neckervd

"We were in the BO (much more touristy) area"
Much more touristy than what?

Hambagahle

Meiringen is in the Berner Oberland as well. The Oberland covers a huge area - from Thun in the west to the Grimselpass in the east. South to the Valais border, south west to Rougemont and the Pays d'Enhaut. And north to the Emmental and Obwald. The little villages around the Jungfrau are just a small part of it.

I do not like the use of the term "more touristy" much. Generally the people using it are tourists themselves so it is rather like pots and kettles. They contribute to the feeling of touristy. Better to say "popular". The small villages around the Jungfrau are indeed more popular than the Haslital. with that comes more choice of hotels, more infrastructure for tourism etc. Some like that a lot. And others prefer peace and quiet.

We spend many of our holidays on the north shore of lake Thun. In summer we go to the hotel and stay put. Too many people in the nearby towns, castles etc. Still even then it is easy to walk up in the forests and hardly meet anyone else.

love_travel_Aus

Fabulous trip report Adelaidean!
So many places to think about for the coming years - as we get older and have to plan carefully.
Your organisational skills are truly amazing and really helpful.
I notice that this trip you took the longer flight choice on Singapore.
Do you find this more restful?
Last year we travelled via Doha together and that was just OK.
We have also travelled the Qantas route through Singapore (many tiimes) but not the Singapore Airline one - direct from Adelaide.
Any thoughts?
Happy to pm if this is off topic for other readers.

Squared2

As a French, I discovered beautiful places through your thread. I need to visit France way deeper, I know every region is different and has so much to offer.
Switzerland also looks fantastic. These mountain landscapes and lakes... do you ever get tired of seeing them?
Thank you for sharing!