Derndels and Spiez

After a great night sleep we had breakfast and Em and Tiffany put on their Derndels (the Austrian dresses they bought back in Salzburg) so we could take some photos. They looked like true Swiss farm ladies!
We had to check out at 11:00 so we packed up our stuff and went back to Interlaken for our last day in Switzerland. We found out from our guidebook that we had a free boat ride that was included in our rail passes so we boarded it and headed over to Spiez (the lake town we had found on our way into Interlaken). The boat ride was really nice – beautiful scenery, lots of little villages along the water, majestic Alps in the background…

As we were on the boat we decided to get off one stop short of Spiez and take a walk along the lake. We were glad we did, as when we got off, we met a really funny older man and his girlfriend who talked and walked with us pretty much the entire 30 minute walk. They told us about good places to eat, how much they love Roger Federer, and about how good Swiss chocolate is – they were hilarious.



At Spiez we walked around for a bit and explored the town. It was much like Interlaken, but smaller and a little more like a lake town. We found a boat rental place and rented a paddleboat for a half our and took it out on the lake. It was a good workout for Mike and I and we all enjoyed it.


Overall, we now have some mixed opinions on our favorite places that we have been thus far. About three days ago, we all would have voted the Cinque Terre but I think Em and I both liked Swizerland the best, more specifically Gimmelwald. There were hardly any tourists, and even though everything was so expensive, it was still totally worth it. We felt so far away from everything else. Every area we have been too has been about the right amount of time for us – with maybe the exception of Venice in which we think it could have been done in a day. But with Switzerland, Em and I both wanted to do more. There were so many hikes that we heard were amazing and many bike paths that people raved about. I guess we will have to do them next time.