Wild Alpine flowers along the trail to Bachalpsee Lake.
The city of Bern from the climb to Rosengarten.
added in the 12th and 13th centuries, and the castle is now an
interactive museum. From trying to lift a pail of water that
handmaids would have carried more than 10 miles each day
to wearing medieval clothes to browsing the castle’s extensive
library archives, we easily immersed ourselves in the world
of the Middle Ages. Additionally, on the castle grounds is a
beautiful and sacred 1,000-year-old church that is open for
worship or respectful observance.
Spiez’s culture also hinges around wine. The Spiez Vineyard
is open to the public and makes for a great walk. You can learn
more about winemaking at stations throughout the vineyard
and test your sense of smell, taste and hearing to see if you have
what it takes to be a winemaker. There’s even a winegrowing
museum at a farming household that features a complete work-
shop, a Trüel wine press and an exhibition about work in the
vineyard and cellar.
Spiez is also known for its lakeside restaurants that serve
specialty fish dishes and local wine. We went to Riviera by
Elio, which serves a variety of seasonal seafood and Italian
dishes. The food was to die for, and the service was impec-
cable. Although we got picked on a bit for not knowing any
language but English, it was all in good fun. Being at a cross-
roads of several European cultures, Switzerland has four
official languages: French, Italian, German and Romansh.
Many Swiss citizens know at least two languages, if not more,
and English is often one of those. It was very rare that we had
trouble communicating.
Gimmelwald
My favorite stop on the trip was Gimmelwald. If Grindel-
wald was touristy, Gimmelwald was the exact opposite. It is
one of the last remaining car-free villages in Switzerland, which
is probably because you have to take a 15-minute gondola ride
up a sheer cliff to get there—unless you want to rock climb.
The charming village doesn’t have much to do in terms of
restaurants or bars, but it does have a plethora of breathtaking
views, hikes and sneak peaks of remote Alpine life. Blake and
I decided to take a red-colored hike, which is medium on the
scale of difficulty.
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