우리는 스위스 이젤트발트에 있어요.

The title of this entry is 우리는 스위스 이젤트발트에 있어요 which means we are in Iseltwald, Switzerland. Many Koreans visit here, because some important scenes from the movie, "Crash Landing on You" were filmed here.

Iseltwald is a village and municipality on the southern shore of Lake Brienz.

"Iseltwald is first mentioned in 1146 as Iseltwalt.

"During the Middle Ages, a castle was built on the peninsula near the village for the Lords of Matten. In 1146, King Conrad III gave Interlaken Monastery one quarter of the village. Over the following years, the monastery attempted to expand their power in the village. After the Swiss Confederation gained de facto independence from the House of Habsburg, the monastery remained a strong supporter of the Austrian dynasty. The monastery launched several raids into Unterwalden to support Habsburg ambitions. In response, in 1342, troops from Unterwalden attacked and burned Iseltwald. Several years later, in 1348-49, the village unsuccessfully rebelled against the monastery. In 1528, the city of Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and began imposing it on the Bernese Oberland. Iseltwald joined many other villages and the monastery in an unsuccessful rebellion against the new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the Oberland, they secularized the monastery and annexed all the monastery lands."

"The traditional local economy relied on fish from Lake Brienz, farming in the valleys and seasonal alpine herding and farming in the alpine meadows. A glass blowing factory opened between 1680 and 1696 and operated until 1715. Beginning in 1871, tourists began coming across the lake on steam ships. However, there was only one large road into the village until 1988. Today the local economy is based on tourism, agriculture, fishing and timber harvesting."

Iseltwald has a population of 415.

For a long time, the only access to the village was through a small regional road or by ferry. Since the building of the A8 motorway in 1988, the village has its own junction.

PostBus Switzerland bus service 103 connects Iseltwald to Interlaken on an hourly basis, serving both Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost stations. In summer, the village is also served by BLS AG shipping services, which operate on Lake Brienz serving various points between Interlaken Ost and Brienz.

I so love taking the bus!

The bus has the right of way so the car had to pull over.

Iseltwald is a popular destination for backpackers and skiers in the Jungfraujoch region. The village has a host of backpacker hostels and Bed and Breakfasts.

In the South Korean drama "Crash Landing on You", Iseltwald was the setting for scenes of the main character Ri Jeong Hyeok attending music school in Switzerland as a pianist when he became aware of his older brother's death prior to the beginning of the series.

Long line to get onto the pier.

This couple brought a professional photographer.

Interesting expression from her.

Let's do it again with a different angle.

I think I took more pictures than the pro.

"Crash Landing on You" was filmed in several stunning locations across Switzerland, including the Interlaken region and Zurich, with key spots featuring the Iseltwald pier on Lake Brienz, the Panoramabrücke Sigriswil suspension bridge, the Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe, the Kleine Scheidegg mountain pass, and the picturesque village of Iseltwald. Other notable spots include the Giessbach waterfall, the town of Iseltwald, and parts of Zurich such as the Münster Bridge. Lake Lungern in Obwalden, Switzerland serves as the ultimate setting for the stunning and emotional final episode.

Come share the walk along Lake Brienz with us.......

What you see is mostly the mountain treeline and exposed rock caused by a few interacting factors:

- Climate/treeline: temperature and growing-season length fall with altitude. At a certain elevation trees cannot survive or regenerate, so vegetation gives way to shrubs, grass and then bare rock.

- Aspect and microclimate: slope orientation, sun exposure and prevailing winds (including föhn winds) change local temperatures, evaporation and snow cover, shifting the effective treeline on different sides of the lake.

- Geology and slope steepness: very steep, brittle rock (and past glacial sculpting) prevents deep soil from forming; rock faces stay exposed because they erode and debris is removed by gravity and water.

- Disturbance: avalanches, rockfalls and periodic landslides continually remove vegetation above certain bands. Historic grazing or timber use can accentuate denudation in some areas.

Together these explain why one side of Lake Brienz appears denuded above a particular altitude: the climatic treeline plus steeper, more unstable geology and stronger erosive/disturbing forces on that flank.

Tonight, we had "dinner with a view"! We took the bus up to the Luegibrüggli which is both hotel and restaurant.

The terrace faced Unterseen and the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

Work is being done at the hospital which is down the street from where we are staying.

Our table was inside but facing out over Lake Thun.

It is a beautiful restaurant.

The merlot from the Italian section of Switzerland complimented the meal.

We had the Châteaubriand for two. It was quite the assortment of vegetables: fennel, spinach, tomato, brussels sprout, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, zucchini, green beans, yellow beans, and mushrooms. It was served with three different sauces: herb butter, bernaise, and chanterelle.

They came back for a second serving of the meat. It was soft and tender and cooked perfectly for us.

Michael had buttered noodles.

I had the homemade rösti.

This was the view from the terrace.

It was another beautiful day!

In the Spring, Michael and I are planning to go to Korea. It has been fun practicing our Korean here in Switzerland.