Zurich - Spring at Last

Thun in Spring

Finally, I feel able to go out and do something rather than just stay in my flat or go swimming in the local pool. This weekend, the sun was shining and it must have been mid-to-high 20s in the sun. There was a special offer on to go from Thun to Beatenbucht by ship and then up to Beatenberg by funicular and then further up to the Niederhorn by cable car. It was a good excuse to go exploring.

However, when we got to Thun, bought our tickets, and tried to get on the ship, we were informed that the water was too low and we had to take a bus first a bit further up the lake and join the ship later. For a moment, we thought they'd sold us tickets for a boat trip that wasn't running!

This was the first day of the summer season for the boats and the funicular and, I guess because the weather was so good, the boat was pretty busy and there were three separate buses to take people to the ship. Once we were on board, the ship zig-zagged across the water giving you good views of the mountains on either side and the picturesque towns by the water (I had a little fantasy about living in the area!). We had a drink at Beatenbucht before getting the funicular, hoping that the crowds from the boat would disperse. It was a successful ploy as we subsequently had the funicular to ourselves.

I’m not so fond of heights, but the funicular was very solid and the ride was smooth, so I had no problems at all. We rose up between the hills covered with freshly-green trees on either side; below you could see the lake and the snow-capped mountains beyond. Seeing all this greenery, it seemed impossible to think that there could be any snow on this side of the lake.

We changed half-way through to the cable car that runs in groups of three up to the Niederhorn. Again, they were pretty solid constructions, so I didn’t feel scared by the height. Cows were grazing at a steep angle on the hillside, confirming another Swiss stereotype. All of a sudden, occasional pockets of snow appeared in dips in the ground, which were then replaced by a full blanket of snow as we approached the top.

There were many hang gliders out – at one point we saw about seven all gliding in close proximity to each other. I took many photographs of these, although sometimes they were gliding so high up, I couldn’t get both them in and the mountain. It’s not something I have any ambition to do!

I didn’t have the right shoes on for snow (I was wearing my summer clothes, while I had the opportunity), so I didn’t climb the path of rivulets and snow leading to the top. Nevertheless the birds and the hang gliders kept me well entertained. The restaurant seemed to have run out of most of its food, so we didn’t eat anything.

We made it back down to Beatenbucht just in time to get the last ship back to Thun. En route, a stream of of small one-man sailing boats crossed right in front of us; apparently it was a regatta. I’m sure they should have got permission to sail in the path of the big passenger ship (as indeed the driver indicated to them), but they didn’t seem at all bothered that they were sailing where they shouldn’t. On top of that, a few of the boats  looked like they were about to capsize as they tipped onto their edges as they sailed along. Still, it all made for good entertainment. A couple of people also passed beside our boat on stand-up paddles; some people were even bathing in the lake (Brrr! That's not for me).

Afterwards, we wandered round Thun. It was my first time here and the area is stunning with lakes and mountains – your stereotypical Switzerland. And in the sunshine it looked absolutely amazing. It was particularly good just now, because the mountains were still topped with snow, yet the lake was blue, the trees were blossoming, and the weather was hot enough for us to sit outside on the boat. It’s not often that you can get all those things coming together at the same time.

In parts, Thun reminded me of Rapperswil (the mountains, lake, and rooftops), in other parts, it looked like Basel (the old buildings), elsewhere it resembled Lucerne (the wooden bridges), and other streets could have been from Bern (the colonnaded pavements). It was like a mini-Switzerland all rolled into one! I imagine it would be a nice place to live, but the property looked quite expensive when we peered in the window of an estate agent.

We finished off with dinner by the waterside and I realised that, even after all these years, whenever I travel somewhere, my weekends in Switzerland still make me feel like I’m on holiday. It’s a lovely feeling.