Hi
@Paul Chebator ! My husband Steve and I have been to Switzerland many times, and are going again for two weeks in September. We currently live in the UK, but lived in the US for many years and flew into Zurich. It is only a 20 minute taxi from the airport to Zurich city center and we usually took the taxi and then spent 2 or 3 nights in Zurich (because we are jetlag wimps). You could spend your first night there, then take the train the next day instead of staying near the airport. Most likely your flight from the US arrives in the morning and you would get a chance to see some of Zurich. The downside to Zurich is that the hotels are shockingly expensive.
But perhaps you are driving? If you are taking the train you could look into a pass they have which covers your train from the airport to your destination and then at the end of your stay to the border. I think it also gives discounts during your stay. Let me know if you are taking the trains and I will get the link for you for this pass.
If your choice is Interlaken or Grindelwald, I vote for Grindelwald. Interlaken is in the valley before the mountains. Many people choose it because you can take trains from there to several mountain towns, but I prefer staying in the mountains and not starting each day with a one hour drive or more.
Grindelwald is very popular but should be less crowded in September and September is an excellent time to be in the Alps. We were in Grindelwald for a few days last July and it was packed. It is a favorite of Japanese tour groups. I love the town and the hiking is very good. Go on the
Grindelwald tourist website for prices of mountain ride passes (those gondolas up to the mountain tops, where all the good trails are, are expensive).
I posted information about hiking in Grindelwald on another thread -
Hiking in Grindelwald. We have stayed there many times and done a lot of hikes. If you have any questions, I should be able to help you.
We always stay in vacation rentals, but the hotels in Switzerland are very good. You can look on
Booking.com to see the list of hotels - 2 or 3 star hotels will be good. If you have a car, make sure there is parking. If you don't have a car, make sure to get a central hotel where you can walk to the First gondola, the train station and be on the bus line.
We have seen paragliding in Switzerland, but I don't recall any in Grindelwald - but it is such a popular place there has to be paragliding. There should be some online resources to help you with this. I remember seeing paragliding in Engelberg, to the east of Grindelwald.
I have some
Switzerland photos posted.
Hope this helps!
Photo from last July, on the trail to Kleine Scheidegg looking at the Eiger.