River Aare (Part 2)
Again, this is a story about the River Aare (longest river in Switzerland). And, this is the second part of the journey it takes through Switzerland.
So, last time I talked about how the river left the two glaciers in the Bernese Alps and had its rising there. Pushing through the Aareschluct creating that gorge. Then, heading into Lake Brienz and past the village of Brienz.
From there the Aare squeezes through Interlaken and Unterseen and empties into Lake Thun (also called the Thunersee).
The town and municipality of Spietz which includes another of my favorite settlements along Lake Thun – Faulensee. Both are right on the lake and have beautiful views of the lower lake. They both have great marinas and beautiful bars (well, imagine that) where you can purchase a very expensive beer – or six.
(My friends Reudi and Ulrich would take me on hikes around this area. Well, I walked behind them and they would stop every 50 or 60 meters [that’s a 
European measure in case you don’t know] and talk about a lot of things in German … which left me out of it… probably talking about the dumb American behind them.
Yet, they included me and I was able to build up my step count even if we were on a stop and start sojourn (college word).
Faulensee is a nice little community that is located a few kilometers south (I think it’s south anyway) of Spietz. My friend Ulrich and his wife have a wonderful apartment overlooking the lake. It really is fantastic place to live.
They have the lake-view on one side and can see the mountains from the opposite side.
Ulrich, Reudi – who happened to be my landlord) and I would just wander around the area enjoying the wonderful views and enjoying the camaraderie. Ulrich speaks a few languages and has lived in several different countries.
An interesting trio we made. Again, I’m pretty sure they made fun of me in German at various times! Well, who could blame them?
I’d imagine Faulensee has a few thousand people there … it is not big, but it does have a nice marina and a few pretty good looking restaurants. It would be a great place to have an apartment without a doubt. But, wonder what the winters would be like there.
Spietz (SCHHH PEETZ) is a larger town and although similar to Faulensee is 
just spread out more and has it’s own Bahnhof (train station) which is a jumping off point into the Bernese
Alps in several directions.
It too has a nice marina setting and also a place where you can catch one of the large tourist boats that traverse Lake Thun bouncing from town to town along the lake. (The Boats are wonderful and covered by my travel pass – so I have checked them out on several occasions.)
Did you ever notice I use a lot of parenthesis ()?
Anyway, back to the Aare.
The river enters the Thunersee from Interlaken and it pops out on the northern end at my favorite place – Thun!
That’s next (part three) on our list of towns along the River Aare!