Next up in our new series of adventures where we focus on a particular city and things to do while visiting, we planned a tripped to Interlaken. Located in Bernese Oberland between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and also surrounded by the three mighty mountains, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
It’s not always easy being an expat. There are times when I desperately miss my family in the UK and wish I was able to play a more regular role in the lives of my little nephews and niece. I miss being able to get my hands on more unusual cooking ingredients and my craving for English sausages means that I have now started making my own!
But there are weekends like this last one when we once again witnessed the incredible beauty of Switzerland that I realise it would be pretty difficult to live anywhere else.
We organised our weekend around our goal of trying the First Cliff Walk so we based ourselves in Interlaken where we stayed in one of the apartments run by Aussfinn hosted by Dane.
We were staying in a large Riverside apartment which was wonderfully warm and comfortable with amazing views, plenty of space and everything we needed for the family. Dane stopped by on Friday evening and gave us lots of information on things to the area which was really useful. He’s a great guy and we decided we’d have been happy to have had more time to sit down for a beer and a chat with him. He’s got many apartments so there’s plenty of choice and he can also arrange for his girlfriend to take some family photographs if you want to capture your time in Interlaken. He told us he is also opening a hotel in Nepal so we’ll have to add that to our list.
The great thing about Interlaken is that it is so well placed for exploring. On Friday afternoon we went for a walk in the town centre where Jude and Alba enjoyed ogling at the displays in chocolate shops we passed before taking stroll along the river.
The following morning we did the First Cliff Walk which you can read about here.
On our way back to Interlaken we decided to stop in Lauterbrunnen which is somewhere we often see photographed on Instagram and had been wanting to see for a long time. It’s a pretty village and well worth a walk around. I imagine in spring and summer it’s glorious.
Then we headed back to the flat for a late lunch before heading out again to explore. We had planned to visit the castle in Thun but by the time we had got ourselves organised and negotiated the road works in the city we were too late to enjoy a visit before they closed so instead we went to Oberhofen where we had a short walk by the lake and the children enjoyed the play area. It's a beautiful castle in a very pretty spot.
Back in Interlaken we decided to enjoy the sunshine so we headed to the park opposite the Victoria Jungfrau hotel. There’s a nice play area where the children could let off some steam and we enjoyed the sun on our faces.
That evening we went to the Golden Anker restaurant which was about a minute’s walk from the apartment. This was a great choice for the children as it was nicely noisy and we received a really warm welcome. Jude and Alba were given some colouring paper and pens which kept them entertained while we waited for our food.
After a good nights sleep the final stop on our weekend visit was Bern where we had organised a visit to the Communication Museum in Bern (Museum für Kommunikation).
While you are in Interlaken you could also consider visiting Iseltwald which is about 20 minutes away by car. It’s a picturesque car free village on the shores of the lake. We went there last November and it was beautiful in it’s autumnal colours.
You could also consider visiting Nature Park & Lake Blausee which is about 40 minutes away by car. Surrounded by splendid nature and high mountains, it is a small, turquoise lake and a must-see Swiss beauty spot. We went there last November and it was an unforgettable experience.
Discover our coming adventures on Instagram !