Interlaken 2: From Lake to Lake

Today we took the term Interlaken (between lakes) literally and walked from Lake Brienz to Lake Thune (about 8 km) along the connecting River Aare. It was quite the adventure, guessing that we probably walked 12 km (about 7.5 miles) and so we are now relaxing in some fantastic hammocks at Balmer's. Here is a detailed account of our journey:

Leg 1: Balmers to Lake Brienz

Nothing too exciting here, except that on the way we found a restroom for dogs (Swiss and their animal activism) and an interesting bird that we called Black-duck, Sea-partridge, or White-face at different points in the day.

We arrived at the lake to a stunning view.

Leg 2: Along Lake Brienz

We then decided to walk along the lakeside path. Alex was fascinated with the greenish color of the water and mentioned how he would really like to row on it. About 5 minutes later, out of seemingly nowhere, a beautiful shellhouse appeared.

A couple minutes later, we saw some rowers on the lake itself.

Alex was stunned that it was a triple (apparently in America only even numbers are allowed in a boat). Ben, who at this point had become a little nostalgic for a sailing adventure, also found a few sailboats on the lake.

Leg 3: To Lake Thune

After walking about 1 km down the lake, we turned around and went into downtown Interlaken for lunch, once again stopping at the Co-op. After a hearty meal of bread, Swiss cheese, yogurt, nectarines, and chocolate cake, we headed for Lake Thune. What we didn't realize was that we had to brave a 3 km canal in order to get to the lake outlet. When we finally arrived, we took some more photos:

Leg 4: To the Ruins

Along our canal walk, Ben had pulled out the map and noticed that there was a region marked "Ruins" nearby. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived to find an old fortress turned monastery turned conservation monument.

Ben took refuge in a window

and then we climbed to the top and took some more pictures:

Leg 5: To Balmer's

We walked back to the hostel and collapsed into the hammocks in the relaxation room, planning out the next few days out and taking advantage of the free-WiFi.