d. Interlaken and its Environs.
Hotels and Pensions. On the Höheweg at Interlaken (in the direction from the railway-station to the Lake of Brienz): “HOTEL RITSCHARD (Pl. 1), R. from 3, B. 1 3/4, L. and A. 2, D. 5, pension 8-10 fr.; *VICTORIA (Pl. 2); beyond it the small PENSION VOLTZ (Pl. 12); *JUNGFRAU (PI. 3), a new and spacious edifice, R. from 3, B. 1 1/2, D. 4 1/2, A. 1 fr.; *SCHWEIZERHOF (Pl. 4); “BELVEDERE (Pl. 5), by the Kursaal, R. from 3, D. 5 fr. HÔTEL DES ALPES (Pl. 6); *CASINO (PI. 7), R. 3, D. 4 1/2 fr.; *HÔTEL INTERLAKEN (P]. 8); “HÔTEL BEAURIVAGE (Pl. 9), handsomely fitted up, with river and shower baths, garden, and fine view, R. from 4, B. 1 1/2, D. 4-5, L. and A. 1 1/2 fr.; “HÔTEL DU LAC (PI. 10), R. 2 1/2, L. 1/2, B. 1 1/2) fr. — These handsome hotels, situated on the so-called ‘Höheweg’ (p. 110) and erected within the last 30-40 years, were originally fitted up as ‘Pensions’ only. — At the village of Aarmühle: *HÔTEL OBERLAND (PI. 15), R. 2, D. 3, B. 1 1/2, L. and A. 1 fr.; opposite to it, RÖSSLI (Pl. 14); WEISSES KREUZ (Pl. 13); *HÔTEL ELMER (Pl. 11), with restaurant; all these are second-class. HÔTEL DE LA GARE, opposite the railway station. — Near the lower bridge over the Aare: *BELLEVUE (PI. 16), pension 5 1/2- 6 1/2 fr. — On the small island of Spielmatten in the Aare: *HÔTEL DUPONT, or Alte Post (Pl. 17), R. 3, B. 1 1/2, L. and A. 1 fr. — At Unterseen: “HOTEL UNTERSEEN (PI. 18); *BEAU SITE (Pl. 19), pension 6-7 fr. — On the road from Aarmühle to Matten (Gsteig, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, etc.): *DEUTSCHER HOF (PI. 23), R. 2 1/2, B. 1 1/4, D. 3 1/2, pension 6 fr., “HÔTEL WYDER (Pl. 21); *HÔTEL REBER (Pl. 22), small, pension 6 fr.; *HÔTEL OBER, or the ‘Schlösschen’ (Pl. 24); “HÔTEL JUNGFRAUBLICK (Pl, 25), situated on a spur of the wooded Kleine Rugen (p. 111), and commanding an unbroken view, with pleasant grounds, and comfortably fitted up; baths, whey, etc.; pension before 1st July and after 15th Sept. only, 7 ½ 9 fr., R. from 4, B. 2, D. 5, L. and A. 2, omnibus 1 1/2 fr.; *HÔTEL PENS. MATTENHOF, pens. incl. R. 6 1/2 fr. — Farther from Interlaken, beyond the bridge which crosses the Aare near the Hôtel du Lac, and on the road to Brienz, is the (3/4 M.) PENSION FELSENEGG, 5 1/2 fr. a day, also a café. — Fournished rooms at the Villa Bischofberger (near the Hôtel Ober) and in several other houses. — At Bönigen on the S. bank of the Lake of Brienz, 1 1/2 M. E. of Interlaken; *PENSION VOGEL, “PENSION BÔNIGEN, and *CHALET Du Lac. — At Beatenberg (p. 112): *KURHAUS ST. BEATENBERG, new; “HÔTEL DES ALPES, pension 5-6 fr.; BELLEVUE, with beautiful view, pension 6-7 fr.; "ALPENROSE (4-5 fr.); “Pension of the curé (previous application necessary). — At Gsteigwyler (p. 113): *PENSION SCHÖNFELS, moderate.
Kursaal on the Höheweg, with reading, concert, and ball- rooms etc.: music daily 7-8 a. m., and 4-5 and 8-10 p. m.; whey-cure 7-8 a.m. — The hotel-keepers, at whose expense this establishment is kept up, charge 1/2 fr. per day in their bills for its use.
Restaurants. Indermühle, adjoining the Hôtel Beaurivage; Berger, at the railway-station. — Confectioner: Vogel-Spiegelberg, near the Hôtel Beaurivage.
Money Changers. Disconto-Casse, near the Kursaal; Ebersold, near the railway-station. — Druggist: Seewer.
Carriages, Horses, Guides, see p. 102. Donkeys, 1 1/2 fr. per hr.
Post and Telegraph Office at Aarmühle, by the Oberländer Hof.
English Ohurch Service in the old Convent Church.
The low land between the lakes of Thun and Brienz, which are 2M. apart, is called the ‘Bödeli.’ These lakes probably once formed a single sheet of water only, but were gradually separated by the deposits of the Lütschine (p. 115) flowing into the Lake of Brienz, and the Lombach into the Lake of Thun. These accumulations, first descending from the S., out of the valley of Lauterbrunnen, and then from the N. out of the Habkéren valley, account for the curve which the Aare has been compelled to describe. On this piece of land, ‘between the lakes’, lies Interlaken (1863’), which with the adjacent village of Aarmühle and the small town of Unterseen extends nearly as far as the Lake of Brienz.
The principal resort of visitors is the *HÖHEWEG, a handsome avenue of walnuts, extending from the village of Aarmühle to the Upper bridge over the Aare, and flanked with large hotels and tempting shops. From the centre of the avenue, which is open towards the S., a beautiful view of the Lauterbrunnen-Thal and the Jungfrau is obtained. On the N. side is the Kursaal, a building in the Swiss style, with garden, reading-room, verandah, etc., the entrance to which is between the Schweizerhof and Belvedere hotels (music, see above). A little farther, on the S. side, rise the old religious houses of Interlaken, founded in 1130, and suppressed in 1528, surrounded by beautiful walnut-trees. The E. wing of the monastery is used as a hospital for the poor; the rest of the building, with the Schloss added in 1750, is occupied by government-offices. The nunnery has been converted into a prison. The only remaining parts of the church are the tower and the choir. The latter is fitted up as an English Chapel. The old English chapel is now a Rom. Cath. place of worship, where a French sermon is preached every Sunday. ‘To the left, at the upper end of the Höheweg, the road to Brienz crosses the Aare by a handsome new bridge ; to the right, 5 min. farther on, is the Zollhaus station of the Bödeli Railway (p. 131).
The continuation of the Höheweg towards the W. is formed by the busy street which leads through the village of Aarmühle (containing with Interlaken 1896 inhab.), and past the Post Office (see above), to the not far distant station of the Bödeli Railway. To the right are two bridges (view) crossing the island of Spielmatten to the small town of Unterseen (1880 inhab.), which consists chiefly of wooden houses darkened with age, with a large square and a wooden church. At Aarmühle and Unterseen there are extensive manufactories of parqueterie.
Interlaken attracts numerous visitors in summer, chiefly German, English, and American, and is noted for its mild and equable temperature. The whey-cure is an inducement to some, while many select it as a resting-place on account of the magniflcent scenery by which it is surrounded. To those who have ample time at their disposal it is particularly recommended as head-quarters for excursions among the mountains and valleys of the Oberland, in the intervals between which they may recruit their strength and enjoy repose.