perfect holidays at the lake of Thun (part II)

BOAT CRUISE on the lake of Thun

We love to take boat tours, so one of these was not to be missed.

We decided to leave from 'Beatenbucht' as we had read on the leaflet that there are parking plots available for only 5,00 CHF a day.

The boat tour from 'Beatenbucht' to Thun takes about 80 minutes with 7 stops until arrival in Thun. 

The boat dock in Thun is located a few steps only from the railway station an another few minutes walk from the city centre.

We really enjoyed both trips and made acquaintance with a group of young people from Switzerland and London on the return trip from Thun, so it was a great day.

For more information on navigation on the lake Thun, please check bls homepage.

*picture 'lake Thun overview' copyright bls

City of Thun

I LOVE THUN  . . . that's for sure.

Thun has all you can ask for: a magical scenery, river Aare, a castle, many shops, beautiful old buidings, lovely streets to stroll around, many cafés and restaurants, a playground right in the middle and 'Krone's Aare Terrasse' next where parents can finally enjoy a cup of coffee . . . . 

We felt at ease from the moment we arrived.

We went there by boat on Saturday and were not aware that shops close at 5 p.m., so we returned another day without our dog, to explore the shops too.

BOAT CRUISE on the lake of BRIENZ

As we still had another voucher* offering one-day ticket for the entire family for only CHF 49,00, we took advantage of this good offer and also went to Brienz by boat.

To make sure again to have a parking available, we decided not to leave from Interlaken, but from the second station: Böningen. There is a free car parking only meters from the boat's dock.

Actually we had planned to take the boat to Brienz, visit Brienz for an hour or two, before taking the boat to Giessbach and have a look at the waterfalls.

We got of the boat in Brienz and started visiting . . . we had such a good time, that we stayed for another hour, and then another hour . . . and finally stayed on the boat on return and didn't get of in Giessbach anymore.

For more information on navigation on the lake Brienz, please check bls homepage.

** picture 'lake Thun overview' copyright bls 

* vouchers by COOP, one of Switzerland's largest retail and wholesale companies 

City of BRIENZ and BRIENZ DORF

Brienz is absolutely lovely and easily reachable by car, bus, boat, bike ...

First time we visited, we arrived by boat.

The dock is centrally located close to the the railway station and station for the 'Rothorn Bahn' - the tourist rack railway to the summit of Rothorn mountain. 

We headed west, taking the main road, and after we bought some picnic we returned to the promenade along the lake Brienz.

This shore walk is really nicely developed with features like: life-size wooden figures, access to the lake, playground, water playground, many benches and deckchairs a.s.o.

At the end of the shore walk we walked north to Schleegasse leading to the evangelical reformed church of Brienz, before returning through the narrow old streets of Brienz Dorf.

We had a wonderful afternoon and therefore decided to return another afternoon, which we did so.

Checking the chicks @ hooters !

I had noticed the HOOTERS restaurant a few days earlier when we strolled along the streets in Interlaken (it's just across the square of Höhematte), so we stopped there on Tuesday evening to have dinner.

Staff was great, especially our waitress Kristina. Se was very attentive, immediately asked if she should bring the dog some water, service was very fast & smoothly, dishes were yummy and even vegetarian alternatives on the menu.

Hannah was so delighted by the kind waitress that she asked for a souvenir picture.

Overall a great and positive experience...

....until we returned two days later. 

Service was very bad, the waiter and waitresses unresponsive and inattentive, the food piled up at the food counter and staff just walked past it several times.

So it's not easy to give a good advice or to know wether you will enjoy Hooters Interlaken or not....you'll have to give it a try.