Monthly Archives: November 2022

Sevilla, Spain

Wednesday 30th November 2022
Today we decided to spend the morning with Shona and Mark exploring the city of Sevilla. It was a lovely Old Town with many, many churches, a bull-ring arena, palaces and a wooden mushroom. We walked for hours and hours. We then enjoyed a lunch of mixed paella, Sevilla pizza and a variety of desserts. It was a very nice lunch. We then headed to the Cathedral (12 euro each) which was magnificent. The opulence was beyond belief. There were little alcoves in all directions with all different artefacts (chalices, tabernacles, vestments) plus statues, paintings and many, many altars. We then walked up the ramps of the tower. The view on every level as we went up the ramps was different. At the top the cityscape was spectacular. Church spires everywhere along with the many white buildings made for a very beautiful view. There were many bells at the top of the tower and we were lucky enough to have them ring whilst we were up there. We said goodbye to Shona and Mark at about 4.30pm as they are ontheir way to Cordoba tonight. We have decided it is too late to continue anywhere today, so we booked another apartment and continued touring the rest of the city. We walked down by the river, to the golden tower, then to Spain Square which was a magnificent building with amazing ceramic ornamental railings and then we walked back to our hotel. We managed to secure tickets to the Flamenco performance (34 euro each for premium tickets with a drink) at Teatro Flamenco. We had enough time to collect our bags from the car, checkin to our apartment, get changed and head straight to the theatre. We had fantastic reserved seats and enjoyed the performance immensely. There were four female and one male flamneco dancers, two singers and an amazing guitarist. Flamenco dancing is like an aggressive tap dancing with clapping, strong movements and skirt twirling. The performance was amazing. We both enjoyed the hour show immensely. We came out to wet pavements, it must have rained whilst we were in the show. We enjoyed pizza by the piece for dinner (2.50 euro a piece) and a cookie each. We walked passed a few more amazing buildings on the way home. We have had a very full day and night and are totally exhausted. We have done a few calculations on ways to get m]back to Benny over the next 6 days and they are both very long. Directly through Spain and France is 2656km 25hrs or through Portugal, Spain and France is 3435km 33 hours drive. Either option is a very long way over the next 5 or days. Eekkkk! Looks like I will have to do some more driving. Wish us luck!

Gibraltar to Sevilla, via Cadiz to Sevilla Spain

Tuesday 29th November 2022
We are now dragging the chain a little. Too tired to plan the night before we are still deciding where we are going at 10am this morning. With no decision made we decided to just head west towards Portugal and see how far we get. We went the coast road and the scenery was beautiful again. We passed a huge wind farm and then a large solar farm, some lovely villages atop a hill with the church centre and prominent. We came across a town called Cadiz over a large spit which looked interesting as we drove through, so we found a parking spot and went for a walk. There was some beautiful colourful buildings, a cathedral and an amazing coastline which we walked along. David enjoyed watching the swell and was missing paddling. We walked further along the coastline and out along a raised path to San Sebastian castle, unfortunately this was closed so we could only look at it from outside the gate. We walked back to the car and headed on our way again. I made contact with Shona and Mark, our desert travellers and friends from Avoca who were at Sevilla tonight and we organised to meet up. They are staying in a 2 BR apartment which they offered for us to share. We arrived at Sevilla (Seville) at about 5.30pm, found a 24 hour parking garage (25 euro for 24 hrs) and joined them in the Old Town of Sevilla. We had a chat and headed out for tapas for dinner. We tried a couple of unusual dishes with potato, tuna, cheese, ham and capsicum. It was quite a nice meal, although definitely not enough food for the boys. Neither of them were fussed on ordering anymore so hopefully DB doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night hungry. We sat around chatting until late when David found a free flamenco dancing place that had a show at 11pm for 90mins. So at 11.45pm we headed out to find it. Unfortunately when we arrived it had just closed, so we missed out on this one. Maybe next time. We haven’t made it to Portugal yet, but we are getting closer.

Malaga Spain via Gibralta UK to La Linea Spain update

Monday 28th November 2022
Sorry this is so late!
We had a very busy day, we were still deciding where to go this morning as the last couple of days had caught up with us. Finally we decided we would head to Gibraltar. So off we went, the drive was about 2 hours from where we were in Torremolinos and was very scenic. The white buildings contrrasting with the landscape, it was very pretty. When we arrived at La Linea we parked in the Sta Barbara Parking station and walked to Gibraltar. This is part of the UK so we had to go through a border check and had our passport stamped for exiting the Spain. We continued our walk to the city centre, walking across the tarmac of the airstrip and up the main shopping street which had the usual boutique shops, lots of Christmas lights and decorations. After a quick stop at the tourist informations for a map we headed on our way to the summit of the Rock of Gibralta. We encountered a couple of obstacles along the road by the way of road closures and no entry signs which extended the start of our walk along the streets but we finally made it to the Nature Park (entry 16 pounds each). We started the walk at the Jewish Cemeterry and then went up the side of the cliff along a trail with amazing views of the ocean, passed wild macaques who were right on the trail rock walls. A bit too close for comfort for me. A local suggested we carry a rock in case they came to close or tried to get too friendly and to advance on them if they did. Nice hints for the unaware tourist. We contnued the hike up, I think it was about 480m of elevation by the time we reached the top. We enjoyed the view up there and got talking to a couple from Australia who had also made a quick dash from Faro in the south of Portugal to go to the tennis on Sunday as well. Not quite as mad as us as it is only about 4 hours, but very patriotic all the same. We then headed down the other side of the rock along road trails to the sights along the way. One of these was St Michaels Cave, which was a hig cavern with stalactites and stalagmites, an amazing light show and they even have performances in there. It was very interesting and pretty. It has a lot of history. We encountered some more monkeys that werre fed by the tour guide/taxi drivers to sit on tourists shoulders and they were very active. A bit too active for me. We the went to the skywalk which was a glass bottomed shelf out over the cliff. Then to the suspension bridge. Unfortunately by the time we got to the underground seige tunnels and the Moorish Castle they were closed. We then continued our walk back through the border control to the car. We hiked for almost 7 hours and 16km all around Gibraltar. It was a great day. We found some dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and headed to our hotel. We were both totally shattered. I couldn’t even download my photos nor type my blog. So sorry it is a couple of days late.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and headland, on Spain’s south coast and is self-governing in all matters but defense.. It’s dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426m-high limestone ridge. First settled by the Moors in the Middle Ages and later ruled by Spain, the outpost was ceded to the British in 1713. Layers of fortifications include the remains of a 14th-century Moorish Castle and the 18th century Great Siege Tunnels, which were expanded in WWII. Gibraltar is most famous for The Rock of Gibraltar, a 426 meter high limestone rock rising out of the sea. The rock can be seen for many miles. It is home to the Barbary Apes, a type of tail-less macaque which are the only wild monkeys in Europe. English is the official language of Gibraltar but many people also speak Spanish and the local language, which is called Llanito and has a mix of Mediterranean words in it.”

Davis Cup – Malaga, Spain

Sunday 27th November 2022
Well, so much for a good night sleep. Our hotel is party central, live music, dancing and lots of noisy revelry. It took me until about 2am to get to sleep and David wasn’t much better. Our plan didn’t quite go to plan but we are excited to go and watch the Aussies in the Davis Cup Final. Yeehah!

We head out for a quick walk along the foreshore at Torremolinos. It is a mediterranean Surfers Paradise with grey sand and no waves. We head back by 11am and decide we need to be on our way by 11.30am even though it is only 15mins drive away. we don’t know where the parking is, how many people to expect and the receptionist said it will be hectic.

When we reach the stadium we have no idea where to go so we do a 360° of the roundabout and see some people heading in to a dirt patch on the side of the road about a 5 min walk to the stadium, so we follow them. It was perfect, we park the car, have a quick bite to eat and a cocoa cola to keep us awake and head over to the tennis stadium.

The vibe is pumping, live music, food stands and people everywhere. We have a chat to one of the few Aussie groups we see, they have been here all week watching the Aussies. We get in trouble for our lack of green/gold clothes but we explain we didn’t know we were coming. We manage to find a couple of Aussie flags, don on our Avoca club caps and join in the celebrations. It was fantastic.

At about 12.30pm we head in side. It was very exciting, the music was pumping inside as well and the adrenalin starts to flow. We are both all smiles and ready to support the Aussies in their difficult task today. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be today. Thanasi Kokkinakis (rank 95) was out played by his opponent Denis Shapovalov (18) from Canada 6-2 6-4, then Felix Auger-Aliassime (rank 6) beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur (rank 24) 6-3 6-4, Alex had a few chances to break Felix’s serve but he pulled out the big ones and even though there was some really good tennis, we lost in 2 rubbers. That meant the doubles decider was not required. We had a great day, the atmosphere was really good especially when there was a long rally and great skill. We are still really happy we made the drive yesterday.

We came home for a little rest before heading our for dinner. We tried grilled sardines on suggestion from the hotel and then a seafood paella. They were both really good. I shouldn’t have had the tiramisu but I did. It was very nice.

Toulouse France to Torremolinos (near Málaga) Spain

Saturday 26th November 2022
Never say never. We had plans to hike the French Pyrenees today and tomorrow, but whilst David was keeping abreast with the news, we saw that Australia had won the semi finals of the Davis Cup and the final is on tomorrow in Málaga in France. After a little investigation about distances, tickets and accommodation, we decided to give it a go.

So we booked our tickets, a little expensive (150 euro each) but we decided you only live once and we might win our first Davis Cup in 19 years. So off we go as quick as we can (about 10am) as it was a very long way to drive. 1336km and about 13 hours was the google estimate. Initially we thought we would drive for about 9 hours today and then do 4 hours on Sunday before the tennis starts at 1pm. After a few of hours driving we decided maybe we should just go the whole way and have a sleep in, in the morning rather than 2 days of driving and the stress of getting there on time. So I booked some accommodation about 15mins south of the tennis and we were set. We drove from Toulouse to the border near San Sebastián in Spain (about 300km) and we paid about 25 euro in tolls. The scenery of the French Pyrenees was spectacular. Snow-capped mountain range at its best. It was the most spectacular drive. We then drove from the north of Spain border with France all the way to Torremolinos near Málaga which was almost 1000km and the Spanish tolls were only 15 euro. The roads were fantastic and I managed to drive for almost 4 hours. I did an hour before San Sebastián and then another few hours between San Sebastián and Madrid. Bailing at 4.445 when we were about 30km out of Madrid. This gave David the very hectic peak time through a major city. Lucky he is a legend.

We enjoyed some beautiful scenery although Spain was a lot browner than the lush green fields of Switzerland.

We managed to find a truckers type cafe at about 7.30pm, have an almost quick hamburger and chips (only 4.50 euro each) Spain is so cheap for food compared to Switzerland. My first communication in Spanish, which was a bit tricky. We learnt the basics again (Hola, Adios, Gracias, Por-favor, Lo siento, Si and No) our few mandatory words, which usually give whoever we are talking to a chuckle.

David continued driving and we arrived at our hotel in Torremolinos at 11pm. A great effort for such a long way. A few quick pitstops and driver changes, lunch on the way. It is the first time we have driven this far in one day in a very long time. It was awesome to have made it. We will try for a good nights sleep and a sleep in for the tennis tomorrow.

Annecy to Toulouse France

Friday 25th November 2022
Well, decisions didn’t come any easier this morning. We know we are too late to head to Portugal as it is a full 2 days to drive to the southern most part and then we only have 6 days to explore to northern Portugal and then we have a full 3 days drive back to Benny’s. Oh well, we haven’t ruled it out yet, the weather is inclement for today so we decided to head south west towards the French Pyrenees and see what develops. We went to the Spanish Pyrenees in 2016 which we really enjoyed, so hopefully we can find a walk or two that aren’t under snow before we continue on again.

So we had a big day driving as the map will show you, through beautiful countryside, amazing snow-capped mountains, it was sunny and dry one minute, pouring rain the next, and a lot of drizzling rain. After David got us through Lyon where there was so much traffic, I had a drive for about an hour until the rain was torrential and I could hardly see. David took over for a while and then I drove again for about 40mins. That was a big increase on my last effort and was enough to give David a little break. We finished the day in peak hour traffic driving through the centre of Toulouse which has a population of about 500,000. It was hectic, dark and raining. David survived it, so after 8hrs 44mins we had travelled 694km further away from Benny and spent over 50 euro on tolls. France really hits you hard.. We are now 1492km from his home and 15 hours drive time.

 

Thoiry to Annecy France via Geneva Switzerland

Thursday 24th November 2022
Happy birthday Paul, Hope you have a great day.
The sky is a little blue this morning so we drive back to in to Geneva for a walk around the city. It is quite a lovely city but I am disappointed to not see it under lights last night. We walked along the waterfront, through the Christmas Markets in the park, passed the fountain again and then into the city centre. We saw the cathedral, the town hall, many fancy shops, lots of specialty chocolate shops (we even went in one and bought 10 chocolates for 12.20CHF, about 2AUD each). David said he would have to say “They are very good chocolates” swiftly followed by “They are also very over-priced”. Hehehe! Surprise, surprise. It was a lovely walk as we just meandered around the city, happening upon the tourist spots along the way. We returned to the car park which was located in a very good spot but at a cost as usual. Only 10CHF for 3 hours. As always David doesn’t like this cost, but for me it is about the ease of doing what we want. We could have parked for free at CERN and done Park and Ride but that cost more and was more time consuming. So I see it as a win, win situation, I just need to blindfold DB when I pay for the parking. Mind you, this holidays he has been a lot more accepting of extra costs, which is amazing. The parking station was a very tight squeeze, don’t know how we got out of there without any damage.

We then drove to a little town called Annecy in France. A place with fond memories from 2014. We enjoyed a walk around the Old Town plus the Christmas markets. We tried a Sugared Bretzel which was quite nice, a lot nicer than the savoury ones. Then headed home to our apartment for dinner.

We are struggling with a decision as to where we will head next. Tomorrow’s forecast is for rain so our walk to La Tournette summit at Montmin is out, which is a shame. That was a revisit to a summit we didn’t reach last time because of the weather and we were running out of time. Also there may be snow at the top. Oh well, when we went to sleep a decision had not been made. We are getting worse. We think we may have left our run to Portugal a little late.

Evian les Bains France via Geneva Switzerland to Thoiry France

Wednesday 23rd November 2022
We slept last night in France and today we will go back in to Switzerland and then more than likely we will sleep in France again. The small distances required for travel to more than halve the cost is worth the miniscule effort.

Firstly, we will have a walk around the town of Evian les Bains on the banks of Lake Geneva. This is where the Evian mineral water comes from. We walked through the main street which had some lovely buildings and many driftwood sculptures which are on display from the beginning of December for a few weeks. It was interesting to listen to a new language again. We then walked to the Cachat Source in town and like all tourists filled our water bottle with spring water, drank from the continuous stream of water and watched the locals fill their supply of water into portable water bottles. One man had about a dozen 1.5 litre bottles he filled and carried home, we assume. It is said to have healing properties and assists with kidney ailments. I need to bottle it and bring it home for you Mum. We then walked through done to the lakefront and continued a lovely walk back to the car. The buildings were again lovely, there were many more sculptures and we even passed an outdoor olympic pool with diving platforms into the lake. It was then time to sample a pastry again justy because we are in France. A scrumptious plain croissant. It was as expected delicious. It makes the ones from anywhere else left wanting.

We then drove for about an hour through the city of Geneva. Back in Switzerland again. They are all set up for the Christmas markets and we are hoping to do a night walk tonight, weather permitting. We have now gone to CERN which is the location of the Large Hadron Collider e. David is very excited and hopes to do a guided tour. They only take 14 people and you can’t book, you just turn up and register and if you are lucky you get to go. Well he came back from the reception with a big smile on his face. He has registered for the next tour in 30mins. Yay!. Before his tour we had a look at the “Universe of Particles” exhibition. This was enough for me and I left David to enjoy his afternoon of brain exhaustion.

CERN prompted conversation with us this morning that always ends the same way. It starts out with David explaining in the most basic level and terms about atoms, elements, protons, electrons and neutrons. After a while it gets too difficult for me and I always end up with the same response – that it interferes with my belief in God and because it is so scientific and a bit beyond the average persons understanding I struggle with it. I always end up asking “Why people need to know all the detail about, Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we?”, instead of just enjoying life and what it has to offer. I just simplify it, and when I wonder those questions I just answer myself with “Wasn’t God incredible to create such an amazing world.” For David it doesn’t cut it and we laugh about our differences. It also makes me feel quite naive and to put it bluntly “Stupid”. Oh well, I also feel a little sad that it is just too difficult and wonder how many people are on my level and how many are on David’s, but there are more that are also way beyond his level of understanding. Anyway. He is on his tour and I will let you know how it goes later with my 2nd instalment of today when I have internet reception.

“The Cachat spring – formerly known as the Saint Catherine Fountain – is the most famous of the many natural sources in Evian. Built in 1903, at the same time as the pump room opposite, the spring runs all year at a constant temperature of 11.6C. This mineral water spring is why Evian is known all over the world. It is named after Gabriel Cachat, owner of the garden in which it flowed at the end of the 18th century. The therapeutic qualities of the water were discovered by Count Jean-Charles de Laizer, an aristocrat from Auvergne. Fleeing the French Revolution, he stayed in Evian from June 1790 to September 1792 at Gabriel Cachat’s home and drank the water every day. His kidney stones, having made him suffer for years, disappeared rapidly. Analyzed as early as 1807, this water was recommended as a cure for kidney and bladder diseases and became increasingly popular as table water from the 1860s onwards. The Cachat Spring belongs to the Evian mineral water company.”

“Jet d’Eau, literally meaning ‘water jet’, is the huge Fountain on the Geneva Lake, in the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Jet d’Eau is one of the tallest fountain in the world. Originally, in 1886 they built the fountain to control and release the excess pressure of a hydraulic plant at La Coulouvrenière. Shortly it became remarkable symbol of the city and so it was amplified and relocated to the center of the Lake. The Fountain presence gives the power to the place, every time you look on its majesty you are reminded that you are in the powerful and well organized country. Soon after being finished, the fountain became the symbol of strength, ambition and vitality of Geneva and Switzerland. Its strong engines pump 500 liters of water per second to the height of 140 metres.”

“Universe of Particles, CERN.
Everything in the Universe is made of particles. Where do they come from? What is the origin of the laws of Nature? At CERN, the Large Hadron Collider – the most powerful accelerator ever built – provides a unique tool for scientists from more than 100 nations around the world. Collisions produce new particles that are studied using giant detectors, to give us more insight into the mysteries of the Universe. Find out more about the fascinating world of the smallest and the largest dimensions.”

I had a quiet afternoon reading in the car whilst David really enjoyed his tour of the CERN facility – a definite science nerds experience. He visited the Synchrocyclotron – CERN’s first accelerator which was operated between 1957 and 1990. He also went to the ATLAS Visitor Centre and he watched a couple of videos, one proving the existence of the Higgs Boson. If you need any more detail you will have to ask David about it.

We had intended to walk around Geneva tonight but the weather had other plans for us. We are having a quiet night in, out of the rain.

Wilderswil, Bern Highlands Switzerland to Evian Les Bains France

Tuesday 22nd November 2022
Decision day again. We are not getting any better at these.

After much deliberation, we decided to move on from our comfortable little apartment in Wilderswil. The light snow falls each night have increased the white on the snow-capped mountains and it is getting more and more beautiful everyday. The temperature is pretty cold and damp most of they.

Before we leave the area we drive to the small village of Lauterbrunnen.
“When it comes to quintessential alpine villages in Switzerland, Lauterbrunnen really hits the mark. Dotted with chalet-style houses and surrounded by green fields and towering, snow-capped mountains, there is surely no village in Switzerland that is more picturesque. On arrival in the village, one of the first things you will notice are the huge rock faces surrounding the town. Nestled in a valley, the village sits surrounded by these huge cliff faces from which 72 waterfalls spill over. Each morning you wake to the soothing sounds of water rushing over the rocks. The Lauterbrunnen waterfalls are a real feature of the town and are a tourist attraction in their own right. The region’s three well-known mountains – Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau – can all be seen from the village, with Lauterbrunnen the main gateway to the Jungfrau.”

We enjoy a walk from the village into the valley, passed the Staubbach waterfall and continue for another 3km before turning back. We see an amazing glacier, a high village, beautiful green pastures on the farms and the most magnificent sheer cliff and snow-capped mountains. It was a morning of true beauty. We then returned to the car and drove to Interlaken where we looked at the Catholic Church and Castle Church, both these buildings were magnificent.

We then drove along the southern edge of Lake Thun, where we enjoyed the picturesque views of the little villages, the lake and the beautiful snow-capped mountains. It truly is a magical place. We headed to Thun and then further around the Lake to Oberhofen. We decided to have another walk around the lake to Oberhofen Castle. Another magnificent building, with picturesque gardens on the beautiful Thunersee (Lake Thun). Another wonderful afternoon spent in beautiful Switzerland.

Well its 4pm and over time for us to be on our way to our new home. We have to travel north to Bern, which we have un=fortunately run out of time to visit. It is a bit problematic as no cars are allowed ion the town, so we decide to give it a miss. Our next stop is at Evian Les Bains which is in France and located on Lac Léman. “Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman) is a crescent-shaped lake shared between France and Switzerland, and overlooked by the Alps. Geneva, the Swiss city at its southern tip, is a diplomatic hub with luxury shops and a cobbled old town. On the southern, French side, is the spa town and resort of Évian-les-Bains. The chic, palm-studded Swiss Riviera stretches along the north shore from Lausanne to Montreux.”  We didn’t realise that this is where Evian water comes from. Apparently they produce 6 million bottles of water a day and have committed to only using recycled plastic for their water bottles by 2025. We will explore a little here tomorrow before heading on to who knows where.

We will keep you posted soon.

Wilderswil – Bern Highlands Switzerland – Day 2

Monday 21st November 2022
The plan was to be at the tourist information as early as possible as they open at 8am. Unfortunately I didn’t wake until 8.20am, so not the start we were after. Oops!

After a little more research we were finally parked at Interlaken Ost and on our way at 11am. A bit later than we were hoping for. Oh well.

The first part of the hike was a lovely, easy walk through Interlaken, a nice little town with many beautiful buildings, a river, church and snow-capped mountains inn every direction. It truly was beautiful.

Stage two was the start of the hike up to Harderkulm which was to an altitude of 1323m from Interlaken at 580m. Eek! I had forgotten that we had to climb at least 753m and it started up, up and up straight away. We have been taking it easy at Benny’s for the last week, with a couple of city and forest walks but not much else since our waterfall walk at Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia. The last decent hike up to elevation was back at Orebic in Croatia on 2nd November. Way too long ago. It is amazing how quickly your fitness deserts you. I am definitely out of practise and I suffered most of the way up which was for about 2.5 hours. As always when I am having a struggle, it makes it very difficult for David as well. He has to continually wait for me. He also gives me the option to return to the bottom and catch the train up. The train cost was ludicrous (13 CHF each, each way, so 52 CHF – which is about 82AUD) which always makes me struggle to quit. One day it will happen but at this stage I would prefer to struggle a little, or in today’s case – a lot. Apart from the pain, it was a lovely hike, albeit, up, up and up some more. Followed by some more up, up and up again. It was interesting to see that we were passed by about 5 people, which is unusual. David kept catching them, then had to wait for me to catch up, so we really never passed anyone today. The views of Interlaken and the snow-capped mountains were spectacular.

We finally made it to Harderkulm at 1323m above sea level at about 1.40pm. We were surprised at how many tourists were at the top, most having taken the train. After enjoying the view, taking a few pictures we found a seat to have our packed lunch. We then went in. to the restaurant and had a hot drink (5.80 CHF) and some hot chips (9.50 CHF) – we had to ignore the prices as we knew it would be expensive, as Switzerland is but it is hard to cope with. I just tell DB to close his eyes and ignore. So it was 21.10 CHF which is 33.80AUD. Ouch!! After enjoying our snack and a little warmth we headed on our way.

Stage three was another climb, shortened a little due to my tardiness and the time. We got on our way at about 2.30pm, sunset was 4.51pm and last light was 5.24pm, so the clock was definitely ticking. We had another 252m elevation to 1585m at Wannachnubil lookout which was a 360° view. it was spectacular. I managed this climb a little better, aided by a stop to talk to an Irish man and Swiss woman along the way. We were in snow for sections of this stage but it was okay, the mud was more slippery than the snow. At Wannachnubil we enjoyed the beautiful view for 10 or 15 minutes then continued on our way. We had to return back the same way for a bit which was down 40m and back up to 1652m, our highest point today.

Stage four was the trip back down from 1652m to Goldswil at 638m and by this time it was 4pm, So we had to get a wriggle on. It was quite steep, with slippery mud, loose leaves and rocks and a little snow. We enjoyed the views of Thunsee, Brienzersee, the snow-capped mountains and the city of Interlaken along the way. It was hard going and took us about 2 hours to get down to Goldswil. Lucky we always pack our head torches as by now it was very dark. We then had 30mins of city walking to the car at Interlaken. I wanted to see the city at night, so my wish was answered today, even though it wasn’t planned. It was very pretty. Only 15.50 CHF for parking. So a not too expensive day but we won’t tell David the total cost even though he knows how much it is, he prefers not to be reminded.

We arrive home totally exhausted with very sore knees from the constant downhill slog and very tired legs. Lucky we have a reheat for dinner tonight. We enjoy our beautiful apartment for tonight and need to plan tomorrow’s adventure or travels. Not sure where to yet!