A cave, a lake, a waterfall and me

If you have an extra day or two to spare while holidaying at Interlaken or somewhere in the region, it is usually not a bad idea to go off the beaten track as you might be in for some wonderful surprises. Trust me, the region of Berner Oberland is truly blessed with the beauty of mother nature at its best.

While we were there last winter, we decided to go for a day trip visiting some interesting sights outside of Interlaken. However, bear in mind that many of the touristy sites are closed for winter. The lady working at the Interlaken East Train Station was extremely helpful, friendly and nice. She recommended us to visit the St. Beatus Höhlen (caves).Well, we had time on our hands and decided to trust her. It is located about 15mins of bus ride from Interlaken and we didn’t regret our choice at all. The cave is strategically located on the shore of the Lake Thun which offers us a magnificent view of the lake. I think we have the best of both worlds, on one hand we get to have a view of the lake and on the other hand we get to be up at a hill with a waterfall and we gotta explore the caves inside this hill! From the Chinese Feng Shui point of view, there is mountain (山) and there is water (水) below, what a perfect combination. I could feel the serenity of this place as I began my ascent towards the caves. Maybe it was also due to the fact that it was off season by then, that was why the whole area was very relaxing and calming. Some figurines welcoming us to the St. Beatus Caves. All I could hear was the gushing of the waterfall and the humming of birds and my own voice exclaiming ‘Woah!’. Visitors aren’t allowed to go into the caves without any tour guides. There was only another couple together with us for the tour into the caves. Our tour guide was a 60-something small-built friendly guy who speaks German with a heavy Swiss dialect. I had some problems understanding him and it took me some time to getting used to it.Due to our small group (4 people altogether), which is unheard of in summer, he was rather relax and let us took pictures inside the caves, which he normally doesn’t allow for his usual tour group of 100 people in summer. He said to us, he sees nothing (me holding my camera) and he hears nothing (the clicking of my camera). Isn’t he cool ?He’s spent all his life, working as a tour guide inside the St. Beatus Höhlen and he knows every nook and cranny of the caves. He said he never needs sun cream all his life since he spends them most of the time in the caves . I don’t know whether it’s good news. It sounds rather sad to me because I live for sunshine and blue sky!I enjoyed his stories a lot as he kept on telling us his experiences with different tourists in the caves throughout his profession. There are emergency phones built in there just in case someone get hurt in the caves. He told us once how one lady wore high heels to explore the caves and got the soles of her high heel broken. Aww..how come I am not surprised . Which sane human will wear high heels to explore some caves?He pointed out to us all the interesting stalactites and stalagmites. Some strange rocks formations resemble a sleeping bear, a snake’s nest with its eggs, frogs and The Virgin Mary. I kid you not.There are times in the year when the caves are closed due to flood during rainy season because there is water flowing through the caves. So make sure you check out the opening time of the caves beforehand to avoid disappointments if you plan to visit. This is Lake Thun, picture taken at the balcony of the entrance of the caves. I’m sure you’ll love this place as much as I do . I really recommend it!