A long day's walking today and now seeing a few more walkers. We met our first Australian, a woman from Sydney; we had a quick chat. She was married to a Swiss and finding it difficult living away from home. A German man intrigued us with his novel way to travel to Spain - wheeling his bike with his backpack on the seat. We passed through the special hilltop village of Romont. Making sure we [...]
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 [...]
Jacques the dog sat on my foot, leaned up against my leg (as many Swiss dogs seem to do), and kept his eyes focussed on the front door. His dad, the retired psychologist owner, was preparing a tasty potato dish with salad and spicy meat balls just for us. Soon, Jacques' focussed front door opened and in came Frieda. Not as loud as the CD but as passionate. All memory of Jacques' imagined love for [...]
Doris was delightful, her doors were always open to us so we could simply wander across the road to use her wifi and bathroom. She also did our washing and drying which is a big deal on the track - it can be a real hassle if you have to carry wet clothes and there is nothing to change into when the day's walk is over. At breakfast, after her husband had gone to the [...]
Margrit's breakfast setting was exquisite with thin folded cheese, cheese designed like pieces of broccoli, fine rhubarb jam, and other foods decorated with flowers, basil and mint. The four white sentinels joined us for breakfast along with the sun tempered by the invigorating Swiss chill. As we ventured out once more, the two ducks quacked and the two dogs barked. Up into the hills once more - what a hill!. We passed a young woman [...]
Marcel had brought a huge long table and two benches outside this church onto an equally huge area and had our breakfast laid out for us. I think Ermanno had said it would be a nice place to have it - at 7 degrees it wasn't. But the fact that he had actually done it had us laughing and applauding along the 1200 metre walk to breakfast. This was also the distance to our shower, [...]
Probably the earliest European dinner ever at 5.30 in this magnificent house run by a friendly, interesting and engaging Lutheran minister. When I welcomed Ermanno after he arrived by bus (stop right outside our new home), we kissed and hugged and took him to our dining room. They had kept some minestrone (just happened to be his favourite dish) for him, so Corrie and I kept him company as he ate much closer to the [...]
A howling wind, hard and heavy rain had sort of overdone my prayer for cool weather. But we had the right gear except for my soft, kind shoes that just let any water come in, unless it comes in the form of showers. Corrie had 'wet weather' shoes but they were just as generous a host as mine. We left this large town enormously popular with Indians (they even have their own village here) and [...]
A light low ceiling of cloud barely kept the sun hidden as it attempted to break free at any time. The cloud kept its cool and hovered over us as we climbed - very long but gently sloped. I never thought I would call hills like this gentle but it's all relative. Walking up here above sharp drops and looking back with a view of the glistening green lake makes the climb even more gentle. [...]
Susan was a hoot, loved a joke, very engaging as she took us to her small one room chalet out the back. In one of our talks she mentioned her daughter who lived in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, where we live, and suggested we visit her which we will do. One of the many funny things she did was lighting a candle for breakfast when I said the light was too bright. I had fun with [...]
