Spiez lies roughly halfway along the southern shore of the Thunersee, roughly at the entry to the Bernese Highlands for those coming from the city of Bern.

Spiez makes a very brief appearance when Jessica, Harris and Alice first encounter it in the story. They simply pass through on their way to Interlaken and Alice comments on how Jessica is in love with the town. Jessica does not deny her affection but defends it by pointing out that Spiez is actually a pretty town with a reasonably peaceful vibe and easy access to all of the hiking trails in the Bernese Highlands. She switches back to her more regular sarcasm fairly swiftly by pointing out how it is home to the Spiez Laboratory which is the Swiss Federal Institute for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection, and Harris might be able to get his rather revoltingly soiled jodhpurs cleaned up there. This institution is indeed in Spiez but on the outskirts. You can't see it in the prettier shots here.

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Spiez makes a more substantial appearance when Jessica crashes into the forest on its western edge and passes out after accidentally water-skiing down the Thunersee. Discovered by Harris and Alice, she tries to relax while they acquire some new clothing for her but immediately encounters Jöchi, the zombie-like teenage waiter who has apparently fallen in love (or, at least, lust) with her. This turns out to be helpful since it is by pretending to be Jöchi's girlfriend that she escapes the attention of the local police who are looking for a single woman, who recently crashed into the town from the lake.

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Spiez is not a typically traditional, Swiss, mountain town any more than Interlaken is. The difference is mainly that people tend to go there for a more extended period and are not just there to enjoy the shops selling plastic chalets and Swiss cow T-shirts, the burger bars and the strip joints. It's more modern than the smaller villages at higher altitudes around it but it does feel genuine, as though both the locals and the visitors want to be there because they've looked into it and not just because it got a decent rating on their favourite price comparison website. Especially if you actually speak German (although it's not critical), you can enjoy being in a place where most people do want to enjoy the lakeside, the cafe culture and the access to the wider mountain ranges. True, it's something of a tourist trap for discerning tourists but it doesn't just take the piss like Interlaken does. It's proud of its tenth century Church, the neighbouring castle and the seventeenth century herb garden it has. There's more to the marina than just somewhere for drunk tourists to relieve themselves when they can't reach the formal facilities in time. It's not cheap but it's not extortionate either and a respectful tourist can have a good time there.

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Whether Jessica's undying love is fully merited may be debatable but then again, most Bond fans also have a healthy respect for Timothy Dalton without wanting to leap into bed with him at ten seconds' notice so Jessica's more extreme preferences can just remain her own.

Dawn view from the lakeside path leading into Spiez. The same area is not so peaceful when Jessica crashes into it when accidentally water-skiing