The day after Christmas we packed up our bags and headed to the train station for a short (2 hr) trip through the Brunig pass to Interlaken.
The sun was shining as we left Luzern and I got a nice view of several of the towers along the old wall as we passed. Its about 30 ft high and runs about 900 yards along the length of the old city.
We continued to be amazed at how green the fields were in the area. I'm not sure if winter crops were growing or if it was grass for cattle that continued to grow because winter had not really set in. We were expecting everything to be covered in snow, but that was simply not the case.
There are paths around nearly every lake we've seen that are with several feet of the waterline in some places. It appears that the water level in many of these is fairly constant. I guess the spring run off passes through rather than collecting and raising the level of the lake.
We went up a lovely valley past the Samersee lake and through Giswil. Then the engine was traded out for a cograil engine and we climbed more steeply toward Lundgren.
There were some really cute playscapes along the side of the lake. It would be fun to take your kids out to hike/walk and stop and play along the way. The lake trail was literally a step away from some of the small train stations we passed through.
It seemed that each town had a lovely white church with an extra tall steeple. Some were easier to catch a photo of than others.
We passed one small lake that was full of people in small fishing boats. The sign read "fishing paradise". It made me wonder if they stocked the lake or what made it special from other lakes that we had passed.
Reflection on the water was stunning. Very little wind on these lakes. Although I've seen some sailboats along the shore, I don't think this is a real sailing place.
Another tall church steeple with beautiful mountains in the background.
After crossing the Bruning pass, we had a good view of the Schynige Platte region.
It was a steep run down the other side of the pass to Brienz with several spectacular waterfalls cascading down the cliffs.
This is the Brienzersee (see=lake) near Brienz. Light blue water from glacier runoff and very clear when you look down into it. Again, hardly a ripple on the water.
I have a particular talent for photographing poles along the side of the track when I'm trying to capture the beauty beyond it.
I figure if I take 50 million photos, a few will turn out well. Ha!
We make it to Interlaken with the sun shining in a bright blue sky (Jungfrau in the distance)
There are lots of other photos with Swiss chateaus in them, but I thought I'd take this one to illustrate that the classic architecture is everywhere and is not just a stereotype. Angled roof, large overhanging eaves, symmetrical windows across the front with painted shutters, and flower boxes (filled with flowers in the summer).
Interlaken has a lot of wooden sculptures around town. These rams eating fondue were fun!
This was a great modern apartment. Central open kitchen, dining and living space with bedrooms all off this central area (no wasted hall space)
The kitchen was 'minimalist' with all the matching cabinets on the wall including a built in fridge and freezer. Not sure how I feel about this design.
The rooms had wispy curtains, but also an exterior set of venetian blinds that were operable from inside that blacked things out pretty well.
We were on the 2nd floor and the patio was the best feature of the place. It would be so much fun to live in a space like this and fill the patio with plants in the summer.
Mountain view.
Harder Kulm view in the other direction.
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