We left without breakfast today because we were hoping to eat with our Dutch friend 10kms down the track. We were also conscious of the fact that he had driven to our meeting town, so he needed a sleep in.
Another good walking day, and lots of locals taking advantage of it. Today is a holiday in Switzerland so everyone seemed to be out on the town last night in preparation for a long sleep in. So walking through the vast streets of Fribourg was extremely quiet. As we moved once again into the forests and paddocks there were joggers, families walking and cycling with their dogs.
Philip had already eaten when we arrived in the quaint town of Posieux so Corrie and I had our coffee and croissant (in the French part now), and chatted with our friend about families, food and fair weather.
Onto the path once more but with too little concentration. We followed familiar signs but it didn’t feel right. We came to an intersection but the sign was a little different so we wandered down the ‘no sign path’ looking for the symbol we wanted. Three dogs charged out of a shed but luckily a woman and her daughter came out of their home at the same time. It was a road to their house but they directed us down another path.
Still unhappy we hailed a cyclist who skidded down the slope, but being a cyclist he was obliging and sent us back up a very steep hill. I felt bad, apologised to my team members and went back to town, found the right sign and off we went the right way. There is nothing worse for me than to walk unnecessarily especially when there is a long way to go but thankfully for our friend it was short for him.
Coming down a path I heard some beautiful singing. I entered this pretty little church where a Swiss family of 6 were singing on their own. It was lovely, and timely as we were due for a rest and to be entertained at the same time was a bonus. We walked over the first ancient (12th century) bridge we had seen in Switzerland, which has some stories to tell, drunk freezing water from a fountain, followed a small noisy creek, across open fields and home.
Celine was looking after her mums b&b. She was a delight as she showed us our room where Philip’s bed was erected in the dining area – it was perfect. Philip and I then went looking for lunch in this ‘one shop town’ but had forgotten it was a holiday – alas no food. By chance a young woman was putting petrol in her car, saw us and asked us what we were doing and could she help.
I asked her if she had any food, and that I had money. She said she did have food but would not accept payment. She told us to wait and she’d be back in 5 minutes – she was. She had driven home and brought back fruit, bread, meat, cheese and yoghurt. We thanked our benevolent new friend Pamela and went back to Celine’s place for an unexpected banquet.