Swiss Bus Shenanigans

[mel-world]

I would not believe it....but it happened to me​

Something happened to us today that I would not believe if it had not happened to us. The Swiss are usually the most organised and disciplined nation - to the level of almost being boring at times.

Today is a public holiday in Switzerland (Ascension Day), the late spring sun is shining and everyone is out and about enjoying themselves; including us (and the thousands of other tourists that have descended on Interlaken). After the morning walking through town, we decided that there were too many tourists around so we use our Regional Guest Pass to take the bus a little way out of town to a small village on Lake Brienz called Iseltwald. The bus is crowded, the road is very narrow and there are cyclists everywhere. The village is quaint and we walk some more, enjoy the Lake and the ferries dropping even more people in town until we return to the stop for the hourly bus back to town.

Right on time, the bus arrives but the driver is quick to inform us that this bus will only go half way and an express will arrive soon. A couple of people get on but a bus load (including us) are left behind to wait for the express. You guessed it, no bus came for an hour, by which time, there were many more people waiting and we were joined by a lady in a red vest who promptly moved us off the road and tried to get some organisation into the crowd - hard with Asian tourists at the best of times, especially having waited for an hour. She met the bus up the road a bit and talked to the driver before the bus pulled in, let the passengers off the front door only and then proceeded to tell us that she was only going half way back and another express would be coming. WTF!

We were not falling for that again so we just said we were going half way and got on despite her protestations. About 6 other people joined us so 8 or so of us enjoyed an uncrowded ride all the way back to Interlaken, again leaving even more people waiting. And we never saw a relief bus going down the narrow road into Iseltwald.

I'll never find out why two buss drivers lied to everyone (in excellent English) but maybe they were just sick of tourists, even early in the season.

 

[kelvedon]

Not always as clockwork as expected.
I’ve stayed in Iseltwald a number of times. Another way to get there is on the paddle steamer ferry which does the loop from Interlaken to Brienz via Istelwald….. next time

 

[mel-world]

Not always as clockwork as expected.
I’ve stayed in Iseltwald a number of times. Another way to get there is on the paddle steamer ferry which does the loop from Interlaken to Brienz via Istelwald….. next time

Thanks. We took the ferry a day earlier to Gliesbach Falls.