Day 5 – Giessbach Falls To Iseltwald

We really didn’t expect to do anything today given non-stop rain overnight and throughout the morning, but when the weather broke shortly after lunch we decided to take a chance on walking the southern shore of Lake Brienz.

Lake Brienz is long and relatively narrow. It runs northeast to southwest, with Brienz at the eastern tip where water enters from the River Aare. The northern and southern shores are distinctly different with most of the development (towns like Brienz, Oberreid, Niederried, and Ringgenberg) on the sunnier and more gradual northern shore. The southern shore gets a lot less sunshine, especially in the winter, and has little development because of the steeper topography. In fact there are only two major landmarks on the southern shore, namely the Grandhotel Giessbach and the town of Iseltwald, both of which we visited today.

The easiest way to get from Brienz to the Grandhotel Giessbach is by boat, so we hopped on board the lake steamer Jungfrau a little after lunch for the ten minute ride across the lake. We arrived at the Giessbach See boat landing a bit before 2:00 PM, bypassed the funicular, and followed a short but fairly steep walking trail up to the Grandhotel Giessbach. This historic hotel sits on a small bluff about 300 feet above the lake shore and has lovely views of both the lake and the eponymous Giessbach Falls.

The Grandhotel Giessbach was built in the 1870’s by French architect Horace Edouard Davinetone for one of Switzerland’s leading hoteliers – the Hauser family of Zurich. The hotel rapidly became a favorite gathering place for high society and enjoyed tremendous success for the next several decades. This golden era or Belle Époque lasted up until World War I, which signalled the beginning of the end for both this hotel and the high end tourism that made it viable. In this respect it’s not hard to see similarities between the Grandhotel Giessbach and the great mansions of Newport, Rhode Island.

The Great Depression and World War II pushed the Grandhotel Giessbach into further decline. It limped along as a shadow of its former self until 1979 when it was closed down and plans made for the demolition and re-development of the site. These plans were thwarted by Swiss ecologist Franz Weber, who formed a public/private foundation that purchased the property and had it declared a protected historic site in 1983. Stabilization and restoration began almost immediately with the bulk of the extensive renovations completed by 1991. The hotel remains in full operation with period-correct rooms, elegant dining facilities, and beautiful gardens to delight visitors. The on-line reviews are positive and the rates reasonable (by Swiss standards, anyway).

The Giessbach Falls are the signature attraction for the Grandhotel Giessbach. Guests can easily see and hear the falls from the hotel and follow well-marked trails to get up close and personal if desired. These waterfalls, which originate in the high valleys of the Faulhorn, cascade down 1500 feet in fourteen distinct stages before entering Lake Brienz near the funicular station.

Observant viewers will recognize the Hotel Giessbach in one of the later episodes of the excellent HBO mini-series Band Of Brothers. The hotel and the hotel grounds were the setting for a number of scenes that took place at the resort in Zell am See, Austria. A number of other scenes from that episode were shot in and around Interlaken.

After wandering around the hotel grounds for a while (no doubt horrifying the staff with our muddy boots and hiking sticks) Cindy and I set out on the wanderweg for Iseltwald. The trail started out along a shelf high above the lake but we soon came to a branch that offered two different options, each indicating the same distance to Iseltwald – the flat, wide trail continuing along the shelf and narrow single-track that descended steeply into the woods. Naturally we chose the latter. The trail ended up going all the way back down to the lake, not far from where we’d started out at the Giessbach See boat landing. The trail then turned westward and followed the lakeshore all the way to Iseltwald, never more than a stone’s throw from the shoreline. In places we were walking under massive (and disconcerting!) stone overhangs; there was even a tunnel where there was just no other way to get through given the steepness of the terrain.

Iseltwald is a small town of less than 500 that dates back to 1146. The local economy is based primarily on tourism but agriculture and fishing still play a part. The most prominent visual feature of Iseltwald is the Schloss Seeburg (Seeburg Castle) that sits on a peninsula jutting out into Lake Brienz. We didn’t tour the castle, however, as it’s now being used as a rehab center! After a stroll around Iseltwald we decided to take the next lake steamer (the Brienz) towards Interlaken. We hopped off at the next stop, Bönigen, and navigated the two miles from there to the train station at Interlaken Ost by the seat of our pants – there was no great risk as we knew that all we had to do was keep the lake to the right of us and we’d be OK. Once we found the train station we took the next train back to Brienz.

Today’s total hike was about 6.6 miles in total with a minimal 300 foot elevation gain. We made excellent use of our Swiss Rail passes, which in effect give you unlimited access to the local trains, buses, and lake steamers as well as museums and other points of interest. What few attractions aren’t included with the pass usually offer at least some form of discount if you know to ask. See the Travel page for more information about Swiss Rail passes.

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