Boat rides

Normally I harbor (pun intended) a lot of resentment for the boat trips. What usually happens is that people get all excited that they're free with Eurail, so the very first thing they want to do is go on the lakes. They waste sometimes even two beautifully sunny days on the boats, and on the third day, it rains. Then the mountains are out, and, well, they've already done the boat thing...so what else can they do? Always hike first and save this for the rainy day because you're practically guaranteed to get one. The boats are not just the boats, of course. You can do nothing but ride around on them all day, if that's what you want, but the idea is to get off and see things along the way. Coincidentally, many of the things to see are indoors, making this virtually the perfect rainy day activity.

Note: the boats do not run in winter. The times I give below are from the summer schedule, running from the 23rd of May till the 26th of September. Check the schedule carefully, if you are interested in taking the boats at any other time of the year; on Lake Thun, some run as early as March 13th and as late as November 21st.

I'll start with the less interesting of the two lakes, Lake Brienz. Boats leave the East Station at 8:30, 9:30 and 11:30 AM,1:30 PM--and even later, if you've gotten a really late start. (The times are listed on most portable and posted train schedules; just look for the little boat symbol.) From the boat, there's not a lot of change in the mountain terrain to look at. On either side of the lake, it's more or less a straight ridge, not unattractive, but not as pretty as on Lake Thun. At the shoreline level, however, you will pass by the scenic Iseltwald peninsula and Giessbach Falls before arriving at the end station of Brienz an hour and twenty minutes later. Brienz is a woodcarving center and looks a little bit like a large scale woodcarving, itself. Check out the old wooden buildings, with their rustic, intricate ornamentation and stop by the free wood carving museum, which is open all year round. For SFr 5.60 round trip, you can get a bus from the train (and boat) station to the open air museum at Ballenberg. You can also walk it in an hour (follow the signs) if the weather clears up. Ballenberg is a huge tract of land, onto which they've imported examples of ancient architecture from all over Switzerland. Not only can you walk through most of these semi-furnished buildings, but those that are functional, such as the bakery or the apothecary, are in daily operation. The cost is SFr 12.00, which is worth it because you could easily spend the whole day there. Ballenberg is open from April 15th to October 25th, 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM, daily. From Brienz you can return by boat or train to Interlaken, but the boat will run you a few francs more.

Lake Thun is considerably more versatile. Boats on Lake Thun depart from the West Station at 9:30 AM, 10:45 AM and noon, to name a few popular ones. The boat zig-zags its way across the lake, stopping before long at the Caves of St. Beatus. As the legend goes, in the sixth century, a travelling Irish missionary named Beatus was so taken with the area that he decided to settle in the nearby village of Sundlauenen. In those days there were apparently many different kinds of dragons abroad in the Alps, and he was called upon to drive a particularly pesty one out of this cave. He did so, using some incantations and hocus-pocus, and then took up residence in the cave. The End. Those Swiss sure come up with some riveting storylines, don't they?

But, back in reality, the caves have a mock-up of prehistoric cave dwellers at their daily duties, and they also sport the usual array of stalactite and stalagmite formations. All of this is great stuff, if you've never been to a cave before, but, if you've been to any of the biggies in North America, don't go out of your way to see this one. The caves are open from March 19th to October 22nd, 9:30 AM till 5:30 PM, and the fifty minute tour allows you to be on the next boat. Admission is SFr 10.00.

Your next disembarking point is the town of Spiez, easily recognizable by its picturesque harbor and its lakeside castle. Though there is a very nice view from the other side of the harbor, the castle is basically the only thing in Spiez worth seeing. If you're into architecture, the 11th century church and 12th century tower might float your boat. Otherwise, enjoy the plays they enact on their lawn in the summer months. The castle is open to the public from Easter to mid October, 9:30 AM till noon and 2:00 PM till 6:00 PM, daily, except for Monday mornings. Admission is SFr 4.00.

At the other end of the lake is the city of Thun, reachable in two hours, by boat, if you don't get off at any of the other stops. Not being nearly as touristy as most of the other places in this book, Thun offers a good look at a genuine Swiss city. For the same reason, it's also a good place to shop. Let me qualify that by saying it's a great place to shop for clothes, handicrafts or even watches, but if it's real tourist stuff you're looking for, with the name of the town printed all over it, etc., there's not too much. Wander on over to the castle, which is visible from everywhere, sitting up high on a hill. The maze of alleyways on the hillside surrounding the castle has a totally medieval feeling. From the grounds you have excellent views of the lake, the "Big Three" (Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau) in the distance, and the range immediately to the south. Most notable of the near mountains is the Stockhorn, sticking up prominently, with an oddly flat-topped shape. If you go back on the boat, you'll see it from a different angle; from the lake it looks almost just like Half Dome, in Yosemite.

Thun Castle, lording over all this, was probably built by the Zähringers at the end of the 12th century. I enjoyed it, but not for the historical or architectural highpoints cited by other sources. There's a turret area on the top floor, where you can put yourself in chains and let your friends take pictures of you. The castle is open from March 24th through the end of October, from 10:00 AM till 5:00 PM, daily, and the admission price is SFr 4.00.