West Virginia Executive Fall 2018 | Page 119

Lake Brienz from Bönigen’s shores. Interlaken lore. Public transportation is very easy to navigate but can get pricey. It pays to research bundle options ahead of time. Grindelwald Once settled, we explored Grindelwald. Although not as remote as we originally wanted, we had a blast despite the heavy tourism. From Grindelwald’s train station, we walked a short 10 minutes through cobbled streets, classic Swiss chalets and outstanding valley views to catch a gondola up to the minor summit, Schwarzhorn. From there we walked the famous metallic walkway, which was well worth the vertigo. Once we grew accustomed to the altitude, we started on an easy, one-hour hike to Bachalpsee Lake. At an altitude of 7,431 feet, the climb is rewarded by reflective, glacier-blue waters; grassy banks; wild mountain flowers; and a backdrop that is quintessentially Alpine with stunning views of the Schreckhorn, Wetterhorn and Finster- aarhorn summits. Our one-hour hike turned into a three-hour hike because there were so many views to photograph. Spiez Our next stop, a lovely town called Spiez, was more relaxed. Located on Lake Thun, Spiez is wrapped around Spiez Bay and has a multitude of water activities like sailing, windsurfing, fishing and cruises. However, we decided to focus our day on the culture and history of this particular town. Most notable was Spiez Castle. Built in 933 A.D., additions were later Zurich’s riverfront from the walk along the River Limmat to Old Town. “In their culture, there is a time for work, but there is more time for family, the outdoors and pursuing passions. Although we didn’t know it at first, we realized that kind of lifestyle was the real escape we were looking for all along.” WWW.WVEXECUTIVE.COM FALL 2018 117