Strolling in Thun

If you happen to be somewhere near the Thuner See on a weekend and feel like taking a little stroll I would recommend Thun. It is situated right where the spout of the river Aare leads into the Thuner See, and even though I always would prefer Spiez to Thun (lots of traffic here, and Spiez simply is much prettier) is has got a nice historical center and a walk along the Aare, especially when there are enormous amounts of melting water and it is a sunny and warm day, is something very cheerful.

Schloß Thun reminds me a bit of Disneyland! There is a museum inside, and the steep little lane leading up there is not too challenging. So again very convenient for strolling....

Walking down to the Aare you cannot miss the Ferris wheel the inhabitants decided to put there. I don´t have a clue why, but the whole area has got festival character now, and there are lots of places to eat or have a drink.

(Just don´t hope to find a decent restroom there. If you desperately try to find one the restaurant waiters could not care less. You are immediately informed, "But you have to order something!" This is so Swiss, it drives me mad!!! They rather shoot you on the spot before they let you use their bloody toilet without you paying for it. One of the not so nice sides of the country. Money is REALLY everything - no exceptions. And you know me: I would rather die on the spot before I leave my money in a shack where they are only interested in me buying something. If you need a restroom go to the square right behind the Aare from where this photo is taken, there are public ones. But don´t wait for the waiters to tell you.)

The embankments you find along the river are beautiful. Especially when the water is thundering downstream like this!

There is this new kind of sports - river surfing? Or something like this? It is stunning, and one might think that if you can handle the current here surfing on the ocean will be just a piece of cake!

And here we got some abandoned dog. Poor thing! - Oh, thank Gods, good Daddy is here! So no need to beg for money with our little dog-hat.....

The riverside area is really lovely, walking up here a bit is definately worth it, especially if you are a photographing sort of guy.

Well, okay then. Thun is actually kind of nice, right?

Ausflug auf den Gurten

The "Gurten" is the "Hausberg" of Bern - the little mountain (or rather hill by Swiss standards) right at the gates of Bern - and the people use it as a recreation area where they can walk, hike, take the kids, go mountainbiking and lots more. E.g. a week before there had been a huge Pop festival there that had lasted four days.

We like to come to the Gurten always once in a while, go up the short ride with the little "Bähnli", bring some food for a picknick and walk down to the ground station of the Bähnli again.

This time we met Beatrice and her three girls Laura, Lisa and Joelle for a day out and about. Laura had been to the Gurten Festival a couple of days ago - and boy, it must have been great fun!! (When the Swiss party, they party.)

This photo here is the only one you will find in this blog with Beatrice, standing on the very left. She just HATES to be photographed! Thanks for posing anyway, Beatrice! : )

Of course the kiddos liked the idea of strolling down the Gurten. Indy had a great time as usual when he can run after something....

... and Dessa as always hoped for something interesting - like food - to come her way.

And of course it would not be Switzerland and a Swiss trip into the country if there were no barbequeue station and no griddle involved.

After lunch break some more photos with the family....

And then it seriously was time to start our walk down. Please enjoy the beautiful view of Bern, the charming capital of Switzerland!