Page 175 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2021 REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST

I can’t ski for the life of me, in fact, I exhibit the
same wild body movements on the slopes as on the
ice rink so a winter trip to Switzerland had never
been high on my travel bucket list. But as I find out
in the charming town of Interlaken there are
plenty of activities to experience off-piste during
the quieter months.
I am in the hands of a Mancunian Dave Storey,
who runs the Higthtide Kayaking school, as we
glide in near silence in the early hours over Lake
Brienz. He shares my predilection for off season
hotspots - “I absolutely love having the lake to my-
self in winter”, he says. Surrounded by snow cov- The author winter kayaking on Lake Brienz copyright Hightide
Kayak School Interlaken
ered mountains which reflect beautifully on the
mirror-like water I feel oddly connected with na-
ture. In the distance, the first paragliders of the
day take flight soundlessly.
We break our excursion with a stop at Castle
Ringgenberg which sits on rocks rising high above
the lake. As we climb the steps to the viewing plat-
form a tortoiseshell cat is our only companion.
Back in the kayak and on our return journey, hazy
mist rises on the other shore. “It marks the point
where the icy stream from the Lütschine River hits
the lake. Only six hours ago that water was on top
of a glacier”, our guide Peter Blik tells us.
Interlaken is located in a peerless location be-
tween glacier-fed lakes Thun and Brienz with the
pearly white peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jet boat glides over Lake Brienz copyright Wibke Carter
Jungfrau forming part of a majestic natural land-
scape. “It’s the only place for miles where you can
ride a bike from one end of the town to the other
on a flat surface”, laughs a local Celina Finger. But
gentle cycling is not the reason why so many visi-
tors are drawn to this 5,000 inhabitant resort. It’s
the adrenalin-loaded adventures that make even
the fearless scream.
And scream I do as the red jet boat makes yet
another 360° spin before thundering towards the
fishing village of Iseltwald. We circle the only is-
land in Lake Brienz, the Schnäggeninseli (snail is-
land), which is rumoured to have gotten its name
due to the fact that monks farmed snails here as
fish bait in earlier times. Since 2015, both the is-
land and nearby Castle Schlossburg have been for
sale. Our jet boat guide, Phil Hausammann, quips
“For a mere 20 million Swiss Franc (£16 million) it
could be yours”.

Phil Hausamann stirs the jetboat copyright Wibke Carter
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