Lauterbrunnen

David Salo surmises that Tolkein's Rivendell is inspired by Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland.

The Lauterbrunnental, just like Rivendell, is a narrow strip of land bounded on two sides by nearly vertical cliffs. Over these cliffs several rills plummet in sheer waterfalls, notably Staubbach, all of which make an unceasing noise.

I have been to Lauterbrunnen a couple of times on holiday. Next time I'll have to imagine elven palaces instead of Swiss chalets. I wonder if Tolkien would approve of the network of funiculars, tramways, rack railways and cable cars that allow tourists to visit the mountain villages of Mürren and Wengen high above the valley. I wonder if Tolkien would approve? Possibly not, although they are all powered by hydro-electric power rather than polluting steam engines.

Those two villages have no road access, so everything has to use the funiculars and mountain railways. I remember seeing a kitchen sink unit(!) being carried up the funicular and then on a little freight wagon coupled to the tramcar to get it to Mürren, and a freight train propelled by a diminutive and ancient four-wheeled electric locomotive slowly making its way up the 1-in-4 rack-and-pinion gradient to Wengen, the main cargo being crates of beer!