Two-day trip to Interlaken, Switzerland, including the First Mountain and Lake Thun

After visiting Lucerne, we took the train to Interlaken. The journey from Lucerne to Interlaken takes about two hours. There's a dedicated GoldenPass train for sightseeing, but it's very popular and requires advance booking, so we took a regular train. It turned out we slept the whole way, so the GoldenPass train wasn't really necessary. Besides, Interlaken itself offers beautiful scenery. We stayed at an Airbnb near Interlaken West Station. The room wasn't as nice as a hotel, but it was clean and cheap. We used the Swiss Travel Pass for all our travel, which included a 50% discount on First Mountain activities, though not free. 1️⃣ Day 1: We arrived in Interlaken the night before. Seeing that the weather had been overcast for several days, we decided to head straight to First Mountain as soon as the weather cleared up, leaving the other towns to our itinerary. Luckily, the weather looked good on the webcam the next morning, so we went to Grindelwald to climb First Mountain. If you want to try the popular First Mountain activities, including scooters, I recommend leaving early, as the queues are incredibly long! First Mountain offers three activities: eagle riding, go-karting, and scooters. The scooters are the most fun, allowing you to leisurely stroll along the enchanting hillsides while enjoying the beautiful scenery accompanied by the melodious sound of camel bells. After taking the cable car to the summit, you can hike to the two lakes at the top. This hike is relatively easy, but it involves crossing several hills, so it takes some time. With some walking and taking photos, the one-way trip takes about an hour. However, it's highly recommended to go when the grass is still green; if it turns yellow, it becomes a bit bare and not as visually appealing. When we went during the National Day holiday, the grass at the summit was already completely yellow. If it's cloudy, the scenery is just average. Interlaken has even more beautiful lakes. From the summit, you can enjoy panoramic views of the enchanting hillsides below. (p2) After taking the cable car down the mountain, there's a really delicious steakhouse near the cable car station! (p3) The price was a bit high, but the feeling of being able to eat meat to your heart's content after a tiring day of hiking was wonderful. After a satisfying meal, we strolled to Spiez. That afternoon, the weather turned cloudy and rainy, but it also brought me what was probably the most rainbows I've ever seen in my life… both single and double rainbows, some so bright they were practically glowing. Even though it was a rainy day, there was still a pleasant surprise (p4 is so beautiful!). In the evening, we returned to Interlaken via Spiez. You can choose to take the GoldenPass train to enjoy a short stretch of scenery along the way. 2️⃣ Day 2: Near Interlaken, we only planned to visit First Mountain, so the rest of the trip was to explore the towns. On the second day, we first took a boat trip on Lake Thun. The boats to Lake Thun depart from the Interlaken dock, and there's a departure approximately every hour. Sitting on the deck outside the cabin offers even more beautiful views, but be prepared for the cold and wind! The boat stops in Spiez, where you can disembark and explore. After arriving in Thun, we visited Thun Castle, which is much larger than Spiez Castle. Climbing all the way to the top of the castle allows you to ascend the towers and enjoy different views of Thun. It's definitely worth a visit! (p5)