Posting Back in Time

Zug, Switzerland (J & bikes, bottom right)

Over the last week we took a scenic tour of Switzerland, a major deviation from our original itinerary. The plan had been to ride north from Zurich towards the Rhine, then follow the river west until it turned north, where we would visit Germany and France.

But why not see some of Switzerland? Thomas tried to convince us that it would be no problem to visit the Alps, but we avoided the major passes, claiming that to climb those during our first week on tour with all our gear would have killed us. Instead we opted for 30-40 mile days along rivers, through small towns, and over rolling hills.

Switzerland is fantastic for bicycle riding. There are fairly well marked national and regional routes that link up all over the place. Detailed maps of the regions are posted along the routes, although not at every turnoff, and we had a national bike map with us as well as a couple of regional maps. Detailed maps for cities would have helped us stay on track, but once we got used to the bicycle route signs, we found it pretty easy to find our way from place to place. The maps even indicate severity of climbs and traffic levels on the roadways. Much of our route was on dedicated bicycle paths, some small country roads which are just about one lane wide, and then sometimes we were on 'busy' roads with cars that mostly kept their distance.


The countryside is farmland; wheat, barley, oats, corn, and other beautiful crops line the paths, and we saw quite a lot of cows, sheep, goats, and chickens. Our memories of Switzerland will always be accompanied by the sound of cowbells and the taste of fresh cherries, which we couldn't resist where the trees lined the paths.


We also took at least one swim a day in a river or lake. There is a lot of water in this country, and most of it is very clean.

A very shallow river

A very deep and fast-running river where we walked upstream to get in and then floated down to where we could get out again

We did get one look at the Alps, from near the top of our first Swiss pass, Passwang.

If you look closely, maybe you can see some snowy mountains in the background

Luckily the Swiss make their roads in long, swooping switchbacks, and we made it all the way to the top with just a couple of breaks along the way.

Looking back down to the valley where we came from

The top!

After almost a week, we were in good enough shape to crawl to the top and fly down the other side. Then, of course, we climbed again. It was a big day. Alpine passes will have to wait until the next time we are in Switzerland.

Now we are in Basel for a day of resting and posting. Lila and Erwin (Thomas' parents) are generous hosts and we have already had a great time with them, and eaten a lot of very delicious food. Today, the temperature will reach 34C - way too hot. So perhaps we will make it to the Rhine for a swim.

Camping in Switzerland

Sunny days make us tan and turn Joshua into a pirate

For most of our time in Switzerland we camped in campgrounds. There was always space, if only a grassy spot between no-longer-mobile homes. People must find these campgrounds with their mobile homes and decide they'd like to just stay. We saw a lot of this, each campground was mostly stationary mobile homes, with a couple of grassy areas for tent camping.

Our neighbor one night in Schupfheim

We also spent two nights up in the Emmenthal hills, 1000m, at Balmeggberg. A clan of friendly people have built a somewhat self-sufficient community, complete with yurts, composting toilets, solar showers, beautiful vegetable gardens, chickens, and a projector and sheet strung up for watching World Cup games in the barn. Emily, Thomas, and Max came up for the second night, when we were blessed with some cooling rain, and we camped on top of the chicken coop - one of the few flat spots on the property.

Chicken coop camping, tiny tent to the right

After Balmeggberg we headed further west, with Emily, Thomas, and Max in the trailer. We rode into Brenzikofen just as a rain started to loom from across the fields. We set up our tents in a hurry and Joshua and Thomas used the bicycles to put up our handy tarp as a fort where we had dinner. The rain didn't last very long, but it wet everything except our gear and our lovely fort, which Max called The Restaurant. Homemade sun-dried tomato pesto with pasta for dinner... mmmm.

Campsite Brenzikofen, tarp shelter on right

Lots of laughing in the fort (Emily & Joshua)

Thomas and Max

The following morning, Emily had to head back to Zurich, but Max and Thomas stayed with us for the day of riding to Bern, where they took the train back to Zurich.

After a fantastic night of sleep, the team is ready to depart

Our first view of the Aare River, which we will follow for the next few days

After toiling mightily, Max passes out exhausted

The cashimere chicken picked some chamomile for tea later

Another awesome Swiss bicycle path

After we left Bern, which is an amazing old city, we rode through the park/forest to Hinterkappelen to camp. We had another beautiful river day along the Aare. We stopped for quite a while at the bike shop in Aarberg, another beautiful old town. Ramona got a fancy handlebar bag.

Aarberg

Moo

We camped in Staad, and then had a huge day where we decided to go over the mountains instead of around via the river. Then had our first 'wild camping' experience, when we ran out of steam at the bottom of the pass. It was after 6pm and we had already ridden about 60k. Joshua took a look around and found a little hidden spot in the trees.

Solothurn

Internet connections have been few and far between. We have lots of stories to share. Here is a picture of the fountain in the platz in Solothurn.




:: rolling post. ride on.

Altreu

After our night in Staad, we thought of staying another night in Altreu, just a few km down the path - Joshua hadn't been feeling well the night before and Altreu is the Swiss hang out (nesting spot) for Storks! So here are a couple of shots from our ride through town. We stopped at the little museum and took our time checking out the stork nests, which were all over town, but we just rolled through rather than staying the night.

Sick in Staad

I went to bed grumpy in Hinterkapellen outside of Bern and did not sleep well. We covered a lot of kilometers and I felt like I was dragging all day. When we finally got Staad, i took a shower and immediately fell into a terrible fever. Ramona saved me from certain death by waking me every 15 minutes to drink water and take some pills. By morning I felt much better.
We did 80k the next day. Next to us camped a father and his 2 daughters 9 and 11. He pulled a trailer with the gear and the girls rode their own bicycles. It was inspiring. He said that his daughters asked for the trip.

They had eggs for breakfast which made me think we could have eggs for breakfast too.

:: rolling post. ride on.

That was mama's choco-cookie

Schupfheim

Quote of the day: "I almost cried happy tears when he said it was only 18 CHF for camping."

This was our second day on tour in Switzerland and it was a HUGE day for us. I believe we both despaired of arriving in Schupheim.


:: rolling post. ride on.