Four-hour Walk along Lake Thun, from Thun to Spiez

Wednesday May 3, 2023 -- Two weeks earlier on April 19th we had headed to Thun to walk along Lake Thun to Spiez in the Bernese Oberland. At that time the sky was overcast, so we changed plans (thoses photos HERE) and postponed the trip to a later date. Today was that later date.

The day was fantastic, not a cloud in the sky, and not overly hot, which was appropriate for this relatively "flat" 16-km hike along the lakeshore (generally, not my favourite kind of hiking), as it would have been too hot to do this in summer. Even with a large amount of the trail being on paved roads, there was so much variety in what we could observe, that it was quite a good hike.

What makes the landscape most attractive at this time of year is the large variety of greens in the freshly emerged leaves, and many of the trees were still in bloom. Then there are the farms and the forests, the castles and the lake, the 1000-year-old churches, and of course the backdrop of the snow-covered Bernese Alps. Everybody wants to see the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau Trio, and we had them in front of us the whole day, resplendent in their white coats against the pure blue background.

Starting off in Thun with a snack, heading east along the canal toward the lake

One of several steam ships that take tours on the lake. In the background you can just see the spires of Thun Castle

A closer view of Thun Castle. We visited the castle up close on a previous occasion when we spent a night in the city on a vacation in the area

Off we go heading toward the lake

Obviously, the first stop is in this old church along the way! The Scherzlingen church is one of twelve 1000-year-old churches built around Lake Thun, all of them built in such a way that the sunlight enters at specific directions on various holy days. 

The Scherzlingen church was first mentioned in documents of 762. The church apse dates from 10th to 12th Century. 

The frescoes are from the 13th to 16th Centuries. 

These frescoes in the chancel were discovered during restorations in 2002/03. 

The church tower was apparently originally free-standing in the 9th Century. 

Right at the corner where the canal enters the lake is the Schadau Castle, built from 1846-54. This is a hotel-restaurant and was voted "Historical Hotel of the year 2021"

Entrance to the Castle Hotel

On the lake side, we could see that the restaurant has a large outside terrace. Very posh.

The approximately 15 kilometers we walked along the lakeshore of Lake Thun between Thun and Spiez was about four hours of walking. We started at the train station at about 10:30 a.m., and caught the bus at the boat quai in Spiez at 15:55 (we didn't want to walk the additional 20 minutes to the train station there).

A gorgeous view of the Blümlisalp Massif greets you from the lakeshore

Walkway directly along the lakeshore

Some fancy houses along the way (photographed through a small opening in the gate, as the property was separated from the trail by a privacy wall, which I could not see over).

This is the view I came for: Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau on the left, Blümlisalp in the center right, and Mt. Niesen on the far right, all mountains of the Bernese Oberland and so beautifully framed against the blue sky.

Several bridges over marshy regions along the lakeshore

Magpies may be annoying birds, but they sure are pretty

Close-up of Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio, with Mt. Schrekhorn making its appearance on the far left!

Another view of the Blüemlisalp Massif to the south in the Kander Valley, from the lovely Bonstetten Park. 

And to our southwest is the Gantrisch Region, which we have not yet been able to explore. The dominant peak here is Mt. Stockhorn, which you can access via a very expensive cable-car ride!

A huge oak tree...

The freshly-"hatched" oak leaves. The spring greens are so pretty. In summer the greens are all the same. 

A small canal in Bonstetten Park. Not sure where the water flows to/from!

This trail is part of two regional trails: no.36 "Via Berna" and no.26 "Round Tour of Lake Thun"

A look at Mt. Niesen and the small tower called Strättligburg. The trail went up this hill on the right, across the crest and to the tower, from which one apparently has a nice view, but it was locked when we got there. 

Heading to Gwatt, from where we had a bit of an uphill section

We encountered some fruit trees which were still in full bloom

At the top of the "Ridge" which reminded us of a glacier moraine, we joined Trail no.4: St.James Trail (or Via Jakobi)

Another fantastic tree

Heading east along what might have been a glacier moraine, we had the city and lake beneath us to the left, farmland to the right, and the north face of Mt. Eiger straight ahead. 

To the southwest, another look at the Gantrisch mountains

What is a hike in Switzerland without cows along the way?

Behind us is the city of Thun. Further in the background would be direction Bern. 

We had our picnic lunch on this bench, near the Strättligburg Tower

Our view while enjoying our picnic lunch. 

A farmer was mowing the pasture below us. That always brings out the buzzards and kites!

Ten minutes past the Strättligburg tower (which seems to be open only for larger groups or events), we descended to the Kander River ravine. The Kander River enters Lake Thun here. 

Kander railway bridge (Chanderbrügg) over the Kander River

Walking through mostly farmland now, we had Mt.Niesen in our sights, and lots of flowering fruit trees. 

So many pretty blossoming trees here

Splendid view of the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio ahead of us. For the Asian tourists traveling up to "Top of Europe" at Jungfraujoch, it was a perfect day. 

Also, the yellow canola fields are now a spectacular sight as well. 

A very lovely farmhouse!

(For reference, this property was located at a place called Pfaffenloch)

An interesting build, two separate houses joined together.

Our final walk above the city of Spiez before descending through the vineyards down to the castle. 

A closer look at the castle in Thun

Ahead of us on our last stretch along the lakeshore is the old castle church in Spiez. This is also one of the twelve 1000-year old churches built specifically with the position of the sun in mind. 

The trail goes right through the castle grounds

Spiez Castle viewed from its eastern side. 

The castle church (St. Laurentius) was first mentioned in documents from 762. Its tower, like the one we saw in Thun, was also originally free-standing

The church was converted to a Baroque "Hall Church" in 1670

This section of the church with the organ was added in 1831.

A particularly pretty house

At the boat pier in Spiez. We were just in time for a bus to the train station, so we passed on walking the additional 20 minutes as we had already done enough walking!

What our 15-km walk along Lake Thun from Thun to Spiez looks like on Google Satellite Maps

At the train station in Spiez, we had about 10 minutes to wait for a bus to Interlaken (unfortunately, due to construction work the regular train wasn't running, too bad for all the tourists with their tons of luggage), and discovered that there is a "Grand Tour of Switzerland" frame here as well!

A look down at the Spiez castle and church from the train station. The dominant peak in the background is Mt.Niederhorn, a favourite for paragliders. 

Close-up view of the Spiez castle from the height of the train station.

We had done all kinds of hikes along the north side of Lake Thun until now; this was the first hike on the south side. 

Location of Thun and Spiez on Lake Thun

From Interlaken we took the train back home via Brienz and the Brünig Pass. Here are some photos of the countryside along the way:

This is the old castle ruins at Ringgenberg. We have been here before, those photos are HERE, 2nd part of the post. 

Along the lake shore, Lake Brienz

Approaching the town of Brienz at the east end of Lake Brienz. (We were HERE recently when we walked down to Brienz from the Brünig Pass). The mountains in the back are part of the Hastlital region

This is a look into the Rychenbach Valley from Meiringen, to the lovely peaks called Engelhörner (Angel Horns). We walked beneath those in September 2022, a very nice hike. Those photos are HERE.

And near Luzern now, along Lake Alpnach (Alpnachersee) with a glimpse of Mt.Buochserhorn