Interlaken, Bern, Switzerland Friday, August 24, 2012

On the Boat

We arrived in Interlaken early enough yesterday to do todays planned castle adventure, so we are free to explore. The weather is quite cloudy and it rained most of last night. We decide to take a train to Riggennbach, a small town we had noticed from the train when we traveled through here the other day.
We get to Interlaken Ost station and due to a small miscalculation on my part, we miss the train by seconds. The next train is half hour away and there is a boat that leaves about the same time but takes a little longer.

Low Lying Clouds

We opt for the boat and walk across to the dock. This time we will be on Briennersee. Interlaken means between the lakes and it sits between Lake Thun and Lake Brienner. Our boat today is a steam powered paddle wheeler. We get a nice seat in front under a canvas cover. When we get close to Riggenbach, we decide to stay on until the end of the line at Brienz and take a train back to Riggenbach. After about 15 more minutes, it starts to rain lightly. We put on our jackets and are fine in our seats with just our legs getting wet once in a while. This lake is much prettier than Thun with higher mountains surrounding it and today we have the added effect of low lying clouds. We arrive at Brienz and the train arrives in about 10 minutes. As we whiz past Riggenbach,, we realize we are on an IR or inter regional train which only stops at Interlaken.
After looking at the schedule at Interlaken Ost, we debate whether we should go to Ringgenbach, not knowing what is there, or stay in town. Carol wants to do laundry today since the hotel actually has a washer we can use. After a month of walking, sink washing our socks doesn’t leave them as clean smelling as she would like, and our other clothes could probably use modern technology as well.

River Walk

With this in mind we decide to walk along the river to the old town, explore a little and get back early. That is exactly what we do, having lunch along the river on the way. There is not a whole lot to old town so we stop at the Coop to buy a few items to add to our leftover dinner. That being done, we walk back, put our stuff in their fridge and head to our room. I freshen up with a shower, while Carol puts the wash in, and then showers herself. Time to catch up on the blog, hang our wash ( which smells so clean that Carol has a big smile), and eat our dinner. We still are filling our days with no problem and life is good.
CNC
“When preparing for travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money”- Unknown

Expenses
10.10SF- Sauce, salad, beer, and chocolate
105SF- Hotel Rugenpark

Miles Walked- 3.5 Miles