Day 25

The last day of our wonderful bike ride. 

Breakfast was served in a small room with panoramic views over Lake Thun. I was smiling despite this photo which caught me off guard. 

After the last time of packing and sealing pannier bags, unlocking bikes, programming the satnavs, etc, we set off at about half past 9 with only 20 miles ahead of us. Pretty soon, we were cycling on a dedicated path alongside the clear water of the lake. Today is my birthday, and the photo below captures the best present I could ever hope for. Despite everything that has happened, here I was, with Ann, cycling the last few miles of an amazing bike ride, looking at the lake and the mountains!

Our first and only stop of the day, was a 5 minute rest just outside Wilderswil, where we were treated to the sight of an eagle soaring high above us on the lookout for prey. I realise this is a poor photo, zoomed in to the max, but hopefully you get the feeling. It had been nearer before I managed to get the camera out, and we both estimated the wingspan to be about 5 feet.

In Wilderswil, it seemed to be the day of the annual cow show, as the bells were being polished and the cows were being cleaned up. As you can see, the cows were not tethered, but must have been happy as they stood quite still whilst being jet washed:

The old part of the village is very beautiful with wooden chalets and lots of flowers

Leaving the village and heading up the Lauterbrunnen valley, the incline increased and the gear changes started. At the top of one hill, Ann was waiting for me, and I arrived just in time to take this photo, as the Schynige Platte train passed over

Our cycle path was by the fast flowing river, and we stopped to watch 3 canoeists tackle this difficult section. 

Bernard, Rita and Howard had arrived in Wengen yesterday, and were keen to keep up to date with our progress with texts. Our ETA changed a few times, but eventually, it was confidently forecasted to be half past one. At 1:34, we rounded the corner past the Coop and were overwhelmed with our greeting. Kitted out in teeshirts to mark the occasion and waving a chequered flag, were the three of them. But several people had talked to them before our arrival and had joined in the reception committee. Numbers had increased to about 15, but probably doubled as we arrived, as others close by wondered what all the fuss and applause was for!

Once a year in Wengen, the cows are taken down the mountain to graze lower down before winter arrives and the skiing starts. It turns out, today was that day! This would have been the scene outside the Coop if we had arrived two hours earlier

Not only was our welcome brilliant, but I was then presented with a home-baked cake to mark my 56th birthday (and, of course, cards from family) Thank you everyone!

It's been a really good three weeks. Lots of time to think and realise how many good things are in our life. We dedicate the bike ride to absent friends and finish with this photo of some flowers placed today in the great outdoors (by one of our children) in memory of a very dear friend. 

Thank you so much for following the blog and for sending your supportive messages. 

Ann & Paul

Day 24

Today's ride was quite flat, but it certainly was not uneventful. We were on the road by 9, cycling towards low cloud and feeling chilly. After our picnic breakfast stop, and a hot drink, the light rain began and we headed off regardless. Still not cold, still in shorts, but after two hours of it we were feeling a bit miserable. As we navigated through the busy city centre of Bern it was exciting, as our lane also said buses and taxis! Which shall we be today?

We came upon this square as the fountains were spurting higher and higher, and we were so wet anyway, the classic drowned rats, so we cycled through them!

The rain eventually stopped by 1 and we were both blow-dried within an hour. Our route took us over this river, and we noticed the hundreds of padlocks along the bridge, each bearing a lover's message.

This is Paul posing outside Bern Belp airport soon after, thankfully no security procedures were breached.

We were on good cycle paths cutting through the farmlands by now, and I said to Paul that if the next 20 miles were like this, we would be laughing. Well they were, so we did. We had a lovely bowl of soup at a tiny golf club at 3, and then had to stop and greet this chappie with a selfie:

Another river crossing, more like a ravine, and Paul stopped to consider a bungee jump.

It was exactly 4 as we went through Thun, realising that we had to get a wiggle on in order to meet the train at Spiez station at 5.30. Yes, the Three Musketeers were on their way - unhappily for them but not for us their flight was delayed over 2 hours at Manchester. We pedalled furiously, ran in and out of the supermarket, and were so happy to meet and greet them with provisions, as the train pulled in - for 2 whole minutes!! So good to see you Bernard, Rita and Howard!! Thank you!! See you tomorrow.

Our B&B is just beside the station, so we were in and unpacked by 6pm, with a snack in our room and early bed. Here is the final map, with just a few miles to go:

We have learned an awful lot during our ride, and even picked up the lingo when necessary, for instance "Bovi Stop" means cattle grid; "Route Barre" means you will get stuck. (That only happened once as we slipped down a steep grassy verge with the bikes, to cross an enormous construction site for a motorway. Also the time we bumped over pretend Tarmac for a mile as the towpath was being resurfaced.) We have seen, and heard, cattle, horses, sheep and goats wearing bells (no chickens yet).

We have cycled in hot sunshine, wind, drizzle and cloud; on grass, mud, puddles, gravel and over smooth Tarmac; through forests and woods, acres of farmland, crops and wild vegetation; seen houses and towns of beauty and also despair, with simple lives just going on and on. Most of all, we have been in awe, in gratitude, in humility, and totally, totally, in harmony. Thank you, with all my heart. 

Day 23

The hotel we arrived at last night, just outside the village of Studen, is called "Florida", an unusual name for a Swiss hotel, and it is an unusual place. There is a sports/wellness gym with sauna, conference rooms, a mini-golf course, exclusive jewellery store (the ring I chose was only 2351 Chf), and a huge restaurant wrapped around the flamingo and duck filled lake. For our meal last night we felt we were seated in the naughty corner, but tonight we had booked ahead, and had the best spot. Even Mr Florida himself came to take our order, proud of his hesitant English. 

Our room is lovely, with a bath tub, a large TV with all the main English channels, a DVD player with half a dozen films to choose from, shutters on the windows, fantastic! And it rained almost all day.

After a bit of a lie in, and watching some morning TV, we borrowed an umbrella to walk and explore. The only place around was a large furniture store! It was a massive 4 storey place, extremely expensive, and we must have walked a mile just looking. The lady of the house explained that they were an old family firm, here's me standing next to the original delivery van.

And from the upstairs of the furniture store, a view of our hotel: see the tiny white palm tree?

And we walked around the hotel grounds, the lake, and various birds, including a pair of parrots which didn't talk, but shrieked incredibly loudly in reply to anything we said, English, French or German.

Tomorrow is our last full day of cycling. It's been a fantastic experience, and not too difficult, however, it will be good to get the last few miles done. We have cycled 692 miles with about 60 to go, and 44 on the clock tomorrow. Fingers crossed we have missed the rain, and that Paul will sort out his sea of Asda bags before breakfast. 

Paul would like to apologise for a typo last night - it is Mount Snowdon, not Mount Snowden. Any other mistakes you may spot, please do keep to yourself! ............

Day 22

After a usual breakfast, we hung around this morning, hoping to miss out on the rainfall predicted, only leaving at just after ten. We had 48 miles to go today, It was chilly, and I nearly put my long johns on. Unfortunately less than 20 minutes later we had to stop and put on our waterproof trousers. The road was very steep, with hairpin bends, the rain light but persistent, and it was tough looking across the valley to light blue skies. We had done 2 hours, and only covered 10 miles, and that was enough in waterproof pants. It was a nice relief to turn off into a great path through a beautiful National Park.

The next few miles were, according to Poet Paul, "quite pleasant", as we passed through acres of open pastures and farmland, with literally hundreds of cattle and horses grazing together. Even some of the horses have bells on - is this only in Switzerland??

Oh but we had terrible wind today. At the top of this hill I was almost blown over, and we both struggled to make progress as the wind blew us backwards. It was a twister! 

Within another hour we passed through villages and towns, sunshine and showers. At 3ish we got some food at an out-of-nowhere Aldi (!!) and sat on some happy logs for our lunch.

By 5pm we cycled over the beautiful River Aare, and each took a photo - 

The last few miles were right beside the river, some stunning houses each with a boat berthed at the riverside. We arrived at our hotel by six, it is called The Florida!! Quite stunning - and so unexpected to find this luxury - we have a "bath tube" at last! The restaurant was very busy all evening, we had a table with a view over a duck-filled lake, and apparently there are also flamingos! We are keen to see what else is going on here in the morning (late late morning!) but as it is a day off, and rain forecast ALL day, we may not do too much at all. Today the highlight literally was at over 3450 ft (approximately the same elevation at Mount Snowden) we had a high-five, and feel we've earned a rest. The map tonight - 

Day 21

I couldn't sleep last night as I was so excited! Tuesday was going to bring us another international border and a little mountain to climb. 

We had booked breakfast for 8, and found the table set with the usual offerings: two croissants, bread, jams, yoghurt, fruit, and because we had requested hot chocolate, a thermos pot of milk and a big bowl of chocolate powder.

We were away for 8:45, and less than an hour later, reached a very insignificant border crossing. In fact, had it not been a thick black line on the sat nav, we may have not even noticed. As we left the village of Delle, we reached the signpost to indicate the end of France and the start of Switzerland. A map said "Vous etes ici" and marked the ici with an "i" below:

Next to this was another sign, which we decided was the best we were going to get for our selfie of us arriving in Switzerland 630 miles after leaving home:

Ann then did an impromptu celebration by standing on the concrete post!

A few miles further on, I had to pose in front of this fire hydrant. We have a weird friend (you know who you are) who has an interest in the different types of hydrants. Hopefully this one is a good one!

About 12 noon, after a stop at the supermarket, we were ready for the climb. It was only another 9.9 miles to our hotel (usually that would be about an hour away) but today it was 1700' higher than our current elevation. The slope started off quite steadily, and there were still half a dozen more gears available, so no problem. But within a couple of miles, we were in bottom gear, cycling at about walking pace. The problem wasn't the steepness though, it was the fact that the hill was never ending. Normally, when on an up part of a road or track, you can see the top or guess where it is; not with this climb. It just went on for about 5 miles. About half way up, we were warned by a road sign as follows: "Exploitation de Pierre". Maybe Peter was being paid below minimum wage. Or maybe it was a quarry with busy men and machinery everywhere:

As we got nearer to the top, Ann took this picture, saying it has been what she has seen now for twenty days:

Only a couple of hundred feet to our destination. We were ready to stop. It was just after 2pm so we had managed about 4mph for the climb. 

The locals came out to welcome us and even rang their bells:

The hotel stands at 834m above sea level, and the highest point over the Juras tomorrow will be at 1050m (about 3450'). So, from our supermarket stop at lunchtime today, we have done about 2/3rds of the ascent. 

We had a lie down (and both fell asleep!), then went for a short walk before our evening meal. This familiar sight of a small gondola ski-lift round the back of the barn, reminded us where we were!

Our hotel was built in 1906, and is still quite old fashioned, in a nice way. Here's the coving in the dining room!

And to end with, our map. The pin is on Wengen about 100 miles away. We should do most of that on Weds and Friday, with the last bit, including the "get off and push" bit between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen on Saturday morning. 

Day 20

What a strange place we have ended up in today! We seem to have travelled back in time.....

This morning we were on the road by 8.45; having heard thunder, lightning and torrential rain all night, we awoke to sunshine again and were keen to leave. Good plan, as by 10 the sky turned black and we found shelter in the covered eating area of a roadside cafe - which then opened and served us breakfast of crepes and hot chocolate (too much chocolate!). As we finished, the rain stopped and we joined the big Little Dipper, or little Big Dipper of a road. 

After 20miles we took a very important decision, we took a detour. Full marks to Paul today, for navigating us on a completely different route once we chose to leave the road, and find alternative ways. We went through woods for miles, on stony paths and feeling very isolated.

Some parts were like cycling in a muddy river bed, upstream. Yuk.

After we rejoined the road into Hericourt, Paul predicted "a twister" within seconds, and we quickly took cover outside a bank. Please be aware that the cash machine behind me is causing my odd shape!

We continued in the rain, only light by now, and only for another half hour. Spot the deliberate mistake here, as Paul takes a breather under a bridge...

We arrived at our B&B for tonight at 3.30, were shown our room, and then left completely alone as Mrs went out. It felt strange to sit in her garden and eat our snack; cheese, plums & peaches carried all day from the weekend shop, & one stick of bread we got in Hericourt, hurray. That is all we have until tomorrow, petite dejeuner at 8am! And our room is the smallest (we checked, the others are all empty) and the toilet doesn't flush, and there is no bath, again.

These people collect, things, many things - model boats, pictures of boats, model cars, chickens, cats, books, masks, cameras....

A crazy house, for our last night in France! Tomorrow we shall cross into Switzerland and beyond!

The mistake? He was on the wrong side of the road of course.