Saturday 19th: Boat Trip

Before coming to Switzerland we had bought a bargain rover ticket covering bus, train and boat, so even though the clouds were low and the light gloomy we decided to go for it- a boat trip, that is. Interlaken is between two lakes (hence the name Interlaken, I guess), so we took the boat plying the bigger lake to the town of Thun at the far end, about 15 miles from Interlaken. Thun’s history goes back to pre-Roman times and following the Roman occupation in 58BC was an important administrative centre. The castle dates from 1190, and is shown in the photo with other ancient and picturesque buildings.

The boat zigzags across the lake, calling in at most towns and villages on the banks. It’s obviously prime dwelling location and few detached houses anywhere in the area seem to be up for sale for less than £1,000,000, so it’s certain that none of the lakeside houses here would go for less than £2 million

The lake itself is very pretty with small, partly wooded mountains sloping steeply down to the shore, with the high peaks in the background (when you can see them!). Also, the odd waterfall, or what we assumed to be a waterfall rather than the combined effluent stream from the houses on the cliff.

The shipping services started on lake Thun in 1835 with the SS Bellevue operated by an enterprising hotelier. This is the boat in question: a more interesting picture than one of the modern, much larger boat we travelled in.