Switzerland Day 3

Today was even sunnier and warmer than yesterday! (Apparently, in England they are having dreadful weather. Ha.)



We started walking along the lakeside promenade in search of a ferry stop. And admired the pretty Swiss houses and their gardens along the way.





We found the ferry pier just in time for the next ferry!



We decided to sail to Interlaken and back on the steam ferry that operates between various towns and villages around the lake. First stop was at Giessbach, which means that we saw the falls again - this time from the lake level.



There were about seven stops before Interlaken, so we saw various places...









....and people.







Finally we approached Interlaken which is a very popular tourist town set in the middle of the two lakes of Thun and Brienz.



But we weren't going to get off the boat. We sat down at the boat restaurant to have lunch on the way back to Brienz. We'd worked out from the boat and train timetables that if we went straight back, we'd arrive in Brienz a few minutes before the last but one mountain train leaves for Rothorn, so that's what we decided to do.



I'd been on a mountain train once before in 1995 when I visited my friend Fränzi in Vitznau, so I knew what to expect. Well, kind of. The beginning of the journey was what I expected: gentle ascend, nice views...





...but this train just kept climbing and climbing...



It felt more like a roller coaster than a train.



And so we got higher....



...and higher...


(there is another train in the middle of this picture - click for bigger version)

...and higher...






We kept ooo'ing and ahhh'ing at the view the higher we got: when we saw a glimpse of the lake below, when we saw the first snow top mountains in the distance, etc. The photos don't do the feeling justice. (Click on the photos for bigger versions - it helps a bit.)



And finally we got to the top!



We were at about 2350 m (7710 ft). The view from there was breathtaking.



Not sure why my polariser makes the sky more magenta colour... Must investigate.







(Someone has actually uploaded a video of this railway on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDWl_SUGmiE)

As I had the long lens with me I used it to get a closer look at one of the snow tops.



We only had about 15 minutes at the top before we had to catch the last train back to lake level.





And then it was time to drive to Lausanne!

Switzerland Day 2

What a great way to start a day! Wake up to a beautiful sunshine, look out from your hotel room balcony and see this view: strands of cloud like cotton wool wrapped around the mountains on each side of the surreal lake. Marvellous!



After asking the hotel staff for ideas where to go hiking, we set off for Axalp and Giessbach Falls. And stopped every now and then to take a few photos along the way.



We started climbing the mountain opposite to Brienz; first by driving along the narrow mountain road.



This was kind of a cabin hamlet, and it was only afterwards when we reached Axalp that I realised why it was where it was...



Lake Brienz is just an amazing colour. Down by the lake, about in the middle of this photo, is the town of Brienz.



Every now and then we saw a paraglider in the sky, and thought that the paragliders we see back home on the south coast of England would be incredibly jealous of this spot! Rather more dramatic than the South Downs and the humble (in comparison) cliffs by the sea.



Finally we reached Axalp. We thought we'd gone past it already, but luckily we kept following the narrow road and climbing higher and higher. And once we got there, we realised that it was a ski resort! Well, in the winter, that is. And that is why there were so many cabins around the area; ski cabins!



1 km further up the mountain road we came to a spot where a few marked trails start. We decided to do a 2.5 hour trail that goes to a lake and loops back via a different route a little higher up the mountain.



Along the trail there are sculptures carved directly into living trees. Here is one on the left of the picture.



An idyllic Swiss mountain view complete with cows. The mountains in the background are on the other side of Lake Brienz.



Another wood carving along the trail.



Then we finally reached the lake - Hinterburgseeli.



It's another curiously coloured lake. According to Wikipedia its surface elevation is 1514 m (5000 ft).



The Finn in me loves fir trees against the mountain backdrop.



The obligatory cow shot.



After we'd replenished our beer and cheese quotient at a mountain café, it was time to descent back to the beginning of the trail by the ski lifts. Last glance of the spectacular view.



After which we drove back to the bottom of the mountain to see Giessbach Falls.









Neither of us had a tripod so it was a little tricky to get anywhere near sharply focused long exposures of the waterfalls.


(click on the photo to see bigger version if you can't see a photographer in the middle of this picture)

But luckily you can't really see the softness of focus in a small size picture like this. :-)



The lake on our way back to the hotel.