Brienz is a little village along the shores of the stunning turquoise-coloured Lake Brienz and is well-known as the "village of carving". It has a long tradition of wood processing and to this day has a school for carving and violin-making.
Things to do:
1. The most interesting part of Brienz is the Brunngasse, which has the most cutely decorated wooden chalets, was once awarded the title of "most beautiful street in Europe". Most of the houses in the street date back to the 18th century. It does not take a long time to stroll the village center.
2. Brienzer-Rothorn. The Brienz Rothorn Railway steam train operates from the end of May through late October. The fare isn't cheap for a roundtrip, but you can save money by riding one-way and hiking back down. We used the Berner Oberland pass. Otherwise round trip costs US$102 (CHF 96) p/p.
The 128-year old steam train climbs the mountain without breaking a sweat!
It’s been chugging away since 1892: the Brienz Rothorn Railway pufs past Alpine meadows, streams, rocks and through sparse forests above the tree line to the Brienzer Rothorn at 2351 metres above sea level. During the one hour ride (7.6 KMs), a breathtaking panorama over the imposing Bernese Oberland opens up.
Just sit down, chill and enjoy the train ride up and down through the beautiful scenery of these wonderful Swiss mountains. The views of Lake Brienz and the Brienzer Rothorn are spectacular from either side of the train.
We visited in September, the train was not busy at all. Although it was a clear, beautiful and sunny warm day, on top it was windy and a bit chilly. Fortunately, we had our windbreakers - so be prepared.
After passing the forest, the graze with cows, you slowly climb up to the Rothorn. The hike from where the train drops you off to the summit is very steep but well worth the walk. On a clear day, the Rothorn offers a magnificent 360 view of not fewer than 693 peaks. There is a restaurant, if you want to spend some time at the top before coming down on the next train.
On the way down the train made a schedule stop to replenish its water supply and there was a lady selling homemade cheese - could not miss the opportunity to get one and it was just delicious to savour with a good glass of red wine!
TimeTable and Fares - https://brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch/timetable-prices-2/?lang=en
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