[Removed user]

2 March 2018 at 9:40:53 #814581

Hi all,

Another trip report, this time for the Blausee and Brig from Zurich (spent one night in Blausee).

It was an easy trip from Zurich, we had one train change in Bern and another in Frutigen (change to a bus). Total trip was about 2hrs 10min. I bought a standard ticket for the trip out from Zurich (around 35chf) and used a Saver Day Pass to get home the next day; which I pre-bought with my Halbtax (a Swiss Half Fare Card works as well) for 29chf. This allowed us to travel home via Kandersteg and Brig.

Day 1
The bus stop (Blausee BE) is directly in front of the Blausee visitor centre (and parking lot if you drive) and a very good Pizzeria is there as well. We arrived around 13:00 and had lunch at the Pizzeria before heading to the hotel.

There is a charge of between 5chf – 8CHF (winter is cheaper) to enter the nature park which you need to do to see the lake. Guests of the Blausee Hotel get in the park for free (check in at the visitor center).

It is a very small, beautiful lake and worth a stop if you are in the area. The hotel is a nice 3-star option with great service. The spa and restaurant were nice as well.

The Blausee Park itself is fairly large and you can go for leisurely hikes if you wish around the area. The lake can be walked around completely in about 10 minutes (plus time needed for pictures). There is also a fish farm on-site with tours available and a glass-bottom boat can take you on the lake (it wasn’t operating when we were there).

On a day trip I think maybe 1 hour is enough time to enjoy the lake (unless you want to go on a longer hike). It is well worth a stop at the hotel for a meal or coffee/drink while you are there. You can also buy access to the Spa if so inclined.

Day 2
We took the bus from Blausee BE on to Kandersteg (about a 15-minute trip). We went from almost no snow at Blausee to quite a bit of snow up in Kandersteg (about 400 meters higher in elevation). The bus driver did not know what a Saver Day Pass was unfortunately, but after trying to explain to him what it is (in German) he finally just accepted it. 🙂
Drivers have a very large laminated sheet with a list of all acceptable tickets/passes and the Saver Day Pass wasn’t on it. I will email SBB to inform them of the issue. Train personnel on all trains and stations accepted it without question.

We had a 40 minute wait in Kandersteg so we briefly wandered the town. We then took the train on to Brig (very scenic trip along the Rhone Valley). We also saw the car train being loaded up there as well. They are incredibly long trains!

We arrived in Brig at about 12 noon (1h 45 min trip from Blausee but with 45 minutes in Kandersteg). It is faster back track to Spiez but not as scenic!

In Brig we visited the very impressive Stockalper Palace and wondered the town before having a cheap Kebap (7CHF!) and then enjoyed a coffee on the main town square (5 minutes from the train station. It was -2 degrees but sunny).

At about 14:00 we caught an express train back to Zurich (direct and only 2 hours 10 minutes).
This train had a new (to me) restaurant car that was exceptionally nice. All wood panels and counters, very spacious

The seats in this carriage (2nd floor above the restaurant) were so nice (wide and even adjustable) I couldn’t believe it was 2nd class. I asked 2 other travelers and train personal to ensure I wasn’t in 1st class!
The other train carriages were standard seats so the nice ones were only in the restaurant car carriage. It was the IC8 to Romanshorn…not sure how many trains have these restaurants cars and seats.
But I will know always get on trains at the restaurant carriage to see if I find these seats again!

***Guests at the Blausee also receive a Guest Card for reductions at nearby facilities and cable cars***
If you don’t have a rail pass a few discounts to note are:

1. 20% off the Niesen Funicular
2. 20% off Stockhorn
3. 10% off Luftseilbahn Sunnbuel & Gondelbahn Oeschinensee (cable cars)
4. 10% off the Brig Thermal bath (Thermalbad BrigerBad)
5. and a few small discounts at other nearby hotels (their pools or billiards etc)

   Pictures below

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[Arno]

2 March 2018 at 10:13:07 #877560

Thanks Lucas! I’m surprised that a tiny lake like Blausee wasn’t frozen, even though it is not up in the mountains. Scenery wise it was better this way I guess, at least it was blue as it should be instead of white.

I sometimes feel sorry for bus drivers and train staff who have to know about all the 1000 tickets and passes, and exceptions to exceptions 🙂

[Removed user]

2 March 2018 at 10:19:30 #877561

Yes, his laminated list of passes/tickets was quite long! It must be tough – I know back in Canada the driver’s union would NOT let driver’s deal with tourist passes etc! 🙂

[Removed user]

3 March 2018 at 0:44:58 #877562

Hi Lucas

Thanks for this report. I love the pictures from Blausee, especially the night one! It is some time since we visited Blausee but might go back there this year as I am looking for trips that don’t involve a lot of walking as I don’t know how my health problems will have improved by the time we travel and a leisurely walk around the lake could be ideal. We were able to go on the glass-bottomed boat when we were there and went for a short hike when we met a group of UK scouts having a barbecue.

It was good to get a shout out for Brig! We had changed trains there so many times without actually spending any time there so a few years ago we decided it was high time we explored! We also visited the impressive Stockalper Palace and enjoyed lunch in a café in the square. There was also one of those little tourist trains that takes you around the town – we always look out for these little tours when visiting a place for the first time as they give you a good overview and often an idea of somewhere in the town worth a closer look.

Really appreciate your reports of your day trips as they are full of details as to how we can copy them!

Maggie

PS We have been inundated with snow here this week in the UK – from Siberia – nick-named the Beast from the East and from Europe – Storm Emma and they met today in Birmingham! Lots of other areas much worse hit than us though. High winds causing a lot of drifting – transport problems everywhere – farmers out trying to clear rural roads with their tractors etc. We don’t manage snow well here in UK as we don’t experience it often enough to warrant the cost of equipment to deal with it I think.

[rockoyster]

3 March 2018 at 9:21:28 #877563

Thanks for sharing Lucas. Very interesting and class photos as always. 👏

[Removed user]

3 March 2018 at 9:37:40 #877564

Hi Maggie!

Glad you found it a good read. 🙂 Quite enjoyed both Blausee and Brig. The hotel is lovely and so is the spa!

Zurich got some snow this week (not enough for my tastes!). I always imagined Zurich having snow for a good part of the winter (before I moved here) but this is not the case – disappointing for a Canadian.

Temperatures are around -3 to +5 from Christmas to late February on average with very little to no snow.

This past week we got maybe 10cm in the last 3 days but it is supposed to be 11 degrees tomorrow so that won’t last!

My wife and I were in London from Tuesday to Wednesday and got caught up in the storm a bit. Our 3rd trip to London and always in the Winter! Flight home was delayed almost 2 hours but otherwise everything went smoothly (except for the trains out to Heathrow of course – had to take a taxi $$$$). Seems like northern England and Ireland and Scotland got the worst of it.

[Adelaidean]

4 March 2018 at 8:55:22 #877565

Nice photos, I especially like Kandersteg in the snow. I had not heard of Blausee and I like that you keep adding more places for me to google….

We were very excited to have a light snowfall in Sils Maria last September, and it looked magical to have trees still with snow on them at elevation, but can’t imagine walking around in it in a street.

[Removed user]

4 March 2018 at 12:54:42 #877566

Thanks Adelaidean!

Yes, I’d have liked a bit more snow to go with the cold weather when we were there. We were surprised how much snow Kandersteg had as it was only about 15 minutes by bus – but we did spend most of that time driving uphill :).