Brünig Pass to Brienz beneath Brienzer Rothorn

Saturday February 18, 2023 -- The beautiful days in February just don't stop coming! So another opportunity to get out for a hike.

The south flank of the Brienzer Rothorn range along the north side of Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland receives a lot of sun in winter, and snow melts there fast. In April of 2017 we hiked at the base of this mountain parallel to the lakeshore on the "Camino de Santiago" (St.James Trail) starting in the town of Brienz (renowned for its wood carvers) almost all the way to Interlaken (those photos are HERE). What I have long wanted to do was the section between the Brünig Pass and Brienz, so this was a good day for it.

We left the St.James Trail (National Trail no.4) about half-way there to walk higher up the mountain, and descended to the lake only in Brienz West. That way we had a view for a longer time. We had lots of sunshine, and the first one-hour section which was mostly through the forest still had some snow, but not difficult to navigate. There was a lot less walking on paved roads than I had expected.

In particular, we enjoyed looking at all the beautiful chalets in this region. This ended up being a 13-km and 4-hour hike once again, and we had to hurry on our final stretch along the lake to catch the 4:30 p.m. train, getting to the station in Brienz just as the train pulled in.

Side note: To get to the Brünig Pass by Train from Luzern is the same stretch past Lakes Sarnen and Lungern which we did a week earlier, and we were quite amazed at how much the snow had melted in the Turren region where we had done the winter hike the week before.

The train travels along the east side of Lake Sarnen with a view of the Giswilerstock Massif

The magnificent Bernese Oberland Alps as a backdrop behind Lake Lungern

Always a pleasure to travel along the beautiful Lake Lungern. A week earlier we were in the region on the upper right (Mt. Wilerhorn) which now has much less snow.

A familiar view north over Lake Lungern as we head to the Brünig Pass. This is a stretch we have traveled often.

Brünig Pass, the start of our hike (11 a.m.) at 1003m above sea level, so not really a high pass

National Trail no.4 (St.James Trail) descends straight to the lakeshore at Hofstetten, but we stayed higher on the trail. In total we walked for 4 hours, about 13 km, from the Brünig Pass to Brienz.

The vehicle road on the south side of the Brünig Pass

A look to the east toward Meiringen and the Hasli Valley

Behind this beautiful house, we leave the road and head up to the forest.

Walking in the forest is nice when the sun shines through leafless trees.

Remains of snow on this farm (Brääch) in a hollow in the forest

For about 20 minutes we had to walk through the snow

Fortunately there was no snow on the descent through the forest to Brienzwiler

Pleasant and mild weather for our 45-minute walk through the forest. Unfortunately we didn't have a view of the lake for a long time.

Emerging from the forest above the village of Brienzwiler, this is the first view we had of Lake Brienz. We had our picnic lunch here.

Our view of Lake Brienz from our picnic spot. Our trail took us through that village (below on the right) later on.

The first of many attractive wooden chalets as we enter Brienzwiler from above.

Always lots of cats

And once in a while, a good photograph of a red kite (milan)

A few of the lovely chalets in Brienzwiler

We came from the Brünig Pass and are heading to Hofstetten and Schwanden from here, after a walk around the village. The train station for Brienzwiler is 25 minutes from here!!!!

Main street in Brienzwiler

The village grocery store!

Many of these beautiful buildings such as this one were originally built in the mid- to late-16th-Century.

A look up the hill past the houses of Brienzwiler to the path we took through the forest from the Brünig Pass.

A look to the East to the snow-covered peaks of the Hasli Valley

Historical church in Brienzwiler. We did not make the detour there

The date on this house is 1591!

This is part of trail no.4 St.James Trail (Jakobsweg, or Camino de Santiago). Along the way there are accommodations for pilgrims...

People used to be quite short in the 16th Century!

I'm so excited to finally see colour in the forests and gardens!

A fabulous farmhouse in Hofstetten. This is where we left the St.James trail and headed higher up the hillside.

A look back past the roofs of Hofstetten on our way to the next village called Schried

Another beautiful house in Schried

Another mailbox to match the owner's house!

Finally a view across Lake Brienz toward Interlaken to the West. We enjoyed this view from a sunny bench near the forest.

A zoomed view of the south shore of Lake Brienz

An unofficial route through the forest was better than walking on the paved roads.

The forests and villages here are full of wood sculptures, as the area is well known for its professional wood carvers.

Next village: Oberschwanden

Heading back down to the paved road.

Next hamlet called Glyssen, was just a single row of about six houses!

A particularly beautiful house with the backdrop of the Brienzer Rothorn ridge.

Spring lambs, a definite sign of spring. The spotted one is unusual

VIDEO:
Lots of lambs in this barn!

A look back at the row of six houses which form the hamlet called Glyssen. The lambs were in the barn on the left.

Another view to the east. The weather was so mild, we could walk without jackets!

A look down at the east end of Lake Brienz

Our trail took us right under the mountain railway line for the steam train from Brienz to the Brienzer Rothorn Ridge. We have ridden this train before, the the photos are HERE.

West end of the city of Brienz. Our original plan was to walk to the church there, then head back along the lakeshore, but we ran out of time for that.

Church on a hill at the west end of the city of Brienz. We didn't get up to see the church, had only just enough time to make it back to the train station to the East, about 20 minutes to walk from here along the lakeshore.