I get around

Welcome back to another episode of A'lil Hoohaa's monthly photo blogging challenge. 

Our prompt for the month of June was "I get around", and of course I can't help playing The Beach Boys' song in my head.

I really wish I could show you pictures of how I finally got around to cleaning out the basement or the attic. Or any room for that matter.

Instead let me take you to the sights I got around to enjoying :-)

Let me start by saying that I wasn't just on the road for pure pleasure. I had to scout out a location to hold our next board meeting. 

First stop Thun, one of the most scenic towns. With 42k citizens it just comes in 11th on the ranking of Swiss cities by citizens. Unfortunately their conference hotel seems very expensive. So I kept looking. 

On with the program. It sounds simple. We need a double room and two single rooms plus a small meeting room with the usual equipment. Dinner for Friday night, breakfast and lunch for Saturday. The dates are August 30/31. 

It just so happens that the town of Spiez is hosting the Seaside Festival on that very weekend. Most of the hotel rooms are fully booked. The ones that are still available are exorbitantly expensive, and I've been warned that it will be loud around the lake basin until the early hours.

On to another of my favorite locations in the Bernese Highlands. The section of the trail behind one of the waterfalls is particularly fascinating. Your gaze wanders past the splashing masses of water to the fairytale-like Grandhotel Giessbach, (unfortunately the booking system requires a minimum stay of two nights, which then costs CHF 940) the turquoise-colored Lake Brienz and the Brienzergrat. 

After rainfall or during the snowmelt in spring, the Giessbach is particularly full of water. The thundering cascades then swirl up the water even more impressively and the refreshing spray invigorates - a unique experience of nature.

Just like that, the fairy tale is over. But because it was so beautiful, here's a closer look at the hotel. Consider this your bonus picture.

Lake Oeschinen is located above Kandersteg in the Bernese Highlands. The average water level is 1578 meters (5,177 feet) above sea level, and it is one of the larger mountain lakes in Switzerland. 

I was here almost exactly to the day a year ago, and I used a similar picture, but it's just so gorgeous, you don't mind the re-do, right?

PS: No seminar resort here. 

However, in Kandersteg near the valley station I found a lovely country inn - well, I hope it is lovely, it sure looks the part and offers what we need at reasonable prices. 

I guess I got around to organizing our meeting, which I could have done just over the internet, but why would I do that I if could just go there in person, right?

Here's a video I put together summarizing the amazing sights. 

Thank you for helping me evaluate our location. Now check out my fellow bloggers' contribution to this month's topic.