Honeymoon

Who got married?

Lisette Sutherland and Florian Hoornaar.  No, neither of us will change our last names. It’s bad for our Google ranking. 🙂 

When was the wedding?

The official wedding took place on 12 January 2016. We decided to keep it simple and limit the wedding to only the formal procedure at the very romantic “city hall” (Gemeente Pijnacker-Nootdorp).

When is the celebration?

The honeymoon will be 18 days long from 19 August to 5 September. Come anytime that suits you and stay for as long as you want.

Why do it this way?

We wanted to get married as soon as possible (transatlantic weddings take a lot of paperwork and rules research) and we wanted the party to be in the summer. Hence the gap between the ceremony and the party.

Where is Innertkirchen?

Innertkirchen is a small town tucked deep in the Swiss mountains of the Berner Oberland. The nearest cities are Bern, Interlaken and Luzern. The nearest mountain passes are the Grimsel and Susten pass. The local language is (Swiss) German, but most locals will understand English.

Innertkirchen

Why Innertkirchen?Swooch

Innertkirchen is our favorite vacation place. With friends and family coming from all over the world, no location would be ideal for everyone. That gave us the freedom to come up with a location that would be truly special and unique. 

What does a week/weekend long wedding party look like?

We haven’t done this before, so we honestly have no idea. But there are lots of options: hiking, climbing, klettersteigs, glaciers, biking, open air museums, cable cars, mountain huts, lounging around, petting sheep, goats, and cows – all the usual Swiss activities, but with an added hint of festivity!

Swaventures

In these photos, I see raincoats and helmets. What’s up with that?

Helmets are fully optional. 🙂 It depends on what you want to do. There are plenty of non-helmet activities. We just haven’t done those yet. 🙂 

Where do I find information on the area?

Here are couple of websites that you will find useful when scheduling tours and activities:

What kind of weather can I expect?

We typically look on the following websites for weather forecasts:

  • Buienradar for a 14 day forecast. Buienradar is less optimistic and therefore more realistic than other forecast websites.
  • MeteoSwiss for a detailed 6 day forecast. Here, find the forecast for Northeastern Switzerland. You can also search for a local forecast for Innertkirchen.

MeteoSwiss also has an App for on your phone that we highly recommend.

Keep in mind that the weather in the alps typically has more overcast and rain. Also the weather may vary depending on your precise location. It may be cloudy in one valley and blazing hot in the next. On rainy days it might be a good idea to get out of mountains a bit and visit the wonderful cities of Bern or Luzern. So plan you day tours carefully (we will help).

Are there any webcams for me to ogle? 

There are several webcams that give a good indication of the weather and the area:

NB: The webcam in the direction of the campsite seems to be last updated on April 21st. There is some construction going on, but this is hardly visible or noticeable from the campsite.

In the picture below you can spot Innertkirchen in the left bottom corner. The building in the right bottom corner is the Alpen Tower. The lake on the right is lake Brienz, named after the lakeshore town which is aptly named Brienz as well. The Swiss are known from naming everything and at one point creativity runs out.

alpen_tower_web

How many people do you expect?

We expect between 35 and 45 people to join us, dispersed over the 18 days that we will be there.

How do I get there?

By train and car: see Google maps. From the Netherlands, there are three ways to Innertkirchen (all via Basel):

  • Via Luzern and the Brunigpass: this is the most direct and most beautiful road but requires going over the Brunigpass. This is however a low pass with lots of slow-ish moving traffic.
  • Via Bern and Interlaken: this road is slightly longer, but lacks passes and is mostly motorways.
  • Via Luzern, Altdorf and the Sustenpass: this road is the longer road by far. It is definitely the touristic alternative.

By plane: We recommend flying to Zürich airport and then taking the train to Meiringen. We can easily pick you up from there. The Swiss train system is very reliable. You only have to switch trains in Luzern and the ride is about as long as a car drive.

Where can I stay?

We are staying on the Grimselblick campsite and you are welcome to join us there. If you need camping supplies (tents, sleeping bags, etc) just let us know. We will help arrange something.

If you want to reserve a camping spot, please send an e-mail to info@camping-grimselblick.ch (Anita or Bruno will answer). It’s fine to send it in English, German, or Dutch. Please be sure to mention that you’re coming for the Honeymoon of Florian and Lisette (you’ll get VIP treatment that way ;). Here is the price list for the camping (you can pay in Swiss Francs or Euros – but Swiss Francs is better): http://camping-grimselblick.ch/preise.htm (it’s one of the most reasonably priced campsites in Switzerland).

We’ve created a virtual tour to give you an idea of what it’s like. Enjoy!

Innertkirchen also has some hotels extremely close to the campsite:

And don’t forget about Airbnb!

 

RostiIs this plan weird, or is it just me?

Don’t worry. We think it’s a bit wacky too. On the other hand, we like to run experiments and try new things. So in a way, this wedding party is really an expression of who we are. 

Ok, I’m in! How do I rsvp?

Send an email to either Lisette or Florian and we’ll make sure you’re in the know!

Just Married