So another great day and our first real "see," as they say here in Thunersee. I biked the north coast last year with Mark and am now biking the south coast, which looked very intimidating last year. Wild and rough. But it actually might be easier to take on than the north coast, as the facilities and roads were great.
But the bad news today was thunderstorms in Interlaken this afternoon, with lightning. A 100% chance. And it would also be bad in Zweisimmen, so we feared there would be no escaping it. But we woke to clear skies, had the buffet breakfast offered by the hotel, and made our way to the course. Being a beautiful morning, the ride and views were great. The only caution is the trail surface, which seemed to vary at will between a paved and natural surface. And sometimes it was little more than a footpath. But we were not going far and just enjoyed it, each of us at our own pace, sometimes riding together, sometimes not.
We crossed the river several times on the way down the valley. Trail conditions varied greatly, and it was never clear how long something would last before improving to a paved surface. Which could be a road connecting two trail segments!
Rough but pretty. Just take it easy. We were in no rush today.
After about five miles into the ride, the valley opened up a bit, and we were distracted by a local lemonade stand. Selling not lemonade, but a variety of syrups made from local herbs and flowers. They are then mixed with plain or sparkling water. Jerry and I stayed for probably 30 minutes chatting up the father and tasting the offerings. We tried the mint and elderberry. The kids stayed cute!
We had a great lunch in Oey at Gasthof Hirschen, which had some live local music that delighted us, and then had it mostly downhill to Spiez and Thunersee. Still no rain!
So, in spite of the threats, we were almost at the lake shore, and still no rain. Not that we were complaining! After finally laying eyes on the lake, we had a fast descent and took the bike trail almost all the way to Interlaken. But at four miles short, it opened up big time. Fortunately, we had good shelter and waited it out . . . 30 minutes at most.
Getting into Interlaken can be a little tricky, as the separated bike route (Swiss Route 9) merges with the main highway, Route 6, for about a mile. There is a nice bike lane, but you still need to ride adjacent to a busy highway. And of course, the rain didn't help!
After a mile on Route 6, we exited at this interchange and used the same entry into Interlaken Mark and I had followed last year. Technically, this is my third trip to Switzerland, and I am already repeating parts of prior trips!
