Continuing with our drive to explore the two lakes – Lake Thun (Thurnersee in German) and Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) … Of the two lakes, Brienzersee is slightly smaller and the shores are more heavily wooded and much less developed than Thunersee. And there isn’t a big town like Thun at the far end of Brienzersee.
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Our destination – Iseltwald is a village that lies on the south bank of Brienzersee. The local economy is based on tourism, agriculture, fishing and timber harvesting.
We discovered that unless you are a resident, you cannot drive your vehicle into the village. There are two parking areas above the village for visitors. In the one where we parked, it was about 60% full. From there, we joined a stream of visitors on a pretty footpath that sloped down to the lakefront.
As we were walking down towards the village, above the top of tiled roofs, we caught sight of an approaching ferry, quietly gliding on the smooth lake toward the pier.
The ferry stops at the lakefront next to the perfectly located Strand Hotel and restaurant. What a place to spend an evening.
… a K-drama filming location
In 2019, Iseltwald was recognized internationally and became very popular with Asian visitors. It has to do with the South Korean hit TV series “Crash Landing on You” shown worldwide on Netflix. We became aware of Iseltwald when it showed up on Google map as a filming location for the Korean drama TV series
This photogenic landing stage is where the fans lined up to strike a pose.
We have not yet seen the Crash Landing On You series which is based on two lovers, one from North Korea and the other from South Korea, who sustained a romance by finding rendezvous in various scenic spots in Switzerland. We and an Indian family that came from London helped each other took some family snapshots.
< a traditional Swiss chalet in the village
There is no train station that serves the village. The public has to rely on an hourly PostBus Switzerland bus service 103 that connects Iseltwald to Interlaken. Due to the volume of visitors, they increased the frequency of No. 103 bus service in the summer.
It was reported that the sudden fame of the village is not welcomed by all according to a 2022 report. This is because the influx of the K-drama fans did not bring additional income while the tranquil atmosphere appreciated by other tourists is threatened by the mob.
The wave of K-drama tourists will likely die down eventually. We believe the brief visit made by these tourists is a form of advertisement because some people will be impressed by the scenary and return to savor the beauty and restful nature of the village. We may return to Iseltwald in the future.