• CH & IT Roadtrip
    The Castle Church from Schloss Spiez — Spiez, Switzerland.
    The Castle Church from Schloss Spiez — Spiez, Switzerland.The Castle Church — Spiez, Switzerland.Frescoes in the Castle Church — Spiez, Switzerland.Schloss Spiez ... from the church yard — Spiez, Switzerland.Schloss Spiez ... from the church yard — Spiez, Switzerland.Le Roselier ... an inn built in 1743 is now a private residence — Spiez, Switzerland.Le Roselier ... murals painted by Victor Surbek in 1933-1934 — Spiez, Switzerland.Reconstruction of a 17th century herb garden — Spiez, Switzerland.Vineyards — Spiez, Switzerland.Lakefront promenade — Spiez, Switzerland.Eurasian Coots on Lake Thun — Spiez, Switzerland.Niesen is the iconic mountain known as the "Swiss Pyramid" — Spiez, Switzerland.The keep of Schloss Spiez — Spiez, Switzerland.Find the boat in this picture — Spiez, Switzerland.A closer look at the boat in the wall of the house — Spiez, Switzerland.The Castle Church — Spiez, Switzerland.Sun dial — Spiez, Switzerland.One of the boats that ply Lake Thun is bringing another load of visitors to Spiez, Switzerland.

    OtR: Stroll Around Spiez

    August 6 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Before leaving Schloss Spiez, we took advantage of the lovely day to sit at a table in the courtyard and have a quick snack.

    Tummies sated, we wandered across to the Castle Church for a quick peek. Constructed around 1000 CE, the Romanesque church sits on the site of an earlier stone church that had a free-standing tower. It served as the private chapel and burial site for the owners of the castle. The frescoes in the vaulted choir date from the 12th century and show Byzantine influences. Other paintings were added in the 16th century, but when the church was remodeled in the Baroque style a century later, they were covered with whitewash. The whitewash was removed when the church was restored to its Romanesque state after ownership passed to the Spiez Castle Foundation in 1929.

    From the church, we walked along a narrow path and used a staircase that took us down to the marina for a stroll along the lakefront. Being the iconic landmark of the town, the schloss was visible from every point around Spiez … as was Niesen, the mountain known as the “Swiss Pyramid.”    Read more