“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.”
Welcome back to the 4th blog of our trip to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Switzerland
Hope you like my last blog on "Magnificent Matterhorn", and here we are going to continue to spread our footprints in the Suisse landscapes where we are heading Interlaken.
The journey from Tasch to Interlaken is 2hr 15min included 2 transfers at Visp and Spiez, however it was a very scenic train ride that made the journey shorter. Here to share how beautiful the journey was.
Interlaken
This is a charming old town that is deeply stalked and shadowed by Eiger, Monch & Jungfrau.
Located in a valley surrounded by the Alps and nestled in between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, that is why it is named Interlaken, whereas River Aare connected through both lakes. Basically, it is not a big town and easily explored by foot, the ground here is mostly flat, so it is very easy to move around even visitors are with wheelchairs or baby strollers. There are 2 train stations here: Interlaken West & Interlaken OST (East), it is a good place to act as a base while travelling the region.
Interlaken, which is encircled by mountains, is a well-liked paragliding location. While strolling through the areas, people should look up at the sky to catch a glimpse of the unusual sight of dozens of human beings the size of birds flying above them. Visitors can take a train from the highest railway station in Europe, or a cable car, and enjoy views of the Jungfrau and Mönch peaks, glaciers, valleys, and, on a clear day, all the way to the Black Forest in Germany. Interlaken is also the starting point for exploring the Jungfrau region. Like us, we are using Interlaken as a base while exploring the regions.
Do you know ? : It is illegal to mow your lawn on a Sunday in Switzerland because it causes too much noise. The Swiss value their rest and recovery on Sunday and anything excessively noisy is not allowed or frowned upon.
Interlaken Guest Card
All guest staying overnight in Interlaken is required to pay "Visitor Tax" where the revenues will be used by Interlaken Tourism Board to promote and create better services / amenities for visitors. In return, the accommodation host will offer the stayer "The Guest Card" that entitle free travel on public transport within Interlaken and surrounding areas like Iseltwald, Saxeten, Niederried & Beatenbucht.
For us, we already got Swiss Travel Pass which is already covered all the transportation.
Here is how the Interlaken Guest Card looks like.
Interlaken OST (East) Station
Interlaken OST or Interlaken East is a railway station in the heart of Interlaken. Opened in 1874, it was previously known as Interlaken Zollhaus. The town has another station called Interlaken West, located at the other side of the town. Interlaken OST is an important railway junction of the meeting point of 3 lines - The Thunersee, The Brunig and The Bernese Oberland. Interlaken OST itself is a train hub to the region in Jungfrau area.
The station is connected to a bus interchange and ferry terminal to Lake Brienz, simply just follow the signs.
At the rear of the train station in the pier which people go for boat rides, however boat rides are closed in winter.
At the main entrance of Interlaken OST, there lie the bus station where people commute around.
The buses here are all rather on time, travel is mostly free here as most tourist are cover with Interlaken Guest Card thus the bus captain do not cross check. He can tell we are tourist.
Right opposite of bus station, there is a 2 levels Coop mall. On first level, there is a big supermarket that sell everything for locals and tourists. People come to buy groceries and ingredients to cook at their homes whether you are a local or a tourist. Coop also offer ready eat food at a very good price.
At the second level, there are couple of retail shops and a Coop restaurant here that offer food in IKEA style with very affordable prices which depend of the size of the plates. SO fill up your plate as much as you can on the selected food. Like, one main dish and as much as side dishes at one price tag.
This is what we ate on a certain day when we were rushing to the next town of Spiez after Iseltwald.
We are very lucky to catch a pretty sunset on a clear evening.
Interlaken Church
The exterior of this church is interesting unique, it is very pretty and stood through the time, this church was first documented in 1133.
The interior is very humble, simple and elegant.
Located at the start of The Hohnweg, 10 minutes' walk from Interlaken OST, it is a landmark that will not be missed.
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Chinese Restaurant Zhong Canguan
We stumbled upon this restaurant while wondering around.
It is pretty packed during meals hours and we craves for some mala soup or sour fish soup at this kind of cold weather. The restaurant is owned by China Chinese and the staff are China Chinese students in Switzerland. They are friendly and helpful, knowing we are Chinese too, they came to ask us for reviews as they are afraid not up to our expectation.
The head chef was from Guangzhou so the standard is more or less there, in the end, we made 2 visits to this place though the price are super higher than in Singapore.
This is what we ordered on the first visit:
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| See the price !!! |
On the second visit :
The Hohematt Park
A zone of around 12 football fields, located in the heart of Interlaken, just next to The Hoheweg main walking street.
From here, we can see the alps from the Jungfrau and I believe that during Spring flower blooming will be sure to beautify this park. There are a variety of hotels surrounding this park as the owners of this plot of land are actually a group of hoteliers who purchased it during 1860. So, I guess this park was a shared facilities for hotel guests. during those days.
Now, it is a park that open to everyone, it is also a perfect place to hold the town's events.
At the corner of this park, it is the landing point for the paragliders, so remember to look up time to time.
The Hoheweg Boulevard
A 700 meters long pedestrian street is the heart of Interlaken that stretches from Interlaken OST all the way to Interlaken west station. Old short log houses and shops lined the lively street with casino, hotels, restaurants, cafes, souvenirs, fashion and etc. shops. This street can lead you all the way to Unterseen and there are garden and parks surrounded this place.
Right in the heart of The Hoheweg, there is Aare River, which actually flows in between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun.
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River Aare
River Aare is the longest Swiss river in Switzerland, at the total distance of 300km, from its source in Rhine to its junction. This river was first documented in the Iron Age era, till today, there are more than 40 hydroelectric plants along the course of the Aare
The section of River Aare is Interlaken, it flows through Lakes Brienz and Thun.
Tourist passenger boats are available from the 2 jetties in Interlaken to bring you on excursion trips.
Aare Restaurant
There are many Korean tourist in Interlaken, must be thanks for the drama "Crash Landing onto You", so coming across Korea BBQ restaurant is not a surprise as the supply and demand is high.
We did not hesitate to enter this restaurant upon seeing it. It is great to have BBQ in cold winter and we craves for Asian food.
There is quite a lot of customers here that are mainly Asian.
There are even 3 tour buses of Korean tourists booked several tables at this place.
The manager or owner of this restaurant is a Korean while the rest of the staff are Filipinos.
So far, the food is considered not bad, we finished all and glad to find this restaurant.
Vanini Chocolate
This shop is not only popular for the handmade chocolate, it is also very popular for their ice cream which is what we are here for after our dinner.
Since 1871, it opened the first shop in Lugano and had scatter its wings across Europe.
There is even a chocolate fountain in the shop.. yumz ..
And here comes our dessert....
Jungfraustrasse
This is a notable street in Interlaken, about 5 minutes walk from The Hoheweg main street.
If you are here, do drop by to see see walk walk.
And here come the train...
Notice this at the local park that the town council offer free poo bags for our furry friends.
Though it is not a big dam but in general the view is very pretty.
Asian Restaurant
Located right next to the entrance of Interlaken OST, it is very ideal for those catching trains.
This restaurant specialise food from China, Vietnam & Thailand.
We ordered a fried rice, tom yum soup & Kung Po chicken.
The tom yum soup is those powdered form, not cook or stewed from raw ingredients.
The taste of Kung Po chicken is not really there, no cashew nuts and the taste is those fusional type to cater to local taste (ok, cannot blame them).
Fried rice is super oily.
Food portion is rather small, and we felt thirsty after meal, MSG is too much.
Interlaken West Station
Opened in 1872, it is one of the two stations in Interlaken, the other is Interlaken OST (East). This railway station is also connected to a bus interchange and ferry terminal to Lake Thun. The railway service are on smaller scale compared to Interlaken OST.
Goldswil Dorf
This is the Bus Stop of Gasthof Schienegg B&B (our accommodation) which is a mere 2 minutes' walk away. This photo is where we alight from Interlaken.
Bus number 102 and M42 serviced here. It is advisable to refer to the timings on the bus app on our handphone before coming out to wait. It is cold in winter.
We are going out and this is the view and fun we got while walking to the bus stop.
The bus stop heading to Interlaken is located right Infront of the clock house and this cute private compound. Remember to check the bus timing before coming here to wait.
Gasthof Schienegg B&B
A place we call home while we are in Interlaken. This accommodation we chose is very special, it is not like the usual hotel-style accommodation like what I had booked in other cities of Switzerland. From Interlaken OST bus stop, we need to take bus 102 for 6 minutes ride to reach this amazing place. This family owned B&B is situated on an uphill, surrounded with mountains and valleys.
The main reason we chose this hotel which is away from the heart of the town, is the setting of this B&B of a typical Alpine log house, the beautiful and peaceful scenery surrounded and of course to our surprise, the price is within our budget.
There are 24 rooms in such Alpine Swiss's setting. We have a smooth check-in, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. We felt so welcome here.
The rustic charm of this more than 125-year-old building, the standard typical log Swiss chalet set up with ed checkered tablecloths and curtains Every corner of this building is a "wow" & every angle of the view is "wow wow". It is exactly what we are looking for! The outdoor terrace is open to all guest, and it overlooks the mountains and the valleys.
The interior is very whimsical adding the touch of the typical Swiss!
The Surrounding
The view from the open terrace is awesome & mesmerizing. and we took an effort to spend some time here daily.
Located on a hilltop, the surrounding is peaceful and quiet. The bus stop is about 2 minutes away from the B&B, the walks are very scenic.
To reach our room, we need to go down these stairs and go into this door.
This section here has 5 rooms!
The Room
We got a very decent room that comes with a private bathroom and amazing window views that is exactly what we saw in the terrace
The heating unit in the room works well for a cold winter night.
The pillow is a little flat, so I use my thick clothing and cushions to support.
The bed is comfortable, the quilt is warm though there is no TV.
The heater in the bathroom is good and the water flow is strong.
When he is hungry in the night, I am glad that I bought along a few cups of these.
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| The view on 1 Jan 2024! |
By the 3RD day here, I feedback to hotel that the pillow was too flat, and I am having bad sinus and I really need more pillows. To my surprise when we came back at night, the bed was reclined up. We were amazed to see such carpentry and learned that it is manual recliner. On the 4TH day, staff gave me a welfare check, and told me that she feedback to the owner of this B&B that the owner came to my room personally to adjust the recliner. Very impressive ya!
The Breakfast
The breakfast overlooking the mountains with amazing views in the morning. The outdoor terrace is another good option to bring your breakfast there to eat but not in winter as it is too cold.
Continental breakfast is served with quite a spread with choices of breads, cold cuts, hard boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, fruits and beverages.
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The Stars
If you are in the dark place, tilt your head up, close your eyes and count to 5 then open your eyes and you will be able to see ALOT ALOT stars. Adjust your eyes to the surrounding...
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Below these photos show we are checking out and were heading Zurich.
Our happy times in Interlaken shall end here after spending 5 wonderful days.
Well, the end of this blog meaning the start of another; coming up next will be on Wengen The remaining blogs of Spiez, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Gimmelwald, Iseltwald, Colmar and Lucerne will be in the queue for publishments.
Here are the shortcuts to the blogs on our trips in Switzerland:
We visited Europe recently like The Netherlands & Belgium recently : Amsterdam, The Hague , Rotterdam , Kinderdijk , Naarden ,Muiden , Haarlem , Nijmegan, Brussel, Bruges
and Antwerp.
We even moved to stay in Denmark during the peak of Covid : Relocation from Singapore to Aalborg, Denmark
Meanwhile we will still be driving for short trips to nearby Malaysia especially gourmet trips to Johore.
Feel free, you are most welcome to browse through my other blogs to France, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia and cruises etc. I will be deeply blessed if you can like my facebook page: followblueginger
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