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.