Day Cruises on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in Switzerland

Not so long ago, my husband Bill and I were living in southern Germany, courtesy of the U.S. Army. We loved Europe for so many reasons. One of the best aspects of living in Europe was the chance to travel to so many wonderful places, most of the time without having to fly. We were especially fortunate in that our home in Germany was only a 90 minute drive to the Swiss border. Prior to our stint living in Germany, neither of us had ever ventured into Switzerland; so it was only natural that Switzerland was one of the very first countries we visited.

The first thing to know about Switzerland is that it's not on the Euro system. When you visit Switzerland, you will have to exchange money, just like in the old days when every country in Europe had its own currency. At the time of our visit in May 2008, Swiss Francs were about neck and neck in value with American dollars. That made it easy to determine the value of things, except for the fact that everything seemed so much more expensive in Switzerland!

Why we chose to stay in Thun, Switzerland

I had been watching Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe series on iTunes and that made me want to visit Interlaken, a beautiful town in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Interlaken is named such because it's located between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Despite Interlaken's descriptive name, I mostly wanted to go to there because I wanted to see the Jungfrau (maiden or virgin in German), a huge peak in the Bernese Alps. Samantha Brown had taken the Jungfraubahn, a train that goes to the highest railway station in Europe. She had also toured the Ice Palace, which is a beautiful attraction consisting of ice sculptures carved into a glacier. But, as we quickly found out, Switzerland is expensive and it seemed that many of Interlaken's attractions and hotels were too pricey for us.

Then Bill discovered Thun, which is a municipality near Interlaken. The less touristed town of Thun is on the far western shore of Lake Thun. The scenery there is just as beautiful, but the prices weren't quite so high. So we booked a room at Hotel Krone, a charming little place in the main square in Thun and resolved to spend a full day wandering around. The area near Thun and Interlaken is absolutely enchanting, with its breathtaking views of mountains and crystal blue lakes. Everywhere we turned, it seemed like we were gazing at a postcard. And I even got to see some of Switzerland's famous cows adorned with cowbells. I could hear the bells tinkling as the cows grazed peacefully in verdant fields. Switzerland has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Unfortunately, our time in Switzerland was brief. We stopped in Thun for just two days on our way back to Germany from Italy, where we had spent over a week traveling. We needed something fun and unique to do and we found it by way of a pleasant cruise on Lake Thun.

Cruising on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz

Both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz offer boat cruises that allow visitors to travel around the area. Bill and I walked to the dock from our hotel and purchased two first class tickets for the cruise, which gave us the right to unlimited all day travel on boats in both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Each first class ticket cost approximately $75 each; by now, I'm sure they would cost even more. For that, we had the right to ride on the higher deck, which had a very nice dining room and exquisite views of the area.

Bill and I sat down at a table, ordered a couple of Swiss beers, and watched the glorious scenery as the boat traveled to different stops along Lake Thun. The cruise across Lake Thun took about three hours, since the boat travels at a leisurely pace and crosses the lake to let people on and off. We landed in Interlaken in time for a late lunch and a walk around the town.

Interlaken

Interlaken is definitely a quaint town, but it's also full of tourists and it appeared to be a bit overpriced. One interesting site we ran into was a large group of Latter-day Saint missionaries, all dressed in dark suits. My husband, who used to be LDS, said they must have been heading to some sort of conference, since missionaries are most often seen in pairs rather than groups. They seemed to be having a good time.

We stopped at a charming restaurant for lunch, where Bill sampled raclette, which is basically cheese heated on a heated wheel and scraped onto a place. I decided to try some authentic Swiss cheese fondue. After a leisurely lunch and a trip to a gift shop, where Bill was able to find some Victorinox Swiss knives, we checked the time and realized that if we took the cruise on Lake Brienz, we would not be able to cruise back to Thun.

We arrived at the port just in time to catch the one steam powered paddle boat that was in operation. Once again, we traversed the beautiful Lake Thun several times before we arrived back in Thun in the early evening. I would definitely recommend taking the steam paddle boat if it's available. It was really something to see this old fashioned steamboat work as opposed to the more modern motorized boats. The steam powered paddle boat only runs in the warmer months.

We went to a little pizzeria for dinner, where we had a gorgeous view of Thun Castle. Had we had another day in Thun, we would have taken the tour. Unfortunately, we had to get on the road the next day and go back to Germany.

While we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked in Thun, I will always remember how gorgeous it is, especially from a boat. I dream of the day when Bill and I can return and spend more time wandering around this picture perfect area.

Sources

http://www.bls.ch/e/schifffahrt/schifffahrt.php

www.myswitzerland.com

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Entertaining-Holidays-651/fondue.aspx

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Entertaining-Holidays-651/raclette.aspx

http://www.thun.ch/