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It's been a wet day so a day to find alternatives to hiking or exploring up high. We took the car into Interlaken Ost and then walked through to Interlaken West. It gave N&K and chance to see Interlaken and it's centre. It is graced by magnificent hotels and lovely elegant building as well as the intermidable shops selling watches and other souvenirs. Not all of it is tacky and there are some high class shops to look at along the way.
We were going to get the boat down Lake Thun but the next one was too far away so we opted to get the train there and the boat back. Once in Thun we checked the time for the boats back to Interlaken rather than doing our usual thing and finding we'd just missed one and the next one was ages away.
Thun is a lovely city and not unlike Lucern. It has covered old bridges over the river where dams have been built and they manage the flow of the water. As with Lucern the bridges are planted with geraniums along the side so they are very attractive. We followed the streets into the old town
Thun Castle
An usual shot not showing the whole castle as there was a crane and a lot of renovation work being carried out where shops are in abundance (good ones) and lead into the town square and the Rathaus (town hall). From there it leads out to the old town walls which are not continuous but preserved where possible. The wall leads up to the old town gates and to the castle which is now a museum. It is dominant as it sits up high on the hill with many turrets and looks quite like you see in fairy tales. It looks down and out over the town and lake and the view is only spoilt by inappropriate modern buildings which are not in keeping with the architecture of the past. The new buildings are simple, stark and boring whereas the old ones are ornate and interesting. We left N&K at the castle to do a tour (we've been before) while we heading down into the modern town along the river.
After meeting up with N&K again we boarded the Stadt Thun boat to Interlaken West which was going to take 2 hours. It went to almost every town along the shores so we got a really good look at the fine houses, lovely gardens, promenades, boat harbours, castles and background scenery
Oberhofen Castle
A picturesque castle on the shore of Lake Thun not far from Thun along both shores before finishing up the canal into Interlaken West. It is a very pretty lake and more scenic (I think) than Lake Brienz at the other end of Interlaken.
It was still raining in Interlaken and we encountered bus loads of tourists arriving for the night. Instead of negotiating them all the way we headed for the Aare River and walked along it back to Ost where the car was.
We arrived back in Grindelwald at 7.30 and it was still raining. It was a good way to spend a wet day.
The day was completed by a traditional dinner of raclette cheese done under a grill. We had a small grill on the table and you filled your small tray with a piece of raclette, bacon and cheese, and mushrooms - whatever you wish - then put in under the grill until it is bubbling and cooked. You then pour it over cooked and chopped up potatoes to eat it. Very tasty and likely very bad for you. Much exercise will be required to work that lot off.
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