Switzerland Day Seven - Schloss Spiez

Today is a gray and dreary day. This is the first time it has rained and while it wasn't heavy, it did last all day. We debated for a long while about what we should do and eventually decided to go to a museum an hour and a half away. But unbeknownst to us there was a marathon planned for this morning and they shut the road down until 1pm. Since there is only one road out of town (and out of the valley) we were stuck.

Clouds pour into Lauterbrunnen

So we ended up having a quiet morning and lunch at home. We also all played The Pit together and it was so much fun! It is a great game to play with a lot of people, there was a ton of chaos. Jon and Christian also went out to our field to practice using Jon's new bow. He is very happy with it.

Begging to play a video game

We did eventually head out of town and started towards the museum. But as we drove past Thunersee (the lake to the West of Interlaken) we suddenly decided to drive around the lake and visit one of the local castles instead. Even though it was raining we still had a good view of the lake and surrounding hillsides. 

Thunersee

We were only a quarter of the way around the lake when we arrived at Schloss Spiez (Spiez castle). I wasn't sure what to expect but the castle was awesome! The grounds were beautiful but because of the rain and a wedding we were only able to see them from the windows. The castle itself wasn't wheelchair accessible so Camille was only able to tour the first two stories but there was still quite a lot to see.

A room in the castle

The chapel at Spiez Schloss

Will thought these shoes were very strange

Will admires some armor

 The rooms were set up as a museum with many paintings and displays. There were no ropes separating you from the items in the rooms although they did have most of the swords behind glass. We all enjoyed the rooms and appreciated that most of the displays had information in English as well as German.

The kitchen

Jon smells soup

Will wants a sword

Beautiful woodwork

Boys in the castle

After seeing the highly decorated rooms James and I took the kids into the tower which was just stone and wood but had more activities for the kids. The tower had 5 floors and as we climbed the displays became more kid friendly. The third floor had clothes which Jon tried on and a writing table which occupied Will. The fourth floor had actual chain mail shirts which the boys could wear as well as helmets and shields. Will and Jon tried on the chain mail but it was much to heavy for Christian. 

Christian discovers he is wearing the wrong shirt

Jon tries on clothes

Will and Christian at the writing table

Will in a helmet

Christian does a knight pose

Boys in mail and helmets

 Finally we arrived at the top of the tower where the kids found a wooden horse with a lance so they could practice jousting. It was fun to watch them but James and I were a little distracted by the view. Even with the clouds and rain it was beautiful!

Jon jousts

Will jousts

Christian jousts

Christian in a helmet

Will in chainmail

After we left the castle we continued around the lake until we reached Thun where we stopped for a snack and a little shopping. Thun is a pretty town on the opposite end of the lake and it seems like a much less touristy town than Interlaken. If we had discovered it sooner we might have spent more time here! The rest of our drive was short but very pleasant. The road goes right along the edge of the lake and the view was amazing,even on such a wet day.

Enjoying a snack

At the cafe in Thun

Thun

For dinner we stopped at the Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen, a place recommended by the owners of our apartment. We accidentally took a table that was reserved for someone else and the mistake wasn't found until after we had ordered our dinner. I was so embarrassed and was completely ready to just pay our bill and get out of there. But the waitress was so kind and assured us that it was fine and we were very welcome to stay. I think she saw that I was upset and came over again to tell us that everything was OK. She was wonderful. Our dinners were also excellent. Camille says it is the best meal she's had here and I think we all agreed because every last morsel was eaten. Oberland also had the fastest service by far of any place we've been to here. Even though it started off rather rough I am glad to end our day on a such a high note.

Goodnight!