Bernese Oberland

120
BERNESE OBERLAND SCHYNIGE PLATTE
Schuh CAFE $
(%033 822 94 41; Höheweg 56; lunch menu
Sfr19.50; h9am-midnight) A Vien nese-style
coff ee house famous for its pastries, pralines
and park-facing terrace. The menu covers
all the bases, from rösti to yellow curry. The
chocolate-making workshops at 5pm on
Wednesdays and Saturdays (Sfr14.80) are
touristy but fun.
Belvédère Brasserie BRASSERIE $$
(%033 828 91 00; Höheweg 95; mains Sfr18-36)
Though attached to the boring-look Hapimag,
this brasserie has upbeat modern
decor and a terrace with appetising Jungfrau
views. Try the veal in merlot sauce or
Swiss stalwarts like fondue and rösti.
Swiss Mountain Market SELF-CATERING $
(Höheweg 133; h10am-8pm) Fill your picnic
basket with regional goodies like buff alo salami,
goat sausage, Alpine cheese, preserves,
liqueurs and ice cream here.
Coop Pronto SUPERMARKET $
(Höheweg 11; h6am-10.30pm) Handy supermarket
for stocking up on essentials.
6 Drinking
Metro Bar BAR, CLUB
(www.metrobar-interlaken.com; Hauptstrasse 23;
h9pm-2.30am) With its crazy themed parties
and cheap booze, the bar/club at Balmer’s
is the liveliest haunt for revved-up 20something
travellers. DJs pump out house
tunes as the night wears on.
Buddy’s Pub PUB
(%033 822 76 12; Höheweg 33) Pull up a stool,
order a draft Rugenbräu or a ‘sex on the
mountain’ (for want of a beach) cocktail and
enjoy a natter with the locals. Switzerland’s
fi rst pub is loud, smoky and convivial.
Per Bacco BAR
(%033 822 97 92; Rugenparkstrasse 2; h9ammidnight
Mon-Sat) A slightly more sophisticated
and well-dressed clientele props up
the horseshoe bar at Per Bacco, which serves
Italian wines by the glass.
3 Entertainment
There are twice-weekly performances of
Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell (William Tell) between
mid-June and early September,
staged in the open-air theatre in Rugen Forest.
The play is in German but an English
synopsis is available. Tickets are available
from Tellspielbüro (%033 822 37 22; www
.tellspiele.ch; Höheweg 37; tickets Sfr35-58) in the
tourist offi ce.
8 Information
Daniel’s Fun Rental (Hauptstrasse 19; per
hr Sfr6; h9am-10pm Wed-Mon, to 7pm Tue)
Speedy internet as well as Skype, printing and
scanning facilities.
Hospital (%033 826 25 00; Weissenaustrasse
27) West of the centre.
Post office (Marktgasse 1; h8am-noon &
1.45-6pm Mon-Fri, 8.30-11am Sat) Telephones
and stamp machines outside.
Tourist office (%033 826 53 00; www.interlaken
tourism.ch; Höheweg 37; h8am-7pm Mon-Fri,
8am-5pm Sat, 10am-noon & 5-7pm Sun Jul-Aug,
8am-noon & 1.30-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat
rest of year) Halfway between the stations.
There’s a hotel booking board outside.
8 Getting There & Away
Interlaken has two train stations: Interlaken
West and Interlaken Ost; each has bike rental,
money-changing facilities and a landing stage
for boats on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.
Trains to Lucerne (Sfr56, two hours), Brig via
Spiez (Sfr42, one hour) and Montreux via Bern or
Visp (Sfr58 to Sfr67, 2½ to three hours) depart
frequently from Interlaken Ost train station.
The A8 freeway heads northeast to Lucerne
and the A6 northwest to Bern, but the only way
south for vehicles without a big detour round the
mountains is to take the car-carrying train from
Kandersteg, south of Spiez.
Should you wish to hire a car in Interlaken for
trips further into Switzerland, big-name rental
companies, including Hertz (%033 822 61 72;
Harderstrasse 25), are reasonably central.
8 Getting Around
You can easily get around Interlaken on foot, but
taxis, buses and even horse-drawn carriages
(around Sfr40) are found at each train station.
Alternatively, pick up bikes, scooters, cars and
quads for zipping around town at Daniel’s Fun
Rental (www.daniels-fun-rental-interlaken.ch;
Hauptstrasse 19), among others.
AROUND INTERLAKEN
Schynige Platte
The must-do day trip from Interlaken is
Schynige Platte, a 1967m plateau where
the Alpengarten (admission free; h8.30am-
6.30pm) nurtures 600 types of Alpine blooms,
including snowbells, arnica, gentian and