Well, I’ve taken a year off from messing around with my Blog – so I figured I’d take a shot at it again. What the heck … thought of an idea. Follow the Aare River from beginning to end and turn some of this into tour of Switzerland.
Well, why the Aare? Well … why not?
Seriously … it’s a pretty interesting story about how it wanders along through the country. I also live in one of the most beautiful areas in Switzerland – Thun. This place is located right on the Aare near it’s rising in the Bernese Alps and it’s glaciers.
Let’s be upfront here … this is not the Mississippi River by any stretch of the imagination. But, it is really impressive in it’s own right with it’s truly blue water and meandering path through Switzerland
Also, the Aare is the longest river (295 km / 183 mi) that is entirely in Switzerland. Notably there are obviously many noteworthy cities that are located along the waterway.
**Just to mention – there are 40 hydroelectric plants located on this river**
In south central Switzerland the river rises from the two Aare Glacier (Aaregletschers) in the Bernese Alps – cutting through the Aare Gorge (Aaereschlucht) and then empties into Lake Brienz (a glacial lake by the way – well, look it up! Learn something today!).
The Aare then passes between Interlaken and Unterseen into Lake Thun (Thunersee).
Here are some shots of some of the cities at the start of the Aares’ journey.
The Aareschluct is the Gorge and Brienz sits on Lake Brienz. Interlaken and Unterseen are the towns that the Aare divides as it enters into Lake Thun.
Brienz is a small city on the northern shore of Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland and is part of the canton of Bern. It includes the mouth of the Aare.
There is actually a “wood carving” school located in Brienz (The Cantonal Woodcarving School) .. think Swiss Cuckoo Clocks!
Shots of Brienz
Interlaken is located south of Brienz and between Lake Brienz and the Thunersee (Lake Thun). The Aare divides Interlaken and the village of Unterseen.
About 5000 people liven the surrounding area of Interlaken which is a big tourist stop. Any trains heading from Bern south thru Thun and Spietz are generally loaded with tourists headed for Interlaken.
It is also a great jumping off point for people heading deeper into the mountains to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen which are beautiful areas.
People also travel to “The Top of Europe” – Jungfrau ( “Maiden” in German) which has the highest railway station in Europe – over 3454 meters above sea level. Surprising to many people the Jungfrau is not the highest peak in Switzerland – it is third behind Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa!
For people looking for places to eat – there is a “Hooters” on the main drag. I’m 
not kidding you. It even looks like the Hooters in the US. But, trust me – not worth the trouble.
However there is a great Hungarian place in Interlaken – Hopplá Bistro. It’s excellent. My coaching compadre from a few years ago Pete Metzelaars convinced me to travel with him from Luzern to Interlaken to eat there.
After Pete got us lost a few times following his phone’s map device we found Hopplá. It was a small place with a few tables .. real Hungarian people working there. It was great!
Now, Pete’s wife Barb is Hungarian and speaks the language fluently. So, as we got to know the owner and his Mom we mentioned the Hungarian heritage connection. Then, Pete FaceTimes with his wife and her Dad connecting with the owners and they are all speaking Hungarian and yucking it up. It was great.
Pete and I kept eating … that was great too!
Well, that’s a quick look at the beginnings of the River Aare. Following it’s path we well continue on to Spietz and my second hometown of Thun next.