Saturday 10 August 2013

Via Jacobi (August 10, 2013) - Day 10 Interlaken to Thun

An absolutely great day of walking today...fairly long in the 7+ hour range however the weather was in the low 20's and the walk essentially went around Thuner See.

Last night had an impromptu Skype date with Dawn which was really really nice...very much enjoyed it!

Day started with 6:30 breakfast at Balmers made special by a young Australian noticing the shell on my backpack and asking if I was walking to Santiago...when I answered yes he said "Good on ye mate". Neat start to the day!

Walking out of Interlaken

Walking out of Interlaken

Swiss lakes

The entire day was spent weaving around a spectacular lake called Thuner See...sometimes on forest trails and other times right on the lakeshore. Pictures don't do this area justice...hopefully these provide a good sense of how beautiful this area is...

Lake Thuner

Superb path

Sailboats

Lake Thuner

Quite the road

Engineering marvel

Dangerous animals

Two encounters today...one of which I have concluded posed no danger...the other quite possibly the most dangerous of of the trip. You be the judge!

Likely not dangerous

Unspeakable danger...small lizard on rock

These lizards move so quickly that I wouldn't even have the chance to yell for help. Thankfully it was not necessary this time!

At about noon I stopped at a backeria to see if they sold sandwiches and to ask for directions as I was unsure if I was still on the Via Jacobi. A very nice lady directed me back to the Via Jacobi and...well I bought a cookie and a pear fizzy drink. I gave her a Canadian lapel pin and it turns out her daughter visited Vancouver for 4 days last year and is now crazy about Canada!

At 1:00 I found a coffee shop and bought a tuna sandwich (why do they insist on putting pickles in the sandwich?), an apple drink and something chocolate. Two more Canadian lapel pins. I actually sat down for 15 minutes taking off my backpack! Now many of your are probably saying about time...do that more often. Agreed...however it's hard to explain how the body...feet and shoulders protest harshly when you start up again...best to just keep going most times.

I have concluded that digestive problems for the past two days may have been caused by skipping two essential components of the Canada Food Guide...chocolate and cookies.

Swiss interesting oddities Uphill, gnome and crooked sign pictures

Why! Why! Why! Bother

You would not believe this yard
How did this get approved?

It's been 10 days now and physically doing likely as well as can be expected. My feet and shoulders are protesting...one toenail in particular has decided to go colourful on me. I have read in various forums that it is not uncommon for a toenail to say goodbye along the Way...I will protect as best I can...however.

Daily ritual

Upon arrival at my destination which I target by 3:30 or so the ritual is the same...shower, wash clothes in basin, check emails/blog and then find out what's for supper.

Today the shower part struck me as funny...I have never understood the various uses of hair conditioners, hair shampoos, body wash, pouffee things and just plain soap. So today I used what was available...could not read the label of course. I sort of smell fruity which is a big improvement considering the past number of days sleeping in straw...read next to cow barns!

I am staying at Alfred Hanni's ( did not catch Alfred's wife's name) B&B in Thun. Absolute heaven!

My room!

Adjacent to my room are a couple from Sao Paolo Brazil who were on a 10 day walking tour in the Baltic states and are now visiting Switzerland. I gave them each a Canadian pin and they responded by saying that next year they will visit Canada...she wants to see the fall colours.

Mrs. Hanni's is also having a visit from two young granddaughters...gave them each a Canadian lapel pin and one for Mrs. Hanni...turns out the Hanni's have been to Canada twice...once renting a camper van!

Off to a pizzeria for supper...hope it's good!

Future pilgrims

B&B is about a 20 minute walk from the Via Jacobi trail (used Google maps for the first time...very cool watching the dot (me) move toward the B&B). I am very impressed by the reception received by the Hanni's and the room...55 Swiss francs with breakfast in a large city. Very highly recommended!




4 comments:

  1. Hey Guy,

    Have been looking forward to every days postings,but wondering the weight of Canadian Pins that you have taken ?

    Todd

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Todd,

    Great to hear from you...fair question. Before leaving I debated to take them or not...weigh about 350 grams. Now that I am here I am really glad I took them as it has given me so many opportunities to interact with people in a small way. Given the communication problems it was an easy way to say thanks and get a few smiles. I don't know how many I have left...will have to step up the giving!

    Hope your summer is going well

    Guy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Guy,
    I would watch those swans ... they can be territorial.
    Greg A

    ReplyDelete
  4. Guy,
    Google Maps is a great app, but be aware that it can use up lots of data.

    Also, since you have sent "Bad Elf" home, there are a few tracker apps that you might consider ... "Map my Run" is supposed to be quite good ... There is one called "Map my walk". If any of your family members have iPhones or iPads, there is also an app that can track where you are. I think these apps use minimal data, but may drain your battery faster.

    Greg A.

    ReplyDelete