I’d heard people refer many times to the “Niesenbänkli”, a bench on the slopes above Lake Thun which affords the absolute “best” view from its northern side to the Niesen on the opposite shore. As the weather forecast was wonderful, we packed a lunch and took the ship across the lake from our home to Merligen, then hiked up a winding route, via Sigriswil, towards the hilltop known as “Schwändiblueme”.
The bench was reputed to be “on the way”, although information on its precise location seemed to be hard to come by. We finally arrived at this meadow, above Tschingel ob Gunten, and decided that we’d come far enough. Abandoning our search, we stretched out on the grass for a while to take in the view and reflect on how lucky we are to live in such surroundings, before making our way back down to the lake shore to catch a ship home.
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