4/11/24
We slept very well. We were having a short day today. We were still exhausted and were in dire need of a rest day. We booked a stay in the cheapest airbnb we could find where we’d still have independence. Switzerland isn’t cheap and most places were over £100 a night but we found one for £80 in Says for two nights but we’d need to have two more (short) days of cycling first.
We bid Martin goodbye and hit the Lidl, hoping to stock up a little cheaper and then left Austria over a bridge that had lots of now defunct “Zoll” signs and border buildings with no one in them. It looked to be a brighter day from the start as we headed further into Schweiss and away from the fog of the lake.
It started with lots of flat miles on the bank or just below, at first on gravel and then to make it even easier, tarmac. Our legs were grateful and we made swift progress though it wasn’t particularly scenic. The Rhein however looked beautiful despite its unnaturally straight path. Crisp blue water, glacial, flowing over pebbles and currents swirling it in unusual directions.
We left the river (and the noisy motorway) at one point and the route went towards some villages and their somewhat discombobulating backdrop of mountains that altered your sense of proportions. We stopped for lunch and wolfed down some cinnamon rolls too.
It was absolutely idyllic in places, postcard type stuff. Alpine meadows bordered by woodlands and mountains looming behind. Switzerland was inspiring.
There were lots of cows, they looked different to the ones at home. Even easier to anthropomorphise. We liked seeing them but then you notice the fences and restricted areas they have access to. All the farms sell things, rarely vegetables, cheese and meat are widely available. Jam is sometimes there though.
We never left the mountains but we did head back to the river. We even popped into Lichtenstein for a bit. Another three country day! It’s difficult to understand the geography here and how close other countries are from just a map. Coming from Great Britain, where you have to cross water to get to a completely different country, it’s very novel.
We were soon in Sargens. Above Sargens is Wangs, where our warmshowers host lived. She’d explained on her profile that it was a 20% incline for a kilometre to get there. But it’s hard to imagine that until you get there.
Ever since the Black Forest we’ve seen the storage of firewood as more than just necessity, but as a pastime. An obsession to be honest. Often a huge amount stacked carefully in covered shelters or containers and scattered all around the houses.
It was obviously impossible to ride such a gradient. Perhaps on an unloaded mountain bike it would be feasible but it was almost comical how steep it was. It took an age to push the bikes up, though we rode as far as we could.
As we got close we heard a shouting voice waving to us from the building ahead. It was Yvonne who later explained her friend saw us coming up earlier. Yvonne had lived here for almost 30 years with her husband, who we unfortunately didn’t meet as he was out of town.
It was a beautifully renovated farm house that was several hundred years old. With two staircases, an abundance of character and many nooks and crannies. It felt very homely and Yvonne really made us feel that way too.
We ate our dinner, in Switzerland they have their main meal at lunch so Yvonne snacked on home grown apple slices. In fact the children come home from school for lunch everyday. Their lessons end later in the day as a result too.
We stayed up chatting until around 9pm before sleeping in a bed yet again. This was three nights in a row now. Crazy. Yvonne had to be up early in the morning for work so we might not see her but we were to let ourselves out and we were free to have a coffee first. There are some overwhelmingly generous people around.
Surly They Won't Make It 