Mount Niesen, a pyramid on Lake Thun. Thousands have painted it, Paul Klee and Ferdinand Hodler among them. Singer Tinu Heiniger dedicated a song in Swiss dialect to the 2362 m peak. Leaving Spiez’s own mountain behind, you leisurely continue along Lake Thun toward Interlaken. The church of Leissigen is one of the mythical “12 one thousand-year old churches on Lake Thun”. Legend has it that in the 10th century, King Rudolph II, King of Burgundy and Lombardy, received an order from heaven after a recurring dream to build 12 churches around the town of Einigen. Nowadays it is more likely the water sports that attract so many people. Lake Thun is perfect for sailing, water skiing and wakeboarding, for windsurfing and for many sightseers who prefer a comfortable excursion boat.

Interlaken, overlooked by the famous Eiger, Monk and Jungfrau mountains, is even livelier. While it is primarily Asian visitors strolling through the town, extreme athletes from around the world are excited about paragliding, heli-skiing, ice climbing and river rafting. Bönigen is another worthwhile stop. This is where Lake Brienz begins. The bike trail is on the shaded side of the lake and virtually undisturbed by motorised traffic. Heavenly for bike riders! Looking across the water, you’ll see lovely villages and the mountain ranges with Augstmatthorn and Brienzer Rothorn further to the east. Even the bees seem to like this as they busily zoom around their beehive.

Riding through the forest is very enjoyable here and when you get to the Giessbach Falls your breath will almost stop. Amazing how the water plunges down 14 steps for a total of 400 m. Grand Hotel Giessbach is one of the most beautiful in Switzerland, and the oldest funicular in Europe, built in 1879, makes the uphill climb effortless for many of the guests arriving by boat. The route then leads down to Lake Brienz. The village of Brienz, known as the woodcarving centre of the Bernese Oberland, is located on the lovely lakefront. The Ballenberg open-air museum nearby and the old wheezing steam locomotives pushing the cogwheel trains up to the Brienzer Rothorn are other popular sights. The bike definitely does not need to be pushed here. The flat terrain is easy to navigate and you will breeze into the holiday town of Meiringen, where the main attraction is the Aare Gorge.