20 July 2018
After a stopover in Bern, we continued on our train journey and arrived at Thun at about 3 PM. Thun is only 20 minutes from Bern by intercity train and it is easy to make a day trip to Thun from Bern and vice versa.
Like Bern, Thun is a beautiful, picturesque medieval town located on the banks of the Aare River but it is smaller. Thun is located on the shore of Lake Thun (Thunersee) and boast of not one, but three beautiful medieval castles in its vicinity. More about two of these castles later in the post.
We picked up a map of Thun from the Tourist Information Center at the train station and headed up Bahnhofstrasse and crossed a bridge over to our hotel, located on one end of the shopping Island of Bälliz which is in the middle of the Aare River.
Tourist Map of Thun - Hotel Freienhof (circled) is a short walk from the train station and located on the island in the Aare River.
After an overnight flight and six hours walking tour of Bern, we were longing for a hot shower and some rest at Hotel Freienhof before going out to explore Thun.
The weather had turned from sunny and hot to cloudy by the time we headed out to explore the historic old town center. Rain and thunderstorm was forecasted later in the evening.
Outside the historic Hotel Freienhof in Thun.
The old town of Thun is small and best explored on foot. We strolled along an interesting street called the Obere Hauptgasse with two levels of small interesting shops and bistros. Late on a Friday afternoon, the street was rather quiet and peaceful.
Obere Hauptgasse.
Obere Hauptgasse led to the Rathausplatz or City Hall Square where the Schloss Thun or Thun Castle stood prominently against the sky.
Rathausplatz or City Hall Square with Thun Castle perched on a hilltop.
The round turrets of the castle plus the well preserved medieval buildings on the town square made me feels like I am in the picture book of a fairy tale. I could easily imagine a knight on a white steed appearing anytime from one of the side streets or Rapunzel letting her long hair down from a window in the castle’s turret.
We deferred walking up the hill to the castle till the next day and went back to the river instead and onto the Bälliz, another of Thun’s shopping area. Bälliz is actually an island on the Aare River, linked to the banks by several bridges. This pedestrian-only street is lined with boutiques, international retail chains, banks, cafés and restaurants like what you would expect to see in any town’s main street. Compared to the Obere Hauptgasse, the Bälliz was quite ordinary.
Our wandering led us back to the Aare River with its green coloured water. I think the area by the river, with its wooden bridges was the most interesting and beautiful part of Thun.
The wooden bridge "Untere Schleuse". Look carefully at the white surf and try to spot the surfer on the water next to the bridge.
There are many bridges across the Aare River in Thun, but the most prominent and attractive one is the wooden covered bridge "Untere Schleuse" (upper flood gate). It was built in 1724 and re-constructed in 1788. The gates regulate the water flow of the River Aare.
Aarequai with a row of restaurants on the bank of the Aare River.
The river upstream from the bridge was nice and calm. Ducks and other water fowls swam on the surface and big trout were spotted in the clear water. Restaurants lined its bank (known as the Aarequai) and would be a good place for a meal in Thun.
Downstream from the bridge, the water was fast and turbulent. We spotted a surfer on a surfboard, honing his surfing skills next to the bridge.
View from the wooden covered bridge "Untere Schleuse".
The mechanised gates used to control the water flow could be seen on the bridge.
To me, the Ferris wheel at the playground by the Aare River is an eyesore and out of place.
In addition to Thun Castle, there are two other castles near to Thun that may be worth a visit, namely the Oberhofen Castle and the Spiez Castle. Both are located on the shores of Lake Thun or Thunersee in the small towns of Oberhofen and Spiez respectively. Of the two, I chose to go see the Oberhofen Castle as I think it is more unique and prettier. There is also a well planted garden at Oberhofen with views of the mountains of the Bernese Oberland across the lake.
Oberhofen is 4.8 km away from Thun and accessible by public bus or ferry. For those who had not done a cruise on a Swiss lake before, this would be a good time to do it. One could even do a hike to the town using a lakeside trail.
We took Bus 21 to Oberhofen using our Panorama Card Thunersee. The Panorama Card is a visitor card that is funded by tourism tax and issued to every overnight guest staying in a registered hotel in Thun. With it, we could enjoy free travel on public buses and discounts on some museums and excursions.
It started to rain heavily just as we got off the bus at Oberhofen. I must say that the weather forecast in Switzerland was pretty accurate. Unlike the monsoon rain back home, heavy rain did not last long in Europe and we were soon able to walk to the castle in light rain.
A good place to view and photograph the castle was at the Oberhofen pier where ferries on Lake Thun cruises will dock.
The Oberhofen Castle dates back to early 13th century. I like the unique picturesque tower that sits on the lake and linked to the main castle building by a “bridge”.
The castle is opened to visitors but I was more interested to view the garden next to the castle.
Oberhofen Castle as viewed from the ferry pier.
Oberhofen would be a good place to visit on most evening, with the sun setting over the mountains across Lake Thun but not on this day.
Photography in the light rain at the Oberhofen Ferry terminal.
Mount Niesen, the near-perfect pyramid shape mountain could be seen from Oberhofen.
It started to rain heavily again so we skipped the visit to the garden and returned to Thun by Bus 21.
The sky cleared up and the rain stopped as we arrived back at Thun. This is how fast the weather could change in Switzerland.
I had shortlisted two restaurants for our dinner at Thun - The Restaurant Dampfschiff or the Ristorante Beau Rivage da Domenico Zaccaria. Both restaurants were by the Aare River and highly recommended on the internet.
View of Old town of Thun from Aarequai, by the bank of Aare River. Another wooden bridge with sluice gates (Obere Schleuse) could be seen on the left.
Restaurant Dampfschiff was fully booked, so we walked along Aarequai, on the banks of the Aare, to the Ristorante Beau Rivage da Domenico Zaccaria. We managed to get a table at this popular restaurant although we did not make reservations.
The Beau Rivage is an Italian restaurant that serves fancy Italian dishes, pizzas and good wine. With the weather turning better, we sat outdoor with views of the river. The waiters spoke English (plus other languages) and provided excellent service and food recommendations.
These were what we had, in addition to a bottle of sweet Moscato wine that was simply delicious. Unfortunately, I did not note the label on the bottle.
PENNE SCAMPI DEL CORSARO - Penne with scampi, clams and shrimp with pink vodka sauce and arugula.
PENNE DELLO CHEF - Penne with with roasted beef filet cubes and porcini, one with truffle oil perfumed meat cream sauce.
View of Thun from outside the Beau Rivage restaurant.
Overall, we had an enjoyable first day at Thun, despite the rain and cloudy sky. We had plenty of pretty views of the old town, castles, mountains, lake and dining in one of Thun’s best restaurants.
