Spellbound by Spiez

Day 8 - 15th October 2006
Every morning our lazy boned princess is the last to wake up, setting us back by a good couple of precious minutes. As usual, Kara the early bird, was here this morning to wake her good friend up!

Wake up Terelle! We've got more places to explore today!!

The best thing about having travelling companions is that we just have to get the babes ready and then let them play with each other, while we go about our own chores or getting ourselves ready. They can certainly come up with countless ways of entertaining each other!

Today's game was kicking a ball around and taunting the cows, while their parents ran around like headless chickens.

Due to some miscommunication, we only set off at almost 1pm today. The agenda today was to take a leisurely boat ride from Thun to Spiez, to take in the sights of the Swiss countryside. By the time we reached Thun, however, it was already 2pm.

After a hurried kebab lunch, we went to the ticket office where we figured that the best route to take was a train to Spiez and then a boat ride back to Thun, since the last boat was to leave Spiez at 430pm.

All aboard to Spiez!

A breathtaking sight greeted us when we disembarked at Spiez. We discovered that it was an idyllic and picturesque town, set amidst rolling hills. The typical wooden Swiss cottages dotting the landscape were so pretty, and most had deck chairs in their backyard overlooking the stunning view of the harbor.

There and then we made a pact to buy a place here to retire when our kids have grown up. I wonder if we can really make this happen? These houses, together with a yatch of course, would probably cost millions of francs. But how could the experience of livng in Spiez be complete without a yatch?

The beautiful houses and magnificent views as we made our way to the pier

Right at home in Spiez!

At the foot of the hills was this immense family area; with a huge field of pristine grass, a quaint wooden playground, a cafe doling out ice cream after ice cream and a little mini golf range. Time just seemed to pass more slowly as we watched people lying on the grass making small talk, throwing frisbees for their dogs to catch and children running about playing catch.

It was simply delightful, just being out in the open with the cool wind in our hair and the sun on our faces.

There and then we decided that if we couldnt afford a whole house there, we would buy one and split it into two so the 4 of us could grow old there. Haha that's how much we loved this place!

You can tell that the girls were right at home here too! It was a real pity we couldnt stay and soak in the atmosphere a little longer, as we had to catch the last ferry back to Thun.

Nevertheless, the boat ride was equally spectacular. Even Caleb was inspired to become a boat captain just so that he could marvel at the scenery all day long!

Views from the boat

We had a great time on the boat and the girls had a little treat too; the remnants of our ice cream cones! But they lapped it all up all the same!

Yum yum! Who cares about the scenery?

Holding Kara hostage, so Caleb will buy us a house here as ransom for her!

All too soon, the boat ride was over and we had arrived back at Thun. We had a quick look see around this town for awhile.

As usual, trying without buying!

Now which way should we go?

We lingered by this wooden dam for a bit before heading back to the train station to catch a train back to Bern. It was a beautiful day to be out, the weather was so unlike that of the day before, when it was foggy, grey and gloomy.

Waiting for the train back to Bern

Terelle: Muakz Kara, good luck atop your tired Daddy's shoulders!

The wonderful day out was complete when we held a surprise birthday celebration for Evon. Miraculously both the girls had turned in early that night, so we had the evening to ourselves.

Cooking up an excuse that Caleb needed help searching for something in the car, we lured Evon outside.The house was quiet, the stars were out, it was pitch dark and really quiet outside. The tranquil atmosphere was perfected with the row of candles that read " Happy birthday" in the grass and a pot of hot chocolate to warm our tummies.

It was surreal as we sat in the darkness and marvelled at the stars, gossipped and laughed for a good half an hour. We realised that we really wouldnt have wanted it any other way. A special shout out to the Liews; this holiday was made all the more special because you guys were around.

Thanks for your patience even as we led u guys on wild goose chases, your dogged determination to cover as much ground as possible with us, your peacemaking efforts when tempers flared, for being the "company" that misery loves when we were at our wits' end with Terelle, and just being there to share all the laughter and priceless memories.

Our reverie was broken by the sudden and eerie howling of a dog nearby. Feeling spooked with thoughts of wandering spirits in our foolish heads, we scrambled back into the warm and comforting house.

So much for the brave adventurous spirit in us...