Today was one of those days that sounds neat when you plan it, and then you do it, and it is totally Whoa. Our day started, as it often does, with the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, which is always a good time – the scenery never gets old. We were on our way to the Niederhorn, a mountain over Lake Thun with good infrastructure to get to it and, we supposed, some commanding views. Sounds good.
To get there, we boarded a ferry! This was a sightseeing boat that left the more-sizeable town of Interlaken. This took us out over the incredible waters of Lake Thun. Lake Thun and Lake Brienz are gorgeous glacial lakes that are connected by a canal system, and straddled by Interlaken. On our way into Interlaken, our train route followed the glacial river from Lauterbrunnen, and it and hundreds of other rivers have turned the waters steely blue-green. Also, boat rides are (nearly) always good! We rode for perhaps just under an hour.
In the town of Beatenbucht, we hopped off the ferry and onto a funicular. This was also good. Then we transferred from the funicular to a cable car, which was a gorgeous ride.
We arrived at the top of the Niederhorn to find that the skies were clearing up considerably from the full cloud cover that had been forecast. This made for incredible views of the valleys and mountains we’d been admiring. Plus, we could see dozens of mountains we’d never seen from our little home in Lauterbrunnen valley. Even Mont Blanc in France was (barely) visible! We had our picnic lunch, then roamed around the top for a bit.
We also wanted to visit the Harder Kulm, a viewpoint perched over Interlaken that had views of both lakes. To get there, we boarded a bus – and barely made it after some confusion about where it would pick us up. It would have been an hour for another one, so we really lucked out. This was a spectacular bus experience; we were some of the first passengers for the route, so we had the pick of the seats, and it ran at elevation along the entire route of Lake Thun that we had just traversed by boat. The bus ride featured hairpin turns and a surprising number of travelers. It was just gorgeous, and every bit as fun as the ferry ride. Best time on a bus ever.
Hopping off the bus back in Interlaken, Stef wanted to take a moment to enjoy the town. We didn’t do much at all, and we’re sure it’s a lovely place that merits some exploration, but you just can’t do it all. We did walk down a beautiful tree-lined park area, and dipped our toes in the unbelievably blue waters of the Aare canal – turns out the glacier runoff was pretty cold.
To ascend Harder Kulm, you take a funicular that climbs an incredibly steep line up the mountain – practically an elevator, really. This was a good ride. Then, up at the top, we were surprised to find that there wasn’t a lot to do – no trails, no out-of-the-way overlooks, no circuit around the top that takes you over a ridge. There is a viewpoint that is very impressive, hanging cantilevered out 30 feet over the steep hillside. The views from this impressive viewpoint were equally impressive.
It is amazing just how amazing this place is. Every new viewpoint has had a dozen great sights like these.
There is also a restaurant. Okay, this was excellent. Stef has talked ad nauseum about getting Swiss classics (raclette, rosti, and fondue) in a fancy place. It does not get fancier than hovering over the top of two gorgeous lakes with the Alps towering in the background. This was the place, 100%. We were pleased they had a table for us. We went for raclette and rosti, saving the fondue for another time. It was a very good meal, at a reasonable rate for Switzerland, in an unbeatable setting. It was a real highlight.
It was a good thing our bellies were full of cheese, because we had known that getting back down would be an ordeal. On our way off the funicular and up to the party area, we’d seen a massive line to take the funicular back down – at the rate the funiculars turned around, we estimated the people in that line would wait about an hour. On our own way back, we were relieved to see it was much shorter, but we still waited for probably 30 minutes. With good views and good company, it was our turn by and by. They did pack us in like lemmings, so it wasn’t nearly as fun as on the way up, but we were grateful and relieved to be on our way.
And then we hit rewind – from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, all gorgeous train rides, all wonderful in this incredible country. We’d had such a fun day, seen incredible things, and taken 5 modes of transportation:
- Train
- Boat
- Cable car
- Funicular (x2!)
- Bus
…and walked with our feet! We were both so glad Daniel’s cold had receded enough to allow him to soldier through this day and get to see so much of Switzerland. He completely planned this whole day, and it worked out better than either of us expected or hoped. Switzerland, you’ve done it again.
Still recall my boat ride from Thun to Interlaken – 55 years ago. I missed out on most of the views from the top so hooray for you and thanks for showing me what I missed.
I really loved the views in that area around the Thun Sea. We came in that way by train so they were our first taste of the Alps. I still find them more interesting than the higher, snowier mountains because there’s a lot more relatable features like trees and grassy soil and houses.
So glad that it brings back some memories and hopefully shows you something new too!