Today is Easter Sunday. We woke with the alarm as planned and the first thing Wes did was check the weather. If we are going to Jung Frau today we need to have good weather. As it turns out the forecast is not good at all. There is a cloud layer and a 90% chance of rain. It is very costly to go up to Jung Frau and if you have no views due to clouds and it is raining on you as well, it would be not a pleasant experience. So we decided to postpone that trip until tomorrow when the forecast is much improved. We went back to bed to sleep for another hour.
Heimwehfluh is a small hill located just in the south of Interlaken near the Lake of Thun and beside the Interlaken-West train station. Since the 19th century, this hill is a place dedicated to leisure. Today on the top of the hill you can find a Panorama-Restaurant, a large scale model railway, an observation tower, a children's playground and a Bob-Run. We had a look at this Bob-Run and there is no way I would be comfortable on the run since it looks like it goes straight down. I am sure it is very safe and very exciting but the speed would be similar to that of a rollercoaster.
As we walked along we continually heard church bells ringing. I am not sure how many churches there are in this community but there sure are a lot of bells. It was very pretty and not overwhelming.
Since it was not raining, and in fact signs of clearing were showing, we decided to take a walk on one of the many trails heading off from the Harder Restaurant. The one we choose followed the hillside around through the trees along the edge of the mountain. At one point we decided that we were not getting any views and we had been walking for about 25 minutes perhaps we should turn around and return. We had no idea where this trail was leading but as we turned around we met a hiker behind us who did know that this was a circular route and if we continued on it for about another 40 minutes we would return to the start. So we decided to continue and she was right. Shortly after we talked to her the trail switch backed upward and eventually headed back along the top ridge. Again there were way too many trees for us to get any views, but we did enjoy a bit of exercise.
We headed back down on the Harder Kulm and noticed the wildlife park below us as we reached the bottom. It did not look like much, but we decided to go and check it out. We discovered the wildlife park had a small herd of Alpine Ibex (goats native to the European Alps), a couple of Marmots and genuine Swiss Cows with cow bells. It did not take us long to explore the wildlife park.
We finished the day be returning to the hotel (by now it is after 3 pm) and relaxing. Wes is still not 100% but says he is feeling better today. While Wes slept I went downstairs to have a locally brewed beer (really good) and read. For dinner we decided to stay at the hotel and spend the money for a genuine Swiss multi-course dinner – it is Easter Sunday after all – and with the wine the meal cost us 113 Swiss Francs. Fortunately it was great but will not happen again for awhile. Easter is only once a year.
We finally did get up and try to decide what to do with our day. We headed off by exploring the hill beside us which we had walked by on the road up to the hotel. We followed the paths and road up to the top of Heimwehfluh. By the way, the spring flowers are in bloom and they are really beautiful.
After climbing up to the top of the observation tower we decided to find a new way down by taking a dirt path along the side. This path is not really difficult since we watched a couple of bikers take this path downward. It is to lead us back into Interlaken and we actually came out onto the same road we had been walking before. We had noticed the dirt trail leading off to the side yesterday but did not know where it went – now we know.
We decided to walk pass the tourist information center to see if it was open. Then we decided to ride the tram up to the top of Harderkulm. The Harderbahn is one of two funiculars that operate in the town of Interlaken. This funicular, the longest of the two, runs from a base station (altitude 567m above sea level) to a station near the summit of the Harder Kulm (altitude 1321.31m), Interlaken’s own mountain. From the Harder Kulm station, a five minute walk takes you to the Harder Restaurant, a distinctive pagoda structure with spectacular views from its terrace, over the town, the Lakes of Thun and Brienz, the Lütschine valleys and the summits of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Clear weather is critical to get a good view and we had clouds so missed out on some of the views. The views were spectacular and we got to watch the Para gliders launch in the distance and float gracefully down through the valley to eventually land in the green space in the Hohematte Park.
We headed back down on the Harder Kulm and noticed the wildlife park below us as we reached the bottom. It did not look like much, but we decided to go and check it out. We discovered the wildlife park had a small herd of Alpine Ibex (goats native to the European Alps), a couple of Marmots and genuine Swiss Cows with cow bells. It did not take us long to explore the wildlife park.
We headed back into the center of town and found the Hohematte Park where the Para gliders were landing so we sat on a bench and watched them land. We must of have watched at least 10 Para gliders land and every one looked so graceful. We talked about me signing up for a jump in a tandem glider (I would be the passenger and potential dead weight) but the cost was extreme so we cancelled that quickly. One day I will do that jump but likely best to be done in Canada where I have health insurance coverage.
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