What's New in Interlaken?

Deborah Kade
Aug 29
5 min read

It was nice to see Helena again in the breakfast room this morning. Always fun to catch up on what's new.

After a late breakfast Michael and I walked to the Interlaken West train station to pick up the luggage we sent from the airport. We have learned this trick from Dave who was the original owner of the bed and breakfast. At that time it was called Sunny Days. There are times I still call it Sunny Days instead of the Adventure Guest House. This way we don't have to shlep all our bags on and off the trains. We only take a carry on with two or three days worth of clothes.

When our bags were weighed at the Phoenix Airport, the check in attendant called us amateurs as two of the bags only weighed 23 pounds. We told her the story will be different when we are leaving Switzerland as the bags will be filled with Cailler chocolate and Kambly cookies.

While Michael worked, I went to walk around parts of Unterseen and Interlaken. I like to see all the changes that have taken place since we last were here.

Old Town section of Unterseen

This used to be my favorite flower shop. The most unique orchids used to be displayed in the windows.

The flower boxes are still hung off the railing.

The petals of the straw flowers are so stiff.

I stopped into the Woodpecker shop to see Gabriela and Felix.

Gabriela hard at work carving.

Edelweiss

Felix brought me a few strawberries from their garden. Sweet and delicious!

A block or two away I came upon the hanging umbrellas. Everyone who walked by stopped and took a picture. I took pictures and movies. Such bright colors!

Happy there was a breeze so there was some movement with the umbrellas.

In the other direction there were happy faces. Yes, someone was singing: "Don't worry, be happy".

Not the same impact as the umbrellas. I think it would have been better if the happy faces were larger.

I think they sell Toblerone at this store

Another store closed. I remember they had a fire here years ago. On my walk I came upon three more closures.

Did a little browsing at the Top Of Europe store.

Nothing has changed at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel and Spa

Across the street from the hotel is the Höhematte.

Starting to set up for next week's Jungfrau Marathon. Robbie actually stayed at the Adventure Guest House the first year he won the marathon. He was so nice to talk with.

The organist was practicing. There was another woman sitting and listening to the music, too.

Lit candles and wrote prayer intentions at the side chapel.

I love the cemetery behind the churches. How beautiful to have the graves adorned with flowers.

On one side of the cemetery is a lily pond. Unfortunately this year, there was only a single water lily starting to bloom..

The dying leaves were interesting.

Many bee hives by the house next to the lily pond.

"Switzerland is home to many bees, including roughly 17,500 beekeepers managing about 165,000 colonies for honey production, and a significant diversity of native wild bees found even in cities like Zurich. While domestic honeybee populations have rebounded after a dip, concerns remain about their intensive management and the plight of wild bees, with nearly half of Swiss species on the red list. Initiatives like the Swiss BeeMapping project are working to monitor wild bee populations and provide habitats, ensuring pollination and biodiversity across the country."

Honeybee Beekeeping

Colony Numbers: Beekeepers in Switzerland maintain approximately 165,000 colonies.
Beekeeping Methods: The majority of beekeepers use traditional Swiss hives, with honeybee colonies being kept all over the country.
Honey Sources: A variety of plants, from fruit trees to forest-dwelling honeydew trees, provide the nectar for honey production.

Wild Bees and Urban Biodiversity

Diversity: Switzerland is home to a rich diversity of wild bees, with around 600 native species, even in urban areas like Zurich.
Habitat Gardens, parks, and even green roofs offer suitable habitats for many wild bee species, which are harmless to humans and efficient pollinators.
Monitoring:
Projects like Swiss BeeMapping involve citizen scientists to collect data and improve understanding of wild bee populations and their needs.

Concerns for Bees

Wild Bee Decline:
Despite some positive trends, nearly half of Switzerland's native bee species are considered endangered, with many facing extinction.
Pesticide Use:
There are calls to reduce pesticide use and improve agricultural practices to protect both wild and honeybees.
Intensive Management:
Some critics argue that the intensive farming of honeybees for honey production, including the use of drugs and performance breeding, is detrimental to the health and adaptability of bees and their ecosystems, according to FreeTheBees

"In Switzerland bees are kept in various ways. There are about 17 500 beekeepers with 165 000 bee colonies. This means that each beekeeper has on the average about 10 colonies. The majority (about 80%) uses Swiss beehives in bee houses with an opening at the rear, about 15 % Dadant and 5 % are multiple-story hives. Migratory beekeeping is rare. The honey sources differ depending on the various geographic regions. Our most important honey plants are: dandelion, fruit trees, rape, robinia, sweet chestnut, as well as various honeydew-yielding trees, mainly coniferous and deciduous trees. The average honey harvest is about 20 kg per colony. Switzerland has a bee density of 4.0 colonies per square kilometer Alps included, which is high in European comparison. As bees are kept all over Switzerland the pollination of all cultivated and wild plants is assured."

The butterflies were attracted to the lavender plants.....

While the bee liked the marigold....

And the hummingbird hawk moth to other flowers.

The hummingbird hawk-moth is a species of hawk moth found across temperate regions of Eurasia. The species is named for its similarity to hummingbirds, as they feed on the nectar of tube-shaped flowers using their long proboscis while hovering in the air; this resemblance is an example of convergent evolution.

The hummingbird hawk-moth was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

he hummingbird hawk-moth is distributed throughout the northern Old World from Portugal to Japan, but it breeds mainly in warmer climates (southern Europe, North Africa, and points east). Three generations are produced in a year in Spain. There is evidence that the population in Britain and Ireland is actively expanding its range, as numbers have been consistently increasing. In addition, it is believed that this population is becoming resident instead of migratory, as warmer temperatures due to climate change are allowing individuals to overwinter.

It is a strong flier, dispersing widely in the summer.However it rarely survives the winter in northern latitudes (e.g. north of the Alps in Europe, north of the Caucasus in Russia).

The forewings are brown, with black wavy lines across them, while the hindwings are orange with a black edge. The abdomen is quite broad, with a fan-tail of setae at the end. The wingspan is 40–45 millimeters (1.6–1.8 in).

In the southern parts of its range, the hummingbird hawk-moth is highly active even when temperatures are high, and thoracic temperatures above 45 °C (113 °F) have been measured.This is among the highest recorded for hawk-moths, and near the limit for insect muscle activity.

I noticed sheep off in the distance.