Day 13: Via Jacobi Lungern-Brienz

Day 13, September 28, 2026

I had a wonderful sleep last night. The bed was super comfortable, and no rooster crowed to wake me up early in the morning. Susanne arrived punctually at 8:00 AM with her breakfast basket in front of the door. A large homemade variety of the finest, of course created from her own farm. “Unfortunately, there is only apple juice, as orange trees unfortunately do not grow here yet,” announced the elderly lady, and I am not sure if she was joking or genuinely apologizing. I took the opportunity to ask why there were so many Asians in Lungern and why everything was labeled in their language. “Oh, because of a Netflix series!” she clarified. “There was an extremely successful Netflix series in South Korea. Since then, they all come and want to see the original locations. Often they dress up like in the series and recreate scenes, especially by the lake!” I think this is crazy; they are not coming because they are fascinated by our country and its nature, but because of a series. Lungern has just over 2000 inhabitants. Every year, between 120,000 and 150,000 visitors flood the village. This, of course, has led to certain problems. When fields are trampled, gardens are urinated in, or private properties are entered for photos, the locals do not find this funny at all. Therefore, everything has also been labeled in their language, including rules of conduct. From the many guest books, I gather that people from all over the world come to the little Minghof. Also pilgrims like me. Unfortunately, the pilgrim stamp was stolen in the church, which is why there is only a sticker left. Aha, maybe Pfäffikon had the same problem? At this point, I must confess to Susanne that I consumed every little welcome chocolate that was on the respective beds. I couldn't help it; I want to apologize for that and give a small tip. And Susanne immediately packs even more chocolates for me into my backpack and a pear for the road.

So today I am only getting started again at 9:00 AM, but I feel significantly more rested than yesterday. This is necessary because today we go over the Brünig! I am looking forward to it and step by step ascend through wooded areas. I am making great progress, and it is a real joy. Alongside the beautiful nature trail, the Brünig highway winds its way up. I wonder because there are rockfall nets between the nature trail and the highway. Drivers and their road are thus protected, but the hiking path and its hikers are not. The nets could have simply been placed 3 meters higher up the mountain. Is a human life on foot worth less than by car, or is it about the road that could get damaged?

In the middle of the path, I discover a box mounted into the rock with a scallop shell on it. Next to it, the spot has been decorated with old hiking shoes and stones. Inside the box, there is a pilgrim’s book and wishes, prayers, and greetings from all over the world. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The path is fantastic and very historic. The ancient Romans carved steps out of the bare rock on the historical trail. Overall, I feel like I am in an elf forest. Everything is draped in moss, ferns adorn the rugged path, and nature is enchantingly pure. On the narrow trails, one must look very carefully at where one steps, as despite the ongoing drought, the ground is often slippery due to the morning dew.

At the Brünig, at the Brünig Kulm inn, there is a pumpkin soup with bread for a boost. The bread was fantastic, the soup was not! After the Brünig, the path leads into a true enchanted forest. For a while! At first, I find it funny to look for yellow diamonds in this natural forest. The path is very rooty, and soon there is hardly a path to be recognized. The severe thunderstorm from a month ago has done a lot of damage here. Trees and dead wood are lying everywhere. When two heavy tree trunks block the path, I wish for Supergerhard from Day 10 to be here. He would have, of course, lifted the trunks with one arm. But Supergerhard is already traveling in the middle of France. So, with my 8kg heavy backpack, I climb over the trees further into the forest. When I stand before the descent in the thick brush, I suddenly feel quite uneasy. I can no longer see the path, and stones are trickling down from the rock everywhere. Suddenly, I just want to get out of this forest as fast as possible. But that is not so easy, as it is very steep and demanding, and my knees are literally screaming SOS despite the trekking poles. For me, this is the most unpleasant descent of all time.

Down in Brienzwiler, it finally becomes flatter, and I would have preferred to check into the existing pilgrim hostel immediately; it looks very inviting. The old wooden houses in this village look all like out of a storybook. And suddenly I am walking smoothly and nicely again and am simply glad to have finally left that steep forest behind me and can enjoy it right away. Unfortunately, the wells in the region have been shut down due to a lack of water, so I have to ration my water well. Entire streams of the Brienz Lake, which are usually 10 meters wide, are completely dry. The remaining way to Brienz is still beautiful. But to be honest, I am also glad that I will be there soon. And just before I check in at the only 200m distant hostel, I rush into a grocery store, down a liter of water, and treat myself to a vanilla cone. I could jump for joy: My small single room is so cute and has a balcony right by the lake. The communal showers do not bother me. After freshening up, I look for a nice place with a sun terrace by the lake and enjoy a simple 'dinner.' And again, I am really happy and, despite the many kilometers in my legs, walk a little along the lake and let the evening wind down on my balcony. Today, there were hardly any social contacts, and somehow that's totally good. I will become a hermit!

(More pictures will follow later; photo upload is not working properly)