Via Jacobi (August 9, 2013) - Day 9 Brienzwiler to Interlaken

Last night the young couple from Germany relayed the message from the owner of the Sleep in Straw that the Meisner (?) family had phoned to see how I was doing and wish me good fortune going forward. At first I could not think on anyone that knew where I was...then it hit me that the German family that I had met the last two nights knew where I was heading and that I was in some difficulty yesterday morning.

A very nice gesture on their part!

Farm is a place where horses are kept

Equestrian horse jumping competitions are held

I woke up this morning still feeling after effects from a digestion issue...was not sure whether to stay an extra day or not. When the Sleep in Straw owner mentioned that the nearest pharmacy was in the next town I decided to set off (she received a Canadian lapel pin).

I located the drogerie in Brienz and a young guy really helped me...turns out I was in a natural health store and his recommendation was medication which would immediately help as opposed to the famous brand name that takes 8 hours or....an easy choice and Canadian lapel pins for all 3 people working there.

It was raining this morning right up to 11:30 and I wore my Altus poncho...well I know it keeps the backpack dry but I sometimes think I am more wet inside than outside! Note to self...bad move to have left the backpack only cover at home to save weight!

Overall the day's walk was relatively easy in the 6 hour range and was planned for 25 kms however I know it was more than that...more on this later.

Wooden carvings

There are some amazing wooden carvings seen along the route...a few are shown in pictures...

Fox

Bighorn sheep

Me walking - like this one!

Watchful eye

Flower gardens

Some of the towns I went through today are really outstanding places (Oberried, Ringgenberg)...the kind of places one might like to spend a week relaxing in... A few pictures of these...

What a garden!

Typical house frontage

Beautiful flower display

Black eyed Susan

Yes they are back and today a little disgusting perhaps - Dangerous animal

          

I see these slugs frequently on the trail and have always taken my chances and just side stepped them. They appear to be very slow moving however that may be a clever ruse on the part of this species to catch me at some point...i.e. they may be sending telepathic messages to their brethren later on the trail and then wham...it get's me. I am going to be extra vigilant.

Less than ten minutes after this incident I came across two families where the kids were jumping up and down screaming and one of the mother's was using a stick to push something. I was sure it was the brown animal above however as I passed by it was a very small snake...it was a snaky colour however it could have been an immature black mamba (very dangerous).

On my walk today I came across a very high suspension bridge...having crossed a number of these in Nepal I figured the Swiss bridge was safe...was kind of neat!

Swiss suspension bridge

Dangerous river crossing - note at least one foot above water

Time for simplification

I mentioned earlier that I did not know how far I walked today...that's because my Bad Elf device was not properly charged. As I was walking I thought about the importance of knowing how far I walked that day and seeing the results on Google Earth...concluded that I was simply carrying forward habits built up over many many years and decided to let go. I know I will always walk further than the distance in the guide books...so what.

A box was shipped home for the Bad Elf GPS device, the adaptor, the travelling power bar, sleep sheet ( I have a sleeping bag), tube of Silac cream (1 will be enough), eyeglass fit overs for sun. Around .5 kg of stuff and less hassle...have removed link on blog to Google Earth as well.

Claire, thanks for the eyeglass kit...used it to fix my sunglass fit overs!

Time for gratitude

I keep all my valuable things in a waterproof pouch which I take with me everywhere...guard it like a hawk. Well this morning after I had left for day...a thought came very strongly to stop and look...sure enough my pouch had been left behind. I am very grateful for this assistance.

Future Pilgrims

I am saying in the Balmers Herberge which is billed as the longest running heberge in Europe. It's a neat place, with restaurant and most everything you would need..also have a single room for 43 Swiss francs which includes breakfast tomorrow. Highly recommend...expect it might be a little noisy as I am easily over 2x the average guest's age staying here.