For this first weekend of August, I was invited to go to a relative's place, now a friend of mine, called Michael Kambly. He lives in the Berner Oberland region, close to the beautiful city of Spiez, near the lake of Thun.
Got there on friday night, party a little, then sleep 5 hours and wake up the next day to go up the Niesen (2336m), a famous mountain in that region.
I start the day at 691m, near Mülenen
The post says 5 hours (5 stunden, in german) to get to the top...I intend to break that time
The road up will be tough, as I'm only wearing my sneakers, not knowing I was going to climb a moutain on the weekend...
Going up, I encounter some locals
The view starts to develop as I walk higher up in the mountain
According to the post, there is 3h20 left to the top. That means I shouldve taken 1h40 to get there...but only took 1h10, so I already have 30 minutes advance on schedule
One of my favorite shots from that day, overlooking Kandertal and the mountains in the back, beautiful!
Half way up, another sign tells me I have 2h to the top, which means I was supposed to have walked for 3 hours...but once again, having walked for only 1h45, I was ahead of the game!
The view was only getting better...
With the lake of Thun behind me
On video, looking down on the lake of Thun, Spiez and the city of Thun
Almost on top, I kept seeing the funicular going up, always bringing more and more tourists the easy way...
Almost on top, looking down on both lakes, and the city of Interlaken in the middle
Video from the top, after only 3h05 of walking, 2 hours short of the predicted 5h!!
Bottom to top: 1640m difference
Top Elevation: 2336m
For some reason, I really like this picture, perhaps its the grass land below, the clouds in the middle, and the mountain tops full of snow sticking out of the clouds...
Trying to make a selfportrait, but the clouds were moving in...
lost in the clouds and tourists, I decide the best way is back down. Of course, going to Mülenen, I intend to break 3h10, as indicated on the post...
On the way down, the clouds open up, and I can catch that breathtaking picture, once again
we can see the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the three last mountain right of my head
The valley, the mountains
The three famous Spitze: Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau
I love the way the green valley transforms itself into rocky hills, followed by snow covered tops
Finally back down after only 1h53 minutes!! A hell of a run, with those stupid sneakers...
The same night, Michael and I go to see a preseason Swiss National League game between Langnau and Bern.
Langnau, the underdog team, but also the team which is closest from my place of origin in Switzerland, are playing against the Swiss Champions from last year, Bern.
Quite a challenge in view, but with a new Quebec player in their team, Pascal Pelletier, they are all set to win
With a similar play as the one shown below, Pelletier scored a goal at the end of the third period to take the lead.
They held on until the end of the game to win!!!
Hopp Langnau Tigers!
My family being from that region, and having a business that is quite successful, they are a major sponsor of the Langnau team. With my name already written in the back, I had to buy one!
Jakob!
The next day, I attend a game which Michael is playing. Not an easy game, but well played by them...still, they lost 5-4 in the end. Better luck next time!
Overall, awesome times with my new buddies from Reichenbach im Kandertal!
Bruno, Mias, The Dom, Michael and I
...Oh, and did I mention that they are metal fans as well?!?
Until next time!