This morning we had a well deserved sleep in day. We didn’t have to be up until 7:45. We all ate breakfast and got ready for a shorter outing. Our commute this morning was as follows:
- 8:36-8:48 bus from Krattigen to Spiez
- 9:03-9:28 train from Spiez to Interlaken Ost
- 9:33-10:07 train from Interlaken Ost to Meiringen
- 10:15-10:20 bus from Meiringen to Aareschlucht Ost MB
On the train to Interlaken we enjoyed the beautiful view of Thunersee (Lake Thun). Then we rode an old train along Brienzersee (Brienz Lake). This train was quite unusual and it gives an appreciation for how far the trains have come. The old trains are connected with a ramp and a curtain and as you walk between trains you can see the ground below you. The toilets also just consist of a hole that empties onto the track. It was crazy! The view was spectacular though and the waterfalls were plenty! When we arrived in Meiringen, Ari and Sandra were racing to a playground and Ari tripped on a sidewalk and had a good trip. He had a bit of road rash but only shed a few tears. He was such a trooper. We then caught our last bus. When we arrived at our stop we had about a 5-10 minute walk between houses and farms to the entrance of the Aareschlucht passage.
Aareschlucht
Before entering the Aareschlucht, the kids enjoyed playing in a playground. Ari’s road rash was forgotten when he saw the zipline. We let the kids play for 15 minutes while everyone went the washroom before beginning our walk through the mountain passage. After walking through the entrance we followed a path into a cave. After a short walk the path split and we chose to walk the outer path instead of staying in the cave. We were flabbergasted by the view! A narrow wooden raised pathway was built along the rock cliff. The water flowed below us and the cliff walls went high above us. Every part of the path was extraordinary. At one point there was a view of an old bunker that was built in 1940 for the soldiers in the war. Photos just don’t do it justice but you can read more about it at https://www.aareschlucht.ch/en/Welcome.
When we reached the other side of the passage we decided to take a train back through the mountain tunnel. We walked down the hill and crossed a bridge to the train station which was basically a rock wall with a locked door. We had to push a button to let the train know that we were waiting for it. When the train arrived, the door swung open and we walked directly onto the train. It was so cool! We took the train back to Meiringen. Then we caught the train to Interlaken which was waiting for us.
Interlaken
We got off the train in Interlaken and walked through the city. We stopped at a really good ice cream place, Gelateria Azzurra. They had several flavours of ice cream and it was all hand made in the store. It was incredible! After finishing our ice cream we went to a shoe store and found some sandals for Tavis (his broke the first day in Germany). Then we rushed to catch our train back to Spiez and the bus back to Krattigen. We arrived home at 3:30 and we all got our bathing suits on.
Thunersee
Around 4:00, Sandra stayed home to relax while the rest of us walked down the hill to our favourite swimming spot on Thun Lake. Everyone went into the water except me. I enjoyed suntanning on my beach town in the nice soft grass. At 5:30 the wind picked up and everyone was a bit cold so we decided to walk back home. On the way we introduced Terris to geocaching. It took all of us looking but it was Ari who found the cache in the end. When we got home we enjoyed a lasagna dinner and after dinner we decided to put in a load of laundry and we will relax and have an early night.
Tomorrow will be another early morning as we hope to see the Matterhorn.