg is just 1h away by car from Lucerne and 1h30 min from Zürich. It is also reachable by public transport and you can arrive in about 1h30 but have several changes of train and a bus ride. You might choose another base for your trip somewhere in the middle between Brienzer Rothorn and Engelberg-Titlis. Near Sarnersee lake for example.