Pictures for FLHobbit and Slowpoke - June trips

Hello to FLHobbit and Slowpoke

Further to discussions about holidays in June, Slowpoke asked if I had any pictures to share. I couldn't reply immediately because my files are too big so I needed to visit picresize.com as recommended by Arno (thanks for that Arno!) before I could do anything!

I am posting some photos from 2006 first then will reply to myself with some from 2007! These in first post are from 2006 , from Rellerli (reached from Schoenried), from Brienzer Rothorn, from Giessbach in 2007.

Maggie

Hi again

This next group from 2007 are Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg - bear in mind my main objective was to photograph spring flowers!

Maggie

Now some from Oeschinensee

Finally a few from Aareschlucht and for good measure a lovely sunset over Lake Thun

Hope you like them all

Maggie

Wow, these are some great pictures. This surely gives a good impression of what to expect in the Bernese Oberland. Indeed a wonderful sunset!

Thanks a lot,

Arno

Love that Eiger!

Thanks for posting those Maggie! Looking at your photos from flat Florida, it seems like a dream. I can't wait to see it with my own eyes.

You are very welcome!

We live in a busy city in the UK and fell in love with Switzerland on our first visit in 2001 - so much so that we have returned every summer since then and are currently planning what we will do on this summer's trip.

I hope you enjoy the dream - I am sure you will.

Maggie

Hi Maggie- did you stay at the Hotel Giessbach?

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

No we have never stayed at the Giessbach Hotel, though we have eaten crepes on the terrace! We have been to Giessbach by boat from Brienz a few times and have also walked from Giessbach to Iseltwald.

On our first trip in 2001 which was a package tour as we were new to travelling abroad and felt we should be led by the experts, we stayed 4 nights in the Hotel Belle Vue au Lac in Hilterfingen ( beautiful position on shores of Lake Thun), 3 nights in Le Petit Hotel in Zermatt (quaint hotel with fabulous food!) and 4 nights at Laudinella in St. Moritz Bad. From 2002 to 2010 we returned for 2 week stays in Hilterfingen and though it was a lovely hotel - good location, good food etc - the later years the hotel kept changing manager and was no longer so congenial. (I hear after being closed for a year it is now on the up again.) In December 2010 we stayed in Biel/Bienne for a week at the Best Western Hotel which we rather liked. So for summer 2011 we stayed a week there, giving us the chance to explore a different area and found an apartment to rent in Thun for 2 weeks after Biel. Since then we have returned each year to the apartment as we can afford to stay longer when self-catering than staying in a hotel. This coming year the hotel stay in St. Moritz (Hotel Waldhaus am See) is an indulgence as a Golden Wedding Anniversary present to ourselves before we go back to Thun for 3 weeks. We are keen to renew our acquaintance with Graubünden for a change from the Bernese Oberland though Thun remains our favourite place as it is so easy to explore lots of destinations from there.

So we don't have much experience of Swiss hotels, having only stayed in a few!!

Best wishes

Maggie

Hi Maggie-

I note that your Männlichen photos were taken on June 19th, in 2007.

Snow was all gone.

Those first few weeks in June can make a real difference.

I assume that you could walk all the way to KS? Trail completely clear then?

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

Yes indeed the day was clear and sunny, the trail completely clear - just a few little pockets of snow could be seen in crevices off the path in shaded area as in photo marked last bit of snow. There were lots of beautiful flowers for me to photograph - I was practising with a new camera which had a macro facility I hadn't had before. There were quite a few people on the trail doing the same as me!

A group of people were being led by a guide so I shamelessly eavesdropped a few times though my German was still in the relearning stage!

I had done German at school way back in early 60's and a lot of my course was literature - based so I was having to learn lots of new vocabulary since Goethe and Schiller didn't catch trains, order food or talk about mountains, flowers etc.! Over the years since our first visit to Switzerland and subsequent travelling there and in Germany my German is gradually improving! I practise it whenever I can and the Swiss are famously patient with me and even complimentary when I manage to get it right! I also practise in emails to a couple of friends who were German teachers and with our hosts in Thun.

We also saw a helicopter that day which seemed to be delivering materials to a group of workmen who were working just off the main trail doing some kind of maintenance work.

We were pretty lucky with weather in 2007 (June 12 to 26) with rain on only 2 days! On one of them which was just light drizzle we actually had a bit of fun in the clouds as we went up to First from Grindelwald then down again then up to Mannlichen and down to Wengen - not expensive because of the B.O pass we had that year and it was fun to be riding and walking in cloud -a new experience.

Maggie