Top of Harder Kulm


Back in October 2019, I went on a 2 week trip to Switzerland and Southern Germany. It was my second time in Switzerland and I re-visited the Swiss-German speaking parts of the country. I hope this travel diary series will help provide you some tips and suggestions if you plan to visit.

Getting there

After landing in Zurich, we grabbed some SIM cards from Sunrise for our phones and purchased the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass from SBB. Personally, I think the Swiss Travel Pass is a great option for tourists - it allows for unlimited travel by train, boat, bus, and public transportation pretty much anywhere in Switzerland. You can also get discounted rates for certain mountain excursions, along with free entrances to various museums. If it's your first time to these attractions, the benefits of the travel pass far outweighs the costs. 

Swiss Travel Pass Flex! You can input the days you want to use it! 

The Swiss train system is also pretty easy to navigate. On my first trip in 2018, I used Google Maps to view the time tables (surprisingly accurate), but this time I used the SBB mobile app to plan which trains to get on. 

Interlaken

Our first stop upon arriving in Zurich was to Interlaken. Interlaken is a resort town in the Bernese Oberland region of Centeral Switzerland. It's a popular spot to stay for those looking explore what the two lakes (Lake Thun and Lake Brienz) have to offer. It's also houses the train stop that leads directly into the Jungfrau region - more on that later. 

The train ride from Zurich to Interlaken is about a 2-hour train ride, and once we arrived we headed to our accommodations - Hotel Interlaken.

Reformierte Schlosskirche located behind Hotel Interlaken

Hotel Interlaken is one of the oldest hotels in the region, with records dating back to the 1300s. I believe only parts of the original building structure remain. Despite it's 600 year history, the hotel is very modern and we enjoyed our stay there. It was also one of the more reasonably priced hotels in the area. The room rates included breakfast, and they were accomodating to providing adapters and suggestions on where to go! 

View of from our hotel room

Harder Kulm

The next morning, we headed up Harder Kulm. It's a viewing point at the top of Interlaken where you can see Lake Thun and Lake Brienz side-by-side in all its glory! You can take the Harderbahn up to the top, and it's a short five minute walk from Hotel Interlaken. 

Lake Brienz

Lake Thun

At the top there is a Panorama restaurant, where you can sit and enjoy the views around you. There's also a viewing bridge were you can take gorgeous shots of the region. 

Restaurant

St. Beatus Caves

After Harder Kulm, we spent the rest of the day exploring areas around Lake Thun. Our first stop was St. Beatus Caves. We took bus line 21 directly to the Beatushöhlen stop. The outside of the caves reminded me of Rivendell from LOTR, even though I know Lauterbrunnen is the actual inspiration for it. 

Do you agree it looks like Rivendell? 😄

Cute Gnome Statue on the way up to the cave entrance!

According to legend, St. Beat, a 6th century monk hunted a dragon who took shelter in these caves. Inside the caves you can see stalactites and stalagmites formations over millions of years old. It was a pretty neat experience. The cave paths were well laid out and lit, allowing for a smooth walking experience. 




Beatenberg-Niderhorn


Getting foggy at Beatenberg-Niderhorn

Afterwards we headed up Beatenberg-Niderhorn next to the caves, but the weather started to get foggy as we headed up the mountain. So on we went to see Oberhofen Castle instead. It's a 13th cenury castle with stunning lake views and gardens.

Oberhofen Castle


Oberhofen Castle 

Front of the castle

Castle Garden

Path in the Castle Garden

The castle also has a restaurant and that's were we had lunch! 

Salmon with Risotto

Rosti with sausage and beets

Thun

Afterwards, we headed straight to Thun. Please note, since all these stops are along Lake Thun, we were able to take the same bus line 21 to every stop. :)

Thun Castle

Thun lies north-west of Lake Thun and its main attraction is Thun Castle. The castle was built in the 1200s. It towers over its Old Town, and it's a beautiful town to walk in. You can enjoy a lovely stroll through its cobblestone streets, charming bridges, and visit various shops. 




I forgot to point out the water in Lake Thun is extremely clear and beautiful. You can seriously walk along the water all day - it's quite breathtaking.

Crystal clear waters

Lovely fall colors

Spiez

Our last stop of the day was Spiez. We took the train and it was a 9-minute ride from Thun to Spiez. Spiez is on the south side of Lake Thun. The small town also has its own castle, Spiez Castle - a thousand year old castle church. The town boasts various vineyards and I also saw quite a bit of people boating in this town.

Spiez View

Spiez Castle

The castle itself was closed by the time we reached there in the late afternoon. However, you can walk further down to the water and there's a lovely park where you can take more pictures of Lake Thun.



After this, we headed back to our hotel to enjoy our last night in Interlaken! We had dinner at the hotel's restaurant - Taverne. They serves Modern Swiss Cuisine and was certainly interesting to try for dinner.

Nightview of Reformierte Schlosskirche next to Taverne

Smoked Salmon course

Mousse appetizer

Stay tuned for the next stop - the Jungfrau region!