Loop Hike on Axalp near Brienz: The Woodcarver's Trail and Small Lake Hinterburgsee

Sunday July 18, 2021 -- We had actually taken the week off so we could maybe spend a few days in a new part of Switzerland and get to know that better, but other than the first weekend in Brig, and Monday morning on our local Mountain Rigi, the rest of the week was so wet and rainy that you couldn't even do anything locally.

That left only this past weekend, and things were looking up, but they didn't pan out. We planned big for Sunday, not wanting to go to the Valais again (although seriously, that's exactly where we should have gone) and went instead to the Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen area to do a mountain hike which we thought might be less traveled.

Sunny forecast for the day in that area turned out to be mostly in the valley bottoms, as the peaks all around were hidden in clouds. So we got as far as the cable car station in Isenfluh (a small mountain hamlet near Lauterbrunnen which you reach by bus on a road which cost 10 million Swiss Francs to service 60 houses!!!) but as we watched the cable car disappearing into the fog, we changed our minds and walked one hour back down to the valley bottom -- as usual making it to the train station with a few minutes to spare -- and headed back to Interlaken.

Our spur-of-the-moment alternate choice was to take a bus from Brienz up to a high mountain resort village called Axalp, an amazing 40-minute bus drive covering 1000m of altitude. From there, a 2-hour and 20-minute round trip along what is called the "Schnitzlerweg", or "Wood-Carvers's Trail" took us to a lovely lake (Hinterburgsee) embedded in a deep cauldron, where we enjoyed some sunshine before heading back in the rapidly-gathering storm clouds.

The best part of this trail -- which wasn't actually that "easy" although it is recommended for children -- was the variety of carved figures which adorned the paths. Brienz is known for its carpenters and wood carvers, and back in 1998/99, when a storm destroyed many trees in the forest, the local wood carvers converted many of the stumps into figures, of which there are currently about 100!

We started on the lower trail admiring the figures, and returned on the higher trail above the lake, but in retrospect we should have done the loop in the opposite direction, as we would have seen the lake in the sunshine from above. (We had not expected overcast skies so quickly). Nevertheless, this is a hike which we would not have made an extra trip for, and we are glad to have experienced the Woodcarver's Trail.... And with the other "hike" near Lauterbrunnen, in the end we walked 3.5 hours anyway.

NOTE: Here is a link to photos of all the beautiful carved figures and their names: https://www.tofahrn-foto.de/bildersammlungen/schnitzlerweg/

The road from Lauterbrunnen to Isenfluh was of interest to us, as it makes a 360-degree loop in a tunnel below the village, and cost 10 million Swiss Francs to construct, just to reach those few houses. From there we would have taken a cable car part-way up the mountain, but the top of the cable car was in the fog.

We decided to descend to Zweilütschinen to catch the next train back to Interlaken. The sign says 1:20, but we did it in 45 minutes. The train was leaving in an hour, so we had to hurry! Also, it was a descent of 450m altitude on a slippery trail, so we did well!

The valley at the back goes to Grindelwald. We're on our way down to Zweilütschinen which is at the entrance of both the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen Valleys. 

The whole way down was in this "tropical" forest, very damp and wet from recent rains. We made the descent in record time because we didn't want to miss the train

As we got to the valley bottom, a look up shows no sign of the clouds dissipating. There is no fun in climbing mountains in the fog.

Heading from Interlaken eastward to Brienz on Lake Brienz, we see the mountain where we had wanted to hike up, as well as the others, in the clouds.

From Brienz on the North side of the lake, a large bus takes us 1000m up the mountain on the other side of the lake, to a large high plateau with surprisingly many houses, not visible from here. 

Climbing higher and higher above the lake. The street is narrow, and many cars had to back up out of the way of the bus

From near Axalp, a look down at the town of Brienz on the North side of Lake Brienz. The peaks there are also in the clouds, including the popular "Brienzer Rothorn" with its steam engine station

Heading out now to the Hinterburgseeli along the Schnitzlerweg, or Woodcarver's Trail

Our alternate excursion for the day: A loop trail from Axalp to the Hinterburgseeli lake. It was almost 2.5 hours altogether to walk. And there were indeed many children, although I find a total of 400m ascent is quite a lot. 

A look down at Axalp, the lower part. There are surprisingly many houses up here!

A real mountain hike for us after all

One of the first carved figures we came across is this really fun one!

And I am always happy to see Valais Black-Nosed Sheep!

A sampling of the many wonderful carvings along the Woodcarver's trail. Some of these are 20 years old! Apparently, the carvers come up here every year at the end of July and you can watch them work. 

The lady with the umbrella was particularly good.

This one is my favourite, the barefoot traveler!

The happy hiker, barefoot! (The name of this figure is actually "Hans im Glück", i.e. Happy Hans)

We had to look hard to actually find a bear!

Information about the woodcarver's trail

Winds and avalanches caused many trees to fall in 1998/1999 and the local woodcarvers turned a bad storm into something beautiful

Heading down to the lake

The backdrop of the lake!

First glimpse of the lake.

We came down at the back side of the lake. On the other side is the trail we need to take to return to the bus

Here's something you don't often see in Switzerland: Buffalo bathing in an alpine lake!

This was our view from our picnic spot. We at least had a couple of hours of sunshine.

Heading to the "front" of the lake for the climb up the hill. Water level is high here too. The normal trail along the lake is under water. 

It took about 1 hour to get to the lake, and another 1h 20 min. to get back to Axalp 

The last of the sunshine. Clouds moved in quickly. This is why we thought we should have come down to the lake from this side instead. 

A look at the lake as we climb higher on the trail

The little lake Hinterburgseeli

Lots of uphill!!

Finally made it to the level trail

Oh boy, those look like rain clouds!!

Had the weather stayed nice, we would have skipped a bus and stopped here for an ice cream sundae. But it got cold, and there were too many people anyway, so we rapidly made our way back to the bus stop

From the restaurant we had to descend back to the original trail. This is another look down at Lake Brienz, and Axalp on the left (although the bus stop was higher up)

We wish we had come up this way (instead of taking the lower trail) while the sun was still shining! On the lower trail toward the little lake, we did not see the lake like this.

Passing my favourite figure on the way back! There is so much joy in that face! Also, the figures almost look better when the sun is not shining on them. 

Here's one we missed on the way to the lake! There was actually a whole other section of the Woodcarver's trail (another loop) which we could have followed on the way back, but we might have missed the bus. 

And this is on the way back down by bus. The bus driver told us that the hillside here is full of these huge maple trees which are very old and protected. The farmers are not allowed to cut them down. 

On Google Satellite Maps you can see the road that goes up to Axalp. In green is the loop trail to the little lake and back. Amazing the roads they build here.