Day top, Night flop!

Day 14, September 29, 2026, Via Jacobi, Brienz – Interlaken

Even though I slept quite poorly, I set off before eight o'clock in a good mood after a wonderful hostel breakfast, aiming for Interlaken. Baby crying and «screaming» Asian people kept me awake at night. Right after starting, I particularly notice the many pretty, flower-decorated wooden houses today. Switzerland is truly a gem! Walking allows you to experience so much in a deeper way. On my journey thus far, I have never felt boredom, not even on the less beautiful sections.

This morning, the nearly full moon shines in the daylight while the sun is still hiding behind the mountains. It's wonderfully warm, and even though a misty veil hangs over Lake Brienz, I set off right from the start in shorts. The waterlessness leaves me speechless time and again in and around Brienz. I keep crossing empty riverbeds. It's so unreal climbing over all this rubble where there should be rushing water and where you usually hop over stones. But I am making good progress, and slowly I am munching my way across the Swiss map. I've already covered over half of Switzerland, and every day is an adventure. I'm very grateful to have the privilege of being able to head out again and again. While walking, I wonder why it is called «THE» God. It is «THE» nature after all, and who actually decided on the final German language and its articles? You have plenty of time while walking; I will find out.

The entire path follows Lake Brienz. Sometimes high up with a view, sometimes right down in pretty villages along the lake's edges. High above, at an impressive height of 68 meters, is the spectacular cable suspension bridge of Eblingen, hovering above the wild Unterweidligraben. From the bridge, you have a fantastic view down to the deep blue Lake Brienz and the mountain panorama. It shakes quite a bit, and it's really fun to walk across. Interesting: Since there is an acute avalanche danger in the gorge in winter, the suspension bridge is completely dismantled every year in late autumn and only rebuilt for the season in spring. So I indeed have just had the luck to cross it. However, I wonder what alternative route was taken in the past if this is the official trail?

Even down in Oberried, there is no car noise or screaming, and often only gentle wave sounds can be heard. A light breeze, perfect weather temperature, life is beautiful! And if someone does cross my path, I hear the lovely, warmly comfortable Bernese dialect and someone says «Grüessech!». I like Oberried the most on my current leg. A lovely village by the water with sweet wooden houses, beautiful gardens, and a good «vibe». No wonder the few people here are relaxed. For me, it’s always: Up the mountain - down to the lake, up the mountain – down to the lake. It’s a constant up and down, and slowly it becomes really exhausting, as beautiful as everything is. But the final stretch into Interlaken makes it very easy again. From afar, you can already see the many paragliders, and it’s no wonder that the place is highly appreciated by tourists. I’m looking forward to a bit of hustle and bustle. Since I arrive too early at my backpacker hotel, I drop off my backpack and treat myself to the rösti of my life at the Restaurant Röschtigrabe, where I also get to know several people who are all in a good mood. So it’s a colorful, sociable lunch at 3 PM. All the others are eating at an «odd time», wonderful! Back in the Sonnenvilla - that’s the name of the backpacker hotel, of course all the beds in my room are already occupied. Except for one awkwardly high cabin bed. So the oldest bones with the stiffest muscles have to hoist themselves up to the upper cabin bed. I share the room in a tiny space with three Vietnamese women, two Chinese women, two Korean women, and one Portuguese woman. And since I’ve never been to Interlaken, I take a little tour of the town in the evening. I expected it to be different. Supergerhard said that the place was extremely crowded during his transit. I can’t confirm that. It’s just a mix of not boring and not overcrowded. I find a rooftop bar and sit outside with an American from Los Angeles. Strangely, we are the only guests and enjoy the view and our cocktails together while sharing stories from our different lives. And even at night in the dark, paragliders land on the big meadow every minute, and we watch them.

Back in my accommodation, I find the Portuguese woman resting early. I follow her lead, which means I try to. But this night is something else. I think city Asians are so used to noise that they can sleep anywhere and everywhere without regard for others. They talk extremely loudly, almost shouting. They shower at midnight and of course turn on the light, brush their teeth excessively - I could go on forever. Now and then, I asked them to maybe be a little discreet or turn off the light. But at some point, I gave up. Once, when I painstakingly and of course quietly tried to get off the bed, a Korean woman saw me and squeezed herself through the door gap to the toilet. So I waited for sure 10 minutes, charged, until she finished her business and finally completed watching her 15 ridiculous Reals on her phone. This went on until about 2 AM. At 3 AM, the first one began packing her suitcase. A kingdom for the sleep of the Portuguese woman! By 7 AM, the last one was also out of the room, so I finally caught an hour of sleep. In the future, there will only be group rooms for me in rural areas. In tourist hotspots, I will treat myself to a single room. After all, being frugal isn't always amazing! 😉