Stretching east of Interlaken, the Brienzersee (Lake Brienz) is much vaunted as the cleanest lake in Switzerland, beautifully set in a bowl amidst forested slopes, streams tumbling down from on high, overlooked to the south by the Faulhorn (2681m) and to the northeast by the Brienzer Rothorn (2350m), the latter served by a nostalgic old rack railway from the main town of the lake, Brienz. East of Brienz, a tortuous road crosses the Brünigpass into Canton Obwalden, heading for Luzern, while the main road scoots along the valley floor, beside the youthful Aare, to Meiringen, scene of the “death” of Sherlock Holmes and final staging post before the major trans-Alpine routes over the Grimsel and Susten passes.