The GoldenPass (Part II): Interlaken to Zweisimmen
Having made my way from Lucerne to Interlaken, I boarded my second train on the GoldenPass line at Interlaken’s Ost Station.
Interlaken Ost is an important railway junction in the resort town of Interlaken. I only had about 15 minutes at this station before boarding my next train. I sat on the right of the train, having read that this side provided the best views. Usually, this train would travel all the way to Zweisimmen. Unfortunately due to track work, I had to switch to a different train from Spiez–Wimmis, followed by a replacement bus for about 20 minutes between Wimmis and Zweisimmen. The train attendant who explained these changes to me seemed confident that I would make a mistake. She checked on me a few times to make sure I understood I had to alight at Spiez and then again at Wimmis. She then followed me to the correct platform at Spiez just to be sure I understood her directions.
As will be seen in the images below, the train tracks skirted the road for almost all of this section of the route, so I am confident that the views I saw from the bus were similar to those I would have experienced from the train.
After departing Interlaken, the train ran along the river Aare. It then continued to Spiez, a scenic town along Lake Thun. From here, Mount Niesen was visible.
Due to the aforementioned track work, I then switched to a different train from Spiez–Wimmis.
At Wimmis Station, all passengers switched to the replacement bus to Zweisimmen. One unexpected bonus of the short bus trip was that we travelled down streets in some quaint villages where I saw traditional Swiss chalets that would not have been visible from the train.
We also passed a number of covered wooden bridges crossing the River Simme.
After passing numerous green valleys, small villages, and forests surrounded by mountains, we arrived at Zweisimmen Station.
Zweisimmen
I had about 30 minutes in the small town of Zweisimmen before my next train. During this time, I enjoyed wandering the streets and marvelling at the impressive station building. While waiting at Zweisimmen Station I also spotted the famous ‘Chocolate train’ which runs between Montreux and the Cailler-Nestlé chocolate factory in Broc.
You can read about the third and final segment of my trip on the GoldenPass line here.