The Daredevil European Adventure That Had Rick Steves Waking In The Night Clutching His Mattress

Rick Steves is known for his great travel tips and his guides to experiencing some of the best (and avoiding the worst) places in the world. The travel expert is all about having authentic experiences while traveling, and many times, traveling requires us to step out of our comfort zone. But sometimes it's more of a leap out of our comfort zone. For example, after Steves took on the via ferrata from Mürren to Gimmelwald, the experience stayed with him. "For the next several nights I awoke in the wee hours, clutching my mattress," according to Rick Steves' Europe. Here's why.

If you've never heard of a via ferrata, it translates to "iron way" in Italian. This involves traversing a mountain using a series of metal rungs or pins secured into the rock along with a metal cable that you can hold on to. The via ferrata from Mürren to Gimmelwald is just one of many throughout the mountains of Europe. Though this via ferrata is unique compared to many others since you'll be making your way down the mountain from Mürren to Gimmelwald as compared to climbing up a mountain.

Parts of the route are on a fairly typical mountain trail; however, there will be a number of times with some pretty intense exposure with the valley floor thousands of feet below you. "The route takes you along the very side of the cliff, like a tiny window washer on a geologic skyscraper," Steves said. You'll be crossing a swinging narrow suspension bridge, climbing down ladders, and you'll likely get the biggest adrenaline rush at "die Hammer Eck" (Hammer Corner). That's what seems to have happened to Steves.

Rick Steves described traversing the Hammer Corner section of the via ferrata from Mürren to Gimmelwald on his website. "For about 500 feet we crept across a perfectly vertical cliff face — feet gingerly gripping rebar loops, cold and raw hands on the cable, tiny cows and a rushing river 2,000 feet below me, a rock face rocketing directly above me — as my follow-the-cable path bended out of sight," he wrote. We can understand why he woke up holding on tight to his mattress in the night after that!

Steves also called it "an experience of a lifetime," so it sounds like it was worth it. If you want to challenge yourself like the expert, there are some important things to keep in mind. You can (and should!) go with a guide if you don't have experience with a via ferrata, and it will cost around $185 per person, which includes your safety gear of a helmet and harness. You'll be clipped into the cable system with carabiners connected to lanyards on a climbing style harness. Wear good hiking shoes, consider bringing fingerless gloves with a good grip, and above all, bring your sense of adventure.

It's about a 2-hour train journey from Bern to Mürren. Both Mürren and Gimmelwald are car free, so you'll have to take public transportation to get to and from this adventure, including cable cars up the mountain. And while you're in the area, you should also check out Iseltwald, a charming village straight out of a storybook, on Lake Brienz. It won't be quite so adrenaline inducing, but it will be just about as beautiful.