Cycling, swimming, hiking – Sina Candrian’s tips for your next holiday in the Bernese Oberland

Ear­ly in the morn­ing, my friend Corsin and I set off for the Bernese Ober­land. Arriv­ing by train is a high­light in itself, offer­ing spec­tac­u­lar views of the fan­tas­tic moun­tain­scape. Plus, Inter­lak­en Youth Hos­tel is locat­ed right next to Inter­lak­en Ost rail­way sta­tion – once we arrive, it’s just a cou­ple of steps and we’re checked into the mod­ern hos­tel.

I’ve already spent a few nights at Inter­lak­en Youth Hos­tel and I am still amazed every time. Why?

Here are five reasons:

• The youth hos­tel is cen­tral­ly locat­ed in the Inter­lak­en Ost dis­trict. Every­thing you need is just a stone’s throw away.
• The food is a dream. The youth hos­tel is home to pub­lic restau­rant 3a, which serves inter­na­tion­al clas­sics. These include many veg­an-friend­ly options. The Thai cur­ry with tofu, for one, is to die for!!
• The hos­tel man­ag­er Ueli and his team are super friend­ly. It always feels a lit­tle like com­ing home.
• The mix of guests is incred­i­bly mul­ti­cul­tur­al – peo­ple come here from all over the world. At the same time, the restau­rant is an impor­tant gath­er­ing spot for the locals. It’s excit­ing to meet so many dif­fer­ent peo­ple in one place and strike up a con­ver­sa­tion.
• The rooms are awe­some! A ter­race with a glass front (in the dou­ble rooms) – what more could you want?!

Conquer the blue lake on two wheels

So, enough adver­tis­ing for the great youth hos­tel. 😉 After all, that’s not the only rea­son to vis­it the Bernese Ober­land. Our grav­el bikes are ready to go, and we’ll be cycling around Lake Brienz today, yeah!
This bike tour is par­tic­u­lar­ly beau­ti­ful when every­thing is blos­som­ing in spring. But the tour also has its appeal in autumn, when the decid­u­ous trees change colour. In total, the route is just under 40 kilo­me­tres long, and you should plan about 2 hours and 40 min­utes of rid­ing time. You can also adjust the route to suit your fit­ness lev­el and your bike – you will find some sug­gest­ed routes here. Along the way, there are two sus­pen­sion bridges, numer­ous bathing and bar­be­cue spots where you can relax, plus the spec­tac­u­lar view of the turquoise water and the Alps.

From your bed to the lake – just steps away

Did you know that there is also a youth hos­tel on the shores of Lake Brienz? As youth hos­tel fans, we couldn’t miss the oppor­tu­ni­ty to pay a vis­it to the hos­tel. We were blown away by the loca­tion: From the large gar­den, you can hop straight into the lake ear­ly in the morn­ing – you’ll be wide awake in no time. Or grab a stand-up pad­dle board and explore the lake at sun­rise.

The hos­tel is the per­fect start­ing point for out­door adven­tures around the lake. And if the weath­er doesn’t coop­er­ate, an invit­ing lounge and cosy rooms await you.

Hike and marvel

The region is per­fect for explor­ing by bike, and just as enjoy­able on foot. From the youth hos­tel, it takes around 2.5 hours to reach Hard­er Kulm. Alter­na­tive­ly, you can take the Hard­er­bahn rail­way for CHF 19 each way. At the top, you’ll find a plat­form from which you can enjoy the mag­nif­i­cent view of the world-famous trio of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau moun­tains. But beware: It’s a good idea to plan a bit of extra time as it can get busy with tourists. My tip to pass the time: Lis­ten to the many dif­fer­ent lan­guages that the trav­ellers speak.

Action and thrills

Go high and dive deep – here are some Inter­lak­en tips for the brave.

An adren­a­line rush awaits