Picturesque Thun

Today we weren't quite sure what to do. It was our first of three full days in the Swiss Alps, and we had sort of planned out some day trips, but nothing was set in concrete. It was all dependent on the weather.

The Swiss Alps gallery is small, but is still on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157645537279210/

Also check out the more extensive Thun library:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157645531251897/

We decided that we would definitely need some supplies to see us through until the end of the trip, so I googled some supermarkets. The nearest ones were all half an hour's drive away, one of which was in Thun. After getting the coordinates for it and plugging it into the GPS, we set off.

Of course one of the issues with only being in Switzerland for 4 days is that everything is in Francs. And although the supermarket we found (a Coop) allowed us to pay in Euros, albeit at a slightly poorer exchange rate than normal, the paid car park required Francs. So we had to get 20 Francs out, and get it changed into coins. Luckily the lady at the Coop counter was very helpful.

After doing some shopping, we headed to another car park, this time nearer to Thun's old town, and paid for a couple of hours. There are a few things to do, and we started ambling down the river. Immediately the nearby medieval bridge caught our eye. It's one of those old-style Swiss bridges designed to regulate the flow of water:

Medieval bridge in Thun

We realised we would run out of time about halfway between the bridge and Thun's old castle, so we rapidly made our way back to the car park. No little piece of paper under the windscreen wiper, yay! Our second stop was a panorama point, where there is supposedly a panorama made by a local artist ages ago. We never saw that, but there is a castle called Schadau, so we explored the gardens a while before heading back to the car, and back to the Alps:

Grounds of Schloss Schadau

Here's a couple of other standout photos from today:

Other good photos from today

The drive back up the hill in Diemtigen was hairy. Really hairy. The fog had really rolled in, and by the time we got all the way up the hillside you could barely see anything. I promise you that there was a chalet about 20 metres in front of me when I took this picture. No, really:

There's a chalet here, I promise

Tomorrow's plan is to go down south to the shores of Lake Geneva, and then visit a town on the way back. Until then!