Interlaken

<map lat='46.6833333' lng='7.85' zoom='12' view='0' float='right'/> Interlaken is a small town in the region of the alps in Switzerland. It has around 5'500 citizens and is called Interlaken because it is located between two lakes: The Lake Thun and the Lake of Brienz. From Interlaken you can reach quite every place in the Bernese Alps, for example the famous "top of Europe" Jungfraujoch. However, a ride by Europe's highest altitude railway line (up to 3'454m) costs 111€, might be hard to find a lift there...

Hitchhiking out

North, West: Bern, Lausanne, Basel

There is a motorway going to Thun-Bern and further. Just follow the motorway-signs. Right before the motorway starts there is an agricultural shop (Landi) with a parking space where cars going onto the motorway can easily stop to pick you up.

North, East: Lucerne, Zurich, Lugano

From the train station, turn right and walk about 10 minutes until you see a bridge crossing the river on your right. Go over the bridge and follow the small windy road (Brienzstrasse) past the India Village campground until you come to a B&B. There is a good place to hitch where drivers can turn into the parking lot and you know all traffic is going east already. The drive is really beautiful but you might end up waiting a while to get picked up since it's not the main road going east. However, this spot is nice since you can easily walk there with a heavy pack from the train station. Holding a simple directional sign like "East/Ost" or "South/Sud" seems to work fine if you don't have a specific destination.

Sleeping

Even though Interlaken is a small town, it has a lot of tourists and therefore several hostels and campsites.