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Interlaken: Overhyped or Underappreciated?

by Andy Hayes

Switzerland is known for many things: Europe’s most gorgeous mountains and peaks, hidden bank accounts and expensive travel.  One of my favourite places in Switzerland is Interlaken.  It’s not exactly a travel writer’s secret; one only has to look at the hordes of Asian and American tourists piling onto the “express” train that takes you to Europe’s highest railway station, Jungfraujoch.

But in fact, I think the whole region is really under appreciated.  I spent quite a bit of time there and couldn’t believe how enjoyable the place was – and despite all the tourists, I actually found myself alone on quiet trails or enjoying relaxing cafe terraces.  Here’s a few of the things I found most enjoyable and suggestions for how you can enjoy a stay of any length (or in fact any season – there are things to do in Interlaken year-round) in this little Swiss hangout.  I’ll be skipping the highest railway station and instead headed for quieter and more enjoyable places.  Here’s my travel more Interlaken story.

Note:  When you arrive in Interlaken, make sure you get a map – or print one out, such as this one.  The area is connected by a series of gondolas, trains, and buses.  This is the high Alps here, so sometimes the routes are circuitous.  That’s part of the fun.

Hiking and Fresh Air

They say that due to the unusual geographic patterns of Interlaken and the two lakes means the air in Interlaken is more pure and clean than anywhere else in the world.  I’ve heard this story in other cities, so I would take it with a grain of salt, but a good walk in Interlaken really does feel amazing.

You need to realise that you are very high in the mountains here, so take it easy.  As well, some paths can be closed due to snow even in the height of summer, but there are nice walks in winter as well.  If you’re going somewhere quite off-beat, be sure to check in and mention it to your accommodation so they can let you know if you should expect any problems.  Plus it is always a nice precaution for someone to know where you are should anything happen.

Favourite paths and walks for me include:

• Harder Mountain.  This is just at the end of the town centre and you need to take a funicular to the top peak, called Harder Kulm.  It’s got wonderful views of the area, and one of those cheesy mountaintop restaurants.  Most people stop here, but in fact just behind the restaurant there are a couple of trails that go on and on and on.  I kind of expected it to leave the forest on the other side at some point, but it never did.  Calm and peaceful, well protected from the elements, and gosh those views.  I could have spent an entire day up here.  These trails are moderate so if you worried about fitness these are a good choice.
• First Mountain.  Just getting to first is a journey in itself; you need to take the train up to Grindelwald, a charming little place in itself.  Then you get on a Gondola for like half an hour; it’s a crazy long trip and the perfect place for some personal reflection.  Then on the mountain you have the choice of a few trails.  There are some great mini-lakes to view but I only know this from the postcards, as the trails were snowed closed when I was there.  Proper footwear a must up here as it is icy in spots (yes even in summer, and even though it is warm out).
• Giessbach to Brienz.  Nobody goes this way so you’ll  have the place to yourself (just careful as you have to walk on the road in points).  As I’ll mention next, there are lots of waterfalls to go to and Giessbach is one of them.  But skip the boat ride and walk around the lake to the train station.  It is just wonderful and peaceful, with good views (plus it is mostly downhill).

Waterfalls

Wow, I have never seen waterfalls like these in my life.  While Interlaken is no Iguazu Falls or Livingston/Victoria Falls, it is pretty cool in its own right.  Some falls to check out:

• Geissbach Falls:  You can reach these via the boat on Brienzersee (Brienz Lake).  When you get off the boat, skip the funicular and walk the trail up.  You get lots of sneak previews of these giant falls and better photo opportunities in my opinion.  (Plus when you finally reach the top, the lazy folks already have taken their photos and will have started heading back for the funicular.)  I say skip the boat back and walk to Brienz as mentioned above, the perfect afternoon tour.
• Trümmelbach Falls: If you only do one thing in Interlaken, make it this.  They are the world’s only inner glacier waterfalls that are accessible.  I can’t even describe them, and the photo above does not do justice to how much power is running through here.  Think about all the snow and ice on all the mountains – it’s melting underneath and draining down into these caverns the water has forced through the mountains.  You can’t hear a thing, you’ll get slightly wet, and you’ll wonder how safe it is (don’t worry, it is).  Amazing.

On Water

As mentioned, Interlaken is on two lakes and in fact this is what the name means – the place between the lakes.  They are lakes and they are not connected, so you can’t take a single boat and tour them both, but you should make it a point to take a boat tour.  It is pretty incredible for no other reason than the surreal blue of the water and the feeling of the high mountains on either side of you pushing down on your shoulders.  It also affects the sound – it’s not acoustic, but just weird.  But very cool.

The boat to Giessbach falls is very popular, but another town that is nice to boat to and then either boat or train back is Spiez.  If you want to avoid walking uphill, take the train there and then head down into town and grab a boat from the pier.  The village is sort of built into a hillside, and down on the shore there some very nice cafes and restaurants to sit a spell and enjoy a wine or beer.  There’s an old church and other buildings you can explore as well.

Food and Drink

Yes, I can’t talk about Interlaken without mentioning the food; after all that hiking and walking and touring, you’ll need some refreshment, for sure.  Now here’s the thing – Interlaken isn’t that big.  So, pretty much everywhere you go will be touristy I’m afraid.  That’s just kind of how it goes.  However, some top tips:

• Bebbis Restaurant (website): This is where you’ll want to go for fondue and raclette.  It’s the best in town.  It’s also probably the busiest restaurant in town.  But that is because it is GOOD.  Just go.  Deal with the crowds.  You’ve spent all day alone in the hills so have a social meal and enjoy.
• My Little Thai (website):  They claim to be the best Thai restaurant in the world, and since I’ve been to Thailand, I feel inclined to comment:  they certainly come damn close.  Wow.  Brilliant stuff.  Once you’ve spent several nights trying to decide which restaurant has the best fondue, stop here to refresh you palette.

A Shopping Story

I’ve rambled on long enough, so I’d like to close out with a little story.  Interlaken is made up of two ’sides’ of town, each that sort of connect with the associated lake, so Interlaken West and Interlaken East.  The train connects the two, but you can easily walk between them in 10-15 minutes or so.  Besides it is an easy walk.  And the street between is lined with shops and retailers.  Many of them I had no interest in, but there was on dusty and empty souvenir shop that did look interest as the shelves were filled with more antique-like things than tourist tat.

I walked in and was greeted by a very old woman, a friendly Swiss local.  She introduced herself and said she’d owned and operated this shop here almost her entire life and that I was happy to look around as long as I pleased.  I did, lingered over the old weathered Christmas decorations and many Swiss knives and other interesting array of sorts.  I actually asked the woman where all the stuff came from, and she got into a very long story about how everyone in town knows her and looks out for interesting stuff for her shop.

I had to look for a present for my mother, and had settled on a t-shirt which the woman helped me pick out.  She also suggested a few other things, and the weird thing was they were things my mother definitely would have liked – stuff with apples on them (which my mum collects) and other things that were just uncanny, as I couldn’t work out this woman would have known my mother’s taste.  I said something and she said “yes, I have a knack for that kind of thing.  Perhaps that’s why I’ve been in business so long.”

I am sad to say I don’t think this business is open any longer as I tried to verify the details and couldn’t.  But I think this is reason enough to go to Interlaken and see if you can stumble upon the magic of this tiny Swiss hamlet.

Photos by d’n'c, Philip Larson, piper_guru, Sir Mo, Londo Mollari, John Y Can

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