[🏔️ yodel ⛰️] Day 7: Lake Brienz
Yoohoo from Interlaken, where the temperature is dipping and I fear I have not brought enough long-sleeved shirts.
We woke up slightly later than intended today, and had to rush off in the morning to our first stop: Harder Kulm. Part of me wanted to skip out on it, because we've been up so many mountains and seen a whole lotta panoramic views in the past week. How many vistas can one take before they all start looking the same?
Well, definitely one more. Especially on an extremely clear day like today.
The journey to Harder Kulm, one of Interlaken's highest view points, was uneventful. We walked to the wrong bus stop, because bus stop placements aren't as straightforward as we though but had enough time to correct our course. The bus was late, so it was a very brisk walk to the Harderbahn. By the time we got there and bought our tickets, the funicular was packed like sardines. I also made a mistake with the ticket prices and paid more than we were supposed to. Oh well, things happen don't they?
Luckily the ride up was pretty quick, because I was basically fogging up the glass windows, being pressed up against it and all.
From the top of the funicular, it's a short walk to the actual Harder Kulm vantage spot. I imagine that during the peak summer period, the terrace would have been packed with people. Today was incredibly sunny, but also quite chilly thanks to the cutting wind, so there weren't that many people even at 10am.
The views are amazing. You get a bird's eye view of the entire Interlaken town as well as the mountain ranges across. It's views for daaaaaaaays, thanks to the great weather.
Still, we only spent less than 20 minuets up there because we had a boat to catch.
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While waiting for the boat, I finally had my breakfast surrounded by beautiful alpine flowers.
I bought a Berliner from a bakery yesterday.
A Berliner is kind of like a stuffed donut, or a bombolini. This one was filled with blueberry jam, which I did not expect but was very pleased about.
The boat is a lovely paddle steamer. It's got two decks, the top for first-class passengers (a.k.a not us), and the bottom deck for second-class passengers.
Spotted this while waiting to board:
Once again, the sights did not disappoint. It was unbelievably cold though! I started the day with 3 layers but had to put on my puffer jacket and crack open a pocket hand warmer. I braved brutal winds and blistering sun to bring you these photos:
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Our destination was Giessbach and its famous waterfalls. So up another funicular where a Victorian-era hotel awaited us.
There are a couple of ways to experience the waterfalls:
Climb up the mountain for "15 minutes" (Swiss standards) and walking around the lower falls, before reaching the main section.
Find a seat at the hotel's outdoor terrace or restaurant
Take a walk to the waterfall's first viewing platform
Climb up a series of steep steps for a chance to go "behind" the waterfall
Guess which I attempted.
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And then it was time for lunch!
We had Riz Casimir again, just because we wanted to see how a chichi hotel restaurant would prepare it.
'Refined' is the only way to describe it. Whatever fruits the curry is supposed to have was clearly blended into the sauce. It was a normal level of tasty!
We also ordered a trout fillet, fished fresh from a nearby river or lake. Now this was surprisingly good. I loved how light the fish was and the butter-almond sauce was soooo addictive. It was the perfect antidote to my indigestion from yesterday's terrible food choices.
After lunch we just chilled at the terrace. We had originally planned to hike from the Giessbach dock to Iseltwald, but honestly I'm tired and we've still got more than 10 days to go.
So I started on a book (Slow Train to Switzerland: One Tour, Two Trips, 150 Years and a World of Change Apart by Diccon Bewes) and took more photos of the waterfall.
And then I had to make a pit stop at Iseltwald because of... Crash Landing on You where all the Asians in Switzerland congregated to pay homage to K-Drama's golden couple. I mean, how could I not? It's hilarious. The entire town was bereft of angmoh (white) tourists and just filled with throngs of Korean, Chinese, Singaporean and Malaysian tourists, all trying to get their 20 minutes of fame. I'm not joking. The queue hardly moved the whole 20 minutes we were there because people were going ham at the dock. There were never enough shots they could take.
SD and I were more interested in this guy. 
Then it was a slow bus ride back to Interlaken.
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Bonus!
Lots of people bringing dogs along for their holiday.
So here are some goodest boys:
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We'll be saying goodbye to Interlaken tomorrow and moving to Grindelwald, where we will spend the longest time. After a week of travelling, I've finally accepted the fact that I want to try doing less so hopefully the week ahead will be a relaxing and less achey one.
More updates tomorrow!