Switzerland: A Day at the Lake

This is one of the dreamiest of summer days and if I could choose, it would definitely be my groundhog day.

Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places in the world. But, the problem is that when someone says the world for most people it conjures up images of snow-capped mountains, roaring fires and drinking hot chocolates with mitten-covered hands. I'm here to change that! I'm on a one-woman mission to convince you all that Switzerland is simply beautiful all year round and maybe you should think about it for your next summer adventure.

Last summer we spent the most idyllic day on the shores of Lake Brienz.

Lake Brienz, in the canton of Berne, is a stunning spot. I mean just look at the colour of it! I can't even tell you how beautiful it is, it's the most amazing blue/turquoise colour and the spectacular mountain scenery encircles it, rising up majestically from the shores.

We started off our day in the quaint Swiss town of Isetwald. From here we wandered along the woodland path until we found the perfect spot to set up camp for the day.

One great thing about walks in Switzerland is that there's all these open air barbecues dotted in openings. All you need to do is pack a picnic bag and get ready to settle in. There's all these stunning spots that the paths just open up on to and the other great thing is that they're never busy and never feel overcrowded.

We popped some hot dogs to sizzle on the BBQ, lodged a bottle of wine in the water to cool and my Mum sat back relaxed and dipped her feet in the water waiting for lunch to be ready.

Lunch is served!

You can then spend the afternoon sipping on rose and swimming in the beautiful blue water - I'll warn you it's a little cool though! It's so mesmerising and peaceful sitting here for a few hours. It's so easy to lose track of time and just admire the amazing place that you've found yourself in.

But eventually you have to go!

This isn't too bad though and you can walk through the forest along the waters edge, making your way through tunnels of rock and winding through the trees.

It's not a difficult walk and soon you end up at Giessbach. At the top of the hill its the GrandHotel Giessbach. It's a fairytale castle that watches over the lake all year long.

Don't worry you don't have to do the walk back - the paddle steamer will take you! There's been a regular boat service on the lake since 1839 and there's a lovely nostalgic feel to catching the steamer back to Isetwald. Find a spot on the deck and spend some more time admiring the awe-inspiring beauty of the lake and mountains.

Switzerland definitely has romance to it and there's just something so magical about this place that I really can't even put into words.

And once you've had a hard day barbecuing, swimming, walking and admiring the view you better treat yourself to an Aperol Spirtz as you enjoy the last of the sunshine....

Booked your flight yet?

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