Interlaken
Interlaken is a world famous mountain resort in central Switzerland. It is known as an excellent ski resort in winter and pleasant place for summer vacation. The city is located in Bern or Berne Oberlends Alps in the Swiss canton of Bern. Interlaken is a name that literally means "between lakes".
The town is named so because it is situated in a valley between the lakes Thun and Brienz, on both sides are rise beautiful mountain peaks, including the popular Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Interlaken is a starting point of their conquest, and a tour of all the natural attractions in the area.
Interlaken functions as a resort for more than 300 years and today is considered one of the oldest resorts in Switzerland, its popularity not dying down over time. By 1891 Interlaken was known as Aarmühle. Centuries back, from 1130 to 1528 this town rose the convent of the Augustinian Canons. While before the main branches of Interlaken were watchmaking and textile industry, today tourism has a leading role.
Interlaken is situated between the beautiful Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west, the Aare River passes through the town, which connects the two lakes. Local call the area Bödeli and it stands at 570 meters altitude. In the town live 5389 people, but the number of tourists is 800 000 per year. Vast majority of them arrive in Interlaken for the chance to conquer Jungfrau Joch - a peak of 3400 meters above sea level, known as the Top of Europe. Interlaken is located right in its skirts.
In the early 19th century Interlaken is already well known for its natural beauty. From the beauty of this mountain were attracted Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Felix Mendelssohn, who often travelled through these mountains. Interlaken's popularity as a tourist destination has doubled thanks to the construction of the railway in the Bernese Oberland in 1890 and the Jungfrau railway line in 1912.
If you do not intend to conquer Jungfrau Joch or some of the neighboring giants, you can climb to the top of their electric train. From Interlaken, this panoramic rail route is about 2 hours long and during this time in front of people show contrasting views of the picturesque green hills with cows and fairy houses, bare rocks and snowy mountain tops.
The panoramic railway will take you to the highest station on the Jungfrau Joch, which opened early in 1905, at 3159 m altitude. In 1912 was opened and the upper station of the peak (the highest station in Europe), which has a restaurant. It is considered the first cuisine that was cooked with electricity.
In the very center of Interlaken, you can find everything with regard to tourist facilities and entertainment - a casino, hotels, restaurants and shops (in the north) and south of Interlaken is marked by the pleasant park Höhematte. Höheweg is the main street in Interlaken, which connects West Station and East Station. Near the western train station is located the little old town of Interlaken, Unterseen. Do not miss any of the bakeries and chocolate houses in town.
Interlaken has commuter trains from different parts of Europe - often from Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern and Lucerne, which stop at one of the two railway stations of the resort. Regular bus services to here are from Florence, Rome, Paris and Munich, and the busiest time of year is between February and March, when Interlaken welcomes winter vacationers.
