Zurich: A trip to Engelberg – Getting ready to hike

My Uetliberg excursion had sparked a desire to see more mountains. I hovered between Jungfraujoch and Titlis, but in the end, the short transportation time to Mt. Titlis won. From Zurich, it only takes two hours to get to Engelberg, which is the village at the base of Mt. Titlis, and if you’re just there to visit the summit, it’s possible to do it as a single day trip. 

Though I wanted to explore more of the area, so I had booked at night at a cute little hotel, Belmont hotel, in Engelberg. It was in walking distance from the train station, but I think that’s the case for most of the hotels in Engelberg, as it’s a very small village. Summer season is the low season, and I first thought I was the only guest staying at the hotel, because it was so quiet, but to my surprise, most tables were occupied at the breakfast buffet in the morning.

It was the first time for me to go hiking alone, so while I was in Zurich, I made sure to stuff my backpack with everything I thought I could possibly need. Here’s what I brought to the Alps:

A Swiss Army knife

A sausage, so I had something to cut with my Swiss Army knife.

A Swiss apple. Also meant to be cut into pieces with the Swiss Army knife.

Prosciutto in a special packaging that didn’t need to be stored in the fridge. Very convenient for multi-day hiking tours. Could probably also be cut into smaller pieces with the Swiss Army knife:)

Chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

Rivella: A Swiss soft drink made from milk whey. It’s very sweet, even the sugar free one that I had.

New hiking shoes and a windbreaker purchased at the giant Transa Outdoor Outlet Store close to the central station in Zurich. That store had everything, including a section for wool socks, which you wear “to prevent your feet from smelling”, as they explained. Hiking gear is expensive in Switzerland, and the price level at the outlet store was approximately the same as in an ordinary store in Denmark.

Band-Aid for the blisters I expected to get.

Disclaimer: This is what I chose to bring along on my very first solo hiking tour. If you’re planning to go hiking yourself, I would suggest that you look for advice from more experienced hikers:)

To get to Engelberg, I took the train from Zurich to Luzern, and from Luzern I took another train to Engelberg. I booked my train ticket from Zurich to Engelberg at sbb.ch which is the Swiss Federal Railways website. The site is also available in English, and it’s really easy to use.