Interlaken, St Beatus Caves, and Lake Thun

 Thursday, April 20

Today, our group traveled to Interlaken by train to explore the St Beatus Caves.  Despite pretty cool, intermittently rainy weather, we had a fantastic day together.  Our modes of transportation included two trains, one bus, one boat, and our feet!  Everyone did a great job with every phase of the excursion - the chaperones were very proud of our group!

After two hours on the train and another 15 minutes on a crowded bus, we weren't sure what to expect.  The approach to St. Beatus Caves did not disappoint!  There was a steep climb up from the bus station to the cave entrance, and the views of the waterfalls and Lake Thun were stunning!

Here is a short video of our hike up to the cave entrance:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ULbxrciRSBE?feature=share

We had a treat with a private, guided tour of the caves.  Our guide was enthusiastic and very well-informed, and he really listened to all of our questions!  We hiked 1 kilometer into the caves, climbing up an elevation of about 80 meters on our way in, then down again on the way out.  These caves are relatively "young" in Switzerland but hardly unique.  We learned that there are approximately 9000 documented caves in Switzerland!  

After exploring the amazing caves, we had lunch and walked about a mile to the boat dock where we would meet our ferry to Thun.  This was a fun way to travel, which we hadn't been able to do before now on our trip.  It would have been even better if it hadn't been windy and rainy, but you can't always have everything you want!  The students managed really well, especially when we all realized that no seats were available.  They waited patiently until a large group of travelers got off at a station about 30 minutes after we got onto the boat. We were proud to see that they also shared space at their tables with other travelers they didn't know so that everyone could get a seat!

Grace had a creative solution to the dual problems of cold and no seats indoors: she did laps around the boat's deck for about 40 minutes!  

Click here to see Grace!

https://youtube.com/shorts/AzF4HSb7kEM