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Surfing on the river
The bridge is over the flood control area and creates swift waves that can be surfed on. Since the weather was looking a little dicey we decided that visiting somewhere indoors was in order just in case. The forecast is okay out of the mountains in the morning but raining with possible thunderstorms in the affternoon. The rain took the sting out of the heat so it is much more comfortable to move about in.
We took the train to Thun and walked into the city. It being Sunday, of course everything is shut apart from transport and eating places. The first sight we saw was men surfing waves on the river by the old bridge and flood control gates. This is a bit weird to see in a city away from any beach. The covered bridges in Thun are shorter versions of those in Lucern and just as pretty with flowers decked along the outside. The riverside is also bedecked in flowers. We walked up the river and into the Rathaus Platz which is the Old Town Square and is truly one of the more beautiful we've seen. It is unspoiled by anything modern and has the castle and church sitting high on the hill above it.
All paths lead to the castle and we
knew this was a good one to show the kids. We remember it as having swords, armour, sheilds and other war mongering items on display. We were surprised to find that it had been fitted out to be more accomodating of children and visitors. The kids were given a sheet to mark off caterpillars to find on each floor. They were bright little creatures left in unusual places which encouraged the kids to look hard amongst the exhibits. I don't know whether the latter worked but they enjoyed finding the caterpillars. On the second floor there were medieval costumes for them to get dressed up in and in the huge roof space they could put on armour, get a sword and shield and look the part on a wooden horse. One of the dungeons had stocks and leg irons in the cell and we trussed Tracey and the kids up to test the equipment. It is intimidating to think people were locked up like this in the past. One poor man spend 3 months in this little area and had lice and fleas crawling over him according to the graffiti. For us, the castle is impressive but it seems that
I told her to behave!
The prison cell in the castle with stocks and leg irons. Tracey is looking rather bereft at her fate. a lot of the armoury is now locked away and just a few exhibits are out. It has been well preserved throughout and is still used for functions. I wasn't impressed with the modern hotel built into the inner court which did not match the rest of the architecture. It looked totally at odds with it's surroundings.
We had our picnic lunch outside the church under a large tree and with a visiting cat before heading off down to the town on old cobbled paths and covered ways into the street with two levels that's always been a great place to visit as it's so different.
Finally, we took a slow boat down and across Lake Thun back to Interlaken filling in the time by playing cards to occupy the kids. It is a very beautiful lake with lovely mansions and gardens in several towns. No matter where you are there are always the high Alps to be seen in the background. There simply isn't another area in Switzerland quite this lovely.
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