Brienz-Interlaken

Alessandra with Ragna (from 20.05.2018):

With a full backpack and in a good mood about the great weather we started our route at 7.15 a.m. at Grindelwald station to our starting point Brienz station. Directly from the platform you can reach the lake trail along campgrounds, forest yard and bicycle path in the direction of Giessbach. From this side the lake is already well accessible for dogs and suitable for swimming. Once you reach the other end of the lake, turn right under the motorway bridge and follow the steep tarred road. Here some cars drive, which disturbed us at the beginning. This is already the steepest part of the whole hike. The road leads to the small village Engi, where you have the possibility to eat and drink in a small restaurant with WC. There the trail is also a little bit away from the road, but only a few 100 meters. A little further along the tarred road you quickly reach the turnoff to Giessbach, where you turn right down to the beautiful waterfall and the Grandhotel Giessbach. A true fairy tale castle with a great view of Lake Brienz.
Then follow the hiking trail towards Iseltwald. Here the most beautiful part of the hike begins. A wonderful hiking trail right along the lakeside, with small bays for picnicking and resting with a great view of the panorama. Here well-behaved dogs can run freely, there are no roads nearby. Arrived in the village of Iseltwald, you immediately notice the beautiful Seeburg Castle. Iseltwald is a beautiful, sweet village with many possibilities to eat and drink, and we continue through Iseltwald through beautiful houses and over a lattice bridge towards a meadow landscape. Once again it goes a little steeper up to Sengg. From here, unfortunately, it goes again with a tarred road to Unterschwand in the direction of Bönigen. It is also a car road and also used by cyclists. We have walked the way, but it is getting longer, especially in the heat it is not so pleasant. The dog has not so many possibilities to bathe. As alternative one can go to Bönigen by bus from Sengg. When you arrive in Bönigen, turn right towards the Aare. Here is a small bathing beach, dogs were with us also at the beach. Behind it is a small nature reserve, dogs are not allowed there. The hiking trail leads outside, directly to the Aare and to Interlaken Ost Bahnhof. The last part convinces again with its great bays for the dogs. Altogether we were on the way for a little over 6 hours. Pure walking time about 5. 15 hours. The hike is not marked with the Jakobsweg. Follow the yellow hiking signs. There were two/three crossings with bars.