When we started on this adventure we had a very rough plan of our route, especially the latter stages as there were so many unknowns. We really didn't know how many kilometres we could do, we didn't know how we would handle the hills, the weather, living in a tent; we basically had no idea what we were doing. Things have turned out pretty well, and with our flight out of Frankfurt still a number of weeks away, we realised we had a bit of time to hit some more countries and were keen to challenge ourselves with some more hills. Switzerland seemed an obvious choice - chocolate, mountains, stunning scenery and melted cheese, what more could a girl ask for! As we approached the border to Switzerland we came across actual security at the border crossing. This gave me that nervous feeling when you feel guilty even though you haven't done anything wrong, which was completely unnecessary as we were waved through without so much as a second glance. I guess criminal profiling probably doesn't extend to New Zealand cycle tourers...
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| Basel |
With three passes that day and some fairly high temperatures we set off towards a small town named Solothorn. Switzerland has an extensive system of walking, cycling and mountain biking trails which are easy to follow and well signposted. They even have cross country routes that you can do on roller blades, though we haven't yet spotted anyone doing one of these!
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| Up and up... |
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| ...and up |
The one way you can get lost on these cycle trails, even while diligently following the signs, is if you are going in the complete wrong direction. This is what happened to us the next day after hooking back on to the trail from our campsite. We eventually realised something didn't seem right, so turned around and found ourselves almost back at camp about eight kilometres later.
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| Solothorn |
We made it to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, albeit slightly later than planned. We liked the look of the place so decided to spend the next day exploring it properly. We walked into town from our campsite along the River Aare and were surrounded by people walking along in their bathers. The cool thing to do here for people of all ages, shapes and sizes is to jump into the river, sometimes with something floaty, float your way down river, then walk up the path and do it again. We couldn't get over the sheer number of people in the rather swift river, with the national government building providing a picturesque backdrop.
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| Why is no-one at work? |
We had a great day in Bern exploring the city. First up we visited the apartment where Albert Einstein lived while simultaneously working as a patent clerk and working on world changing physic theories in his spare time. Next, we waited around until just before the hour to watch the astronomical clock do its thing (don't bother - that's five minutes of my life I will never get back!) and then wandered over the river to check out the free open air park that is home to four European brown bears. Bern seemed like it would be a nice place to live, especially if you were earning Swiss Francs as it is rather pricey.
I was really excited about our next day cycling to Interlaken as I had read about how stunning the scenery was. After cycling for about half an hour from Bern, we got our first glimpse of those promised mountains in the distance and they did not disappoint. We seemed to cycle a couple of kilometres an hour faster than usual over the day, and were rewarded with a stunning spot over the lake for our lunchtime stop.
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| Not sure about the far left, but in the centre: Finsteraarhorn, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the distance |
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| Yes, those are undies drying on the back |
There was an awesome cycle track next to the highway along the lake with great views the whole time. We were passed by some cyclists in full lycra gear, and I couldn't work out how they were going so much faster than us up the slight hill. Then I realised they were riding electronic bicycles - one of my new pet peeves. I think its great if physically challenged or older people are able to get out and about more with the help of electronic bikes. However, when I see kids on these e-bikes, or people who are pretending to exercise but cruising past hardly turning their pedals I wonder if this is just another way our society is getting less active. Or it may just be that I was annoyed that they passed us...
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| Speiz |
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| Zooming towards Interlaken |
We arrived in Interlaken where we would be the next few days, waiting out some bad weather before heading further into the hills.
- Sarah
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