Stage 17 of the Alpine Panorama Trail (Route 3) is a 19 km hike with 950 m ascent and 560 m descent that goes from Münsingen to Rüeggisberg. With the shorter days, we decided to do this hike over two days. In mid-October, we did the 9.5 km from Münsingen to Toffen. Then a week later we did the second half of the hike from Toffen to Rüeggisberg. Splitting the hike in two also gave us a little more time to spend in Münsingen before starting the hike. There, we went to see the roman mosaics, bought some cheese, and had a lovely lunch. We didn’t do any specific sight seeing on the second half, but it was still a pretty great day out.
Detail Summary
| Where: | Münsingen to Rüeggisberg Canton Bern, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Münsingen – 2 hr 30 min Rüeggisberg -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 30 min Note: If you decide to do this as a two day hike as we did, Toffen is an ideal stopping point. It is exactly half-way through the hike and has train connection every half-hour back to Zürich. Toffen -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 30 min Zürich HB -> Toffen – 1 hr 30 min |
| What: | Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 17 Münsingen to Rüeggisberg (SwitzerlandMobility) Yellow trail markers – Alpine Panorama Trail Route 3 |
| Skill: | Medium – About 6 hrs Length 19 km, Ascent 950 m, Descent 560 m |
Additional Info
| Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 17 Münsingen to Rüeggisberg (SwitzerlandMobility) Roman Mosaics in Münsingen (German) Schlossgut Münsingen (German) Schloss Münsingen (German) Belper Knolle Sternen restaurant (German) Gantrisch Nature Park |
Photo Stories for Other Stages
| Stage 1 – Rorschach to Trogen Stage 2 – Trogen to Appenzell Stage 3 – Appenzell to Schwägalp Stage 4 – Schwägalp to Stein, SG Stage 5 – Stein, SG to Amden Stage 6 – Amden to Siebnen Stage 7 – Siebnen to Einsiedeln Stage 8 – Einsiedeln to Unterägeri Stage 9 – Unterägeri to Zug Stage 10 – Zug to Luzern Stage 11 – Luzern to Malters Stage 12 – Malters to Wolhusen Stage 13 – Wolhusen to Napf Stage 14 – Napf to Lüderenalp Stage 15 – Lüderenalp to Moosegg Stage 16 – Moosegg to Münsingen Stage 17 – Münsingen to Rüeggisberg Stage 18 – Rüeggisberg to Guggisberg |
Getting There
The Alpine Panorama Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. This stage starts in Münsingen and ends in Rüeggisberg.
Stage 16 ended at the Münsingen train station where Stage 17 starts and then immediately heads out of town.
Münsingen looked like it had some cute restaurants and a good cheese store. So, we decided to take some time to walk around Münsingen a bit before we headed out.
Touring Münsingen
After arriving in Münsingen, the first thing we wanted to do was to go see the Roman Mosaics which were about a 15 minute walk from the train station. The walk was mostly through an industrial area, so not particularly scenic. When we arrived at the mosaics, we found that that museum was closed and we were only able to peek at the mosaics through the fence. I should have done a better job reading the opening hours before we left. Still, we did get a peek at them.
After leaving the mosaics, we walked back towards the center of town to go to a cheese shop we had passed when doing the previous stage. We were on the hunt for a local cheese called Belper Knolle, named for the nearby town of Belp. Belper Knolle is a round ball of hard garlicky cheese coated in black pepper. It is meant to be used like a truffle, grated or shaved over foods to add flavor. When we got home, we tried it grated over a basic preparation of buttered spaghetti. It was absolutely fantastic! What a way to elevate a dish! I cannot wait to try it over roasted vegetables or risotto. Helvetic Kitchen has lots of great ideas on how to use it. We also bought a Gerzensee brie cheese (not pictured) that was out of this world good.
After buying our cheese, we walked back towards the train station and stopped for lunch at Schlossgut Münsingen, a restaurant serving Swiss classics such as rösti and the seasonal plate of mushrooms in cream sauce, spätzle, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, candied chestnuts and a half pear with cranberry jam. I love the “Autumn Plate” and seeing it on the menu is one of the very nicest things about this time of year. While most of it was good, the sprouts were a mushy disappointment. oh well.
After lunch, we walked past Schloss Münsingen (but did not go into the museum) and down to the train station where we started the next section of the trail.
The Trail – Day 1 Münsingen to Toffen
Despite the beginning being mostly through town, there was also a pretty section alongside a small stream. The leaves were beginning to turn, bringing some yellows and oranges to the scene.
After we crossed over the highway and the Gürbe river, we dipped into the forest and began a steep climb up. Lots of stairs on this part. But also nice views back towards Münsingen when we left the forest.
As the hike continued, we went through forest and farmland. Although you can’t see it well through the leaves, we did pass a pretty waterfall in the forest. It was a very overcast day, so the long views could have been better, but they were still nice.
After we crested the ridge, we walked for a while through rolling farmland. We even passed an alpaca farm.
Then a lot more stairs as there was steep descent into Toffen. And towards the end of the descent, another pretty waterfall!
Once we reached the valley, there was a long, straight, flat section. Then, shortly after we crossed the stream, we were at the Toffen train station, the half-way point of this stage.
The Toffen train station has great connections back, so this is where we ended part one of this stage and headed home. We got back a week later to do part two of this stage.
The Trail – Day 2 Toffen to Rüeggisberg
After returning to the Toffen train station, we followed the trail through Toffen, stopping at the Coop grocery in town to pick up sandwiches for later.
After the trail left town, it was a fairly steady climb through the forest for the next 2 km or so. When we reached the top, the trail flattened out a bit and went through some pretty farmland with views back down to Toffen. It was another overcast day, so not the best views.
As we continued, it was more forest and farmland. Lovely autumn leaves and busy farmers getting work done.
After we passed the Sternen (German) restaurant at the Gschneit, Oberbutschel bus stop, we came to a picnic area. The trail description had promised fantastic views, but, sadly for us, the clouds obscured the mountains. As we sat and had our lunch, we commented several times that we should come back here on a clear day to see the view.
But wait! What about the alpine panorama picture at the top of this post? Spoiler alert, we returned to the picnic spot much sooner than we ever thought we would. Find out more at the end of this post.
Anyway, back to the hike as it was. After leaving the picnic spot, it was a gentle up and down the rest of the way to Rüeggisberg, mostly in the forest, but also through some farmland. A couple of interesting things, one this part of the trail was inside the Gantrisch Nature Park and two, we passed an orchard that according to the sign was a source of some of the herbs for Ricola (german) cough drops.
Always pretty to hike through the forest as the leaves are changing.
Getting Back
When we got to Rüeggisberg, we had about a half hour until the bus came, so we stopped into a small shop and bought some wild mushroom raclette cheese and a local mustard. We also took a quick peek at the Rüeggisberg Abbey ruins. We will spend a little more time at them when we do the next stage.
After we finished the hike, as we were taking the bus home, we saw that the clouds had cleared.
When we came to the Gschneit, Oberbutschel bus stop right near our earlier picnic spot, we decided to hop out and spend the hour waiting for the next bus walking back to the picnic area and taking some photos.
Look how different it is with the clouds cleared away! I’m really happy we got to return there right away. After taking our photos, we took the next bus and headed home. The days are getting colder and darker so I’m not sure when we will get back to do the next stage, but I am looking forward to it.
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