Oeschinensee and Bern

On Saturday, we headed up to the gorgeous Oeschinensee (Oeschinen Lake) with Donna and Matthias and their kids (just a little younger than F and J). It was a lovely drive up through the mountains, and when we got there... wow.

After riding the gondola to the top of the hill, we walked down to the lake. We adults mostly stuck to the path, but the kids had a great time playing hide-n-seek/battle games all through the forest on the way down (I may have tried to sneak around through the forest to sneak up on them at one stage 😁).

After a little trek alongside the lake, Matthias managed to secure a fireplace for our sausage-cooking.

After lunch we did a bit more exploring (and shaking our heads at the people taking a dip in the VERY cold lake). Across from where we had lunch, the lake shore remains in shadow all day at this time of year and therefore stays frozen. F found a patch of ice about 4mm thick (overlying some mud). Shenanigans ensued.

We had hoped to ride the rodelbahn (toboggan run) at the end of the day, but unfortunately it was closed for repairs. There was great disappointment from all the kids (and some grown-ups)!

On the way home from Oeschinensee, we stopped in Bern for the 7pm light show at the parliament building. There was quite a crowd in the square, but we managed to get some decent spots to watch. The roughly 30-minute show is projected onto the front fascia of the building and customised to play with the existing architecture (windows etc.). The show we saw focused on birds (they have a different theme each year).

All in all, it was a pretty amazing introduction to Switzerland!