Exploring

I woke up to this view outside my window today...


Walking: check out that water!




Rachel and the tree growing out of the top of the tower.


Looking down from the castle.









View out to Brienzersee.


Today was a day of wandering and discovery, and luckily being pleasantly surprised by all that we found. After breakfast at the hostel and weighing our options for the next couple days, we headed off to stretch our legs on a run alongside the canal. Most of the water here is a brilliant turquoise. We can't get over it, it looks so completely different from our own familiar version of water. We ended up on a path that climbed the side of the mountain, crossing over the train tunnel to a vista of one of the two lakes that Interlaken is wedged between, Thunersee. Luckily altitude hasn't been an issue so far.

We are determined to do some drawing while we're here, so next headed off the other direction down the canal, toward the other lake, Breinzersee. We stumbled upon a castle, remnants from the 1100's. It felt that old, making even the mountains around us seem as if they were temporarily ancient. There was an incredible beach covered in driftwood not far away, where we settled in to draw and drink wine (instructions from Dean), before making our way back home. The touristy side of Interlaken does not appeal to me at all, so I was grateful we found a more peaceful spot to spend most of the day. Dinner was delicious, pulled together from the various odd ingredients we found at the tiny convenience grocery store in town. Tomorrow we are hopefully heading up, into the peaks.