Q1. Thun, Lenk & Blausee 15 Oct

Had some time to spare in Thun so we started the day with a walk along the river.

Caught the train to Spiez & Zweisimmen and on to Lenk for the Alpine festival where we watched the parade of cows, browsed the shops and stalls and were tempted by the delicious Apple fritters.

 

From Lenk we made our way back to Spiez and after a short wait we were on our way to Kandersteg. 

From Kandersteg we took the bus back down the valley to Blausee where the fishing competition was in full swing. Had afternoon tea there before heading home.

 

Autumn colours really starting to show up now. 

 

 Ended the day with a walk from Goldiwil down into the valley and up the other side to Heiligenschwendi. Captured the sunflowers enjoying the late afternoon sun.

 

 

P2. Adelboden 14 Oct

Yea! I didn't have to be tour guide today - with my printed version of the day's SBB timetable ever at the ready. Today we were invited to go for a hike in Adelboden with a couple we met in 2014 and have stayed in contact with through Facebook. We met at Thun station and caught the train to Frutigen. Then transferred to the bus to Abelboden where we took the gondola up to a higher point to start our walk at Tschenten.  

 This is the way we are going - first up uphill!

 

Brilliant vistas even on an overcast day and still the odd wildflower among the grass

 

Someone is ready for lunch and it was delicious - carrot soup and then steak with vegetables and chips.

After a leisurely lunch we had a rainy walk back to Adelboden but I still managed to take a few more pictures!

 

 

When enlarged you can see the row of bells under the eaves and I like the little cubbie house out to the left.

Bussed and trained to Thun and up to Heiligenschwendi. Once again the walk home was delightful with the cows coming in, the fog rapidly changing and the beautiful Autumn colours on our neighbours woodshed.

 

 

 Home sweet home - for a little while anyway

 

 

P1. Over the hills and far away 13 Oct

Having had a late night we gave ourselves a well deserved morning off. That said I peeped out the window early and saw the mountains on display so I crept out with my camera for a little walk. Then I made my way around under the eaves and past the chimney to get to the little balcony to check the view from there. Rather nice I think. 

Because the mountains were visible we walked to Haltenegg to catch the late morning bus. This walk offers great views over the lake and our part of Heiligenschwendi below the fields.

In Thun we caught bus 51 to Wattenwil and immediately transferred to the minibus 56 to Riggisberg. This gave us an even wider perspective on the local mountain ranges. The farmers who were yesterday busy spraying natural fertiliser on all the fields (that's how we knew it would rain today!), today they were cutting the maize, ploughing fields and generally being busy every where went.

Someone's carefully planted vegetable garden and the erica plants which are available in all supermarkets.   

After 25 minutes here we boarded bus 611 to Schwarzenberg and when we got to the station we got off and looked for bus 612. In front of our eyes our bus changed to bus 612 so we got back on! This bus does a circular trip to Guggisburg and back to the station. Despite the rain showers we got off at Guggisburg for an hour of wandering around. One of the songs the Canberra Swiss Choir sings is the Guggisburg Lied (with 14 verses - we don't sing them all). It was interesting to visit the place of its origin. 

Home via train to Bern and on to Thun for a quick tour of the local Aldi to restock the cupboard. The road from the bus stop to our Spycher always invites a picture no matter what the weather!

 

O2. Nufenen pass 12 Oct

Took the oportunity to cross one of the high mountain passes before it closes this weekend for the winter season. Took the train from Thun through to Visp and were surprised to find it full to over flowing. At Visp we changed to a regio train stopping at all stations to Göschenen. The photo is of the table in the train shows a map of the journey rising ever upward in the valley.     

 

We got off at Ulrichen and swapped to the Postbus which goes over the pass. Thanks to the recent snow it was an awesome trip. The bus stops at the top of the pass for about 40 minutes - plenty of time for photos. 

 

 

 

We then continued down the winding road to Airolo in Canton Ticino. We had another 40 minutes here so we wandered through the town and had our picnic lunch.  

We the took the train through the tunnel to Göschenen and the transferred to the regio-train again. The first stop was Andermatt. Managed to capture photos of the layers of bridges. Lots of modern development happening there. The train at this stage was fairly empty and therefore easy to swing from side to side taking photos.

 

 

 Not sure I would like to be crossing the swing bridge below.

Back in Thun we caught bus 25 to Sigriswil catching the view over the lake on the way. 

After relaxing over a drink at the Baren Hotel with our friend we crossed the road to Sigriwil church for a marvellous concert performed by an international group of young opera singers. They were outstanding - every single one of them.  What an amazing oportunity and a very thoughtful gift from a very special person! 

O1. Hünibach 11 Oct

Another relaxing morning and then a quick walk down to the bus stop at 10:30 In Thun we filled in some time at the station shop. I photographed the covers of the Autumn magazines and I was fascinated by the black coloured carbone gipfeli. I though Geoff should try one and report to me on the flavour but he did not seem impressed with the idea!  

  We took bus 21 to Hünibach Chatreuse and changed to the minibus 22 which wandered around the streets high above the lake. After a failed attempt to communicate with the driver a kind English speaking person pointed out where we should get off the bus for the short walk to our friend's house for lunch. A wonderful lunch it was! Lasted around 5 hours with lots of chatting and photo sharing between courses of delicious Swiss food.

  We abandoned our planned walk together as the sun struggled to break through the clouds today. We could however see some of the snow on the mountains across the lake from her house and from the return walk to the bus.