A river runs beneath the mountain, cold and constant, whatever season waits outside.
Harder Kulm Restaurant
A restaurant with a turret and a terrace, and a two-lake view from the table.
Five minutes on foot from the funicular summit station, the Panorama Restaurant Harder Kulm looks less like a mountain hut than a small castle.
A pointed turret and a red tile roof mark the building, built when the funicular first opened in 1908 and the Bernese Oberland was learning to receive tourists in numbers. The kitchen serves Swiss and Italian dishes, with regional wine and seasonal specialities added to the menu through the year.
The real seating plan is outside. The terrace faces Lake Thun on one side and Lake Brienz on the other, with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau lined up behind Interlaken. Meals here run into the evening in summer, when the last funicular down leaves after sunset. Few restaurants in Switzerland come with a view this deliberately built for lingering.
