Hi Everyone
I am planning to visit Lake Oeschinensee in August. We are staying in Interlaken/Murren for 10 days. I love photography and wanted to get some great landscapes from the hike. Lots of people suggest going early but the mountains will be in shadow (from webcam). What are your thoughts on going later (2-5pm)? Will the hike be less busy at that time? I see the gondola from Kandersteg is open 8:30am-6pm. Is it best to arrive right at 8:30 or wait for after lunch?
Thanks
The intense glacial turquoise color of Oeschinensee can only be seen for a few hours during sunny days. I was there mid-afternoon on a picture-perfect day and it was too late in the day. The best time window is 10am-1pm as far as catching the color of the Lake. Of course, the right combination of sun on the lake and clouds in the sky would make even better pix.
With the restaurant at the summit being accessible by gondola, it’s crowded around lunchtime. If you arrive between 10:00-11:00am, you can take photos, have lunch and then hike or take the gondola back to Kandersteg.
Have fun in Switzerland!
Thank you. Didnt even think of the sun on the water. I may just aim to get there at 9 and hike to the photo spot for 10. End the day with a toboggan run, lunch and swimming
On the Bergflex website, you can view past days' weather conditions by the hour. Recently, the sun has been rising over the mountain peak around 9:00 AM, with the best light beginning at around noon and continuing into the early afternoon. You can check several sunny days, such as July 30th or 31st to see what I mean. Today, however, it was completely overcast until after noon.
The angle shown on the website is not exactly the same as the one you'll have from the hike, but it does feature the mountains you'll be viewing.
Take a train to Kandersteg, from there go in front of the station and there will be a walkway with signs leading your to the cable car. Its less busy in the AM but the blue you see in photos wont show until the sun hits it. So on a day the sun rose at 6am, it took till about 12 or 11am to actually see the blue color as an example.
Personally, you can go early in the AM, and enjoy the place to yourself, then just get to the top of the lookout point and wait a bit for the sun to come out, by the time the sun starts to hit and you can truly see all the colors the crowds will barely start showing up. So then you can decide to hang out there for a bit longer, or book it out of there and onto something else. Its actually gets busier as the day goes on. So go early, and leave early. :)
