Switzerland 1976
On holiday in Switzerland with two lads from Belfast, Harry Foy (for the second time) and he had convinced his friend Victor to come as Harry enjoyed it so much the year before and couldn’t get enough of it! We were later joined by another chap from Belfast in St Moritz; he was riding a motorbike and made himself very useful by carrying our baggage each day and pitching our tents before we arrived at our campsite each evening. The only draw back was that I could understand Schweizerdeutsch more readily than broad Ulster English….
Friday 9th July 1976
07.55 train from Crewe to Euston arriving 10.00. Met others at Victoria at 12.30. After lunch and registering the bikes we boarded the train from Victoria at 14.45 to Dover. We left Dover Maritime at 16.45, arriving in Ostend at 20.40
Departing from Ostend after speedy customs and landing regularities on the 20.55 train to Basel. We had the 1st coach and 1st compartment.
Saturday 10th July 1976
We saw our bikes being loaded on to our train at Ostend as they had arrived via Calais. I thought that was impressive! We arrived in Basel SNCF at 05.40 and departed at 06.15 from Basel SBB after going through customs, arrived in Lucerne at 07.30. The bikes arrived at 08.10. I posted off Beet Muller’s parcel of crockery (geschirr) to a Swiss address that I had brought from England to save on his postage. He really risked it, as he knew I was off on a cycling holiday and would need one hand free to steer the bike! It cost him 3.2 Swiss Francs – plus expenses! We had a quick ride around Lucerne old town and left the city at 09.30 and biked alongside the lake. We arrived in Altdorf at 15.30 and stayed ½ an hour and cycled up the lower Gotthard Pass to Schollellen, as it was getting dark. It was a bit risky but hardly any traffic around in the dark as we cycled through Andermatt then along the upper valley to Hospental and booked in at the Youth Hostel at 21.00. It had rained a little today but had soon cleared up.
Sunday 11th July 1976
It was sunny and warm this morning as we left Hospental and out up the higher Gotthard Pass. The snow was not as thick this year. We had a rest at a kurve for oranges (photo C5) then at the summit of the pass (photo C7) we celebrated with ice creams. We met a retired English couple and chatted while we were throwing snowballs and filling our water bottles with ice. Down, down, down to Airolo, slowly because of the cobbles resulting in a shuddering and shaky descent that wreaked havoc on the brakes, not to mention the hands on applying the necessary brake lever pressure. We took plenty of photos of the Val Leventina going down to Airolo (photo C6) where we bought some things for our tea later. We had tea on the Nufenen Pass road at 16.00. Past La Aqua we camped because of Victor’s tiredness. We had supper at 19.00, bean soup and rolls and tea. We pitched the tents in a wood below the road and kipped down at 20.00
Monday 12th July 1976
The weather was cloudy and rainy but some sunshine from Nufenen later in the day. We were up at 07.30 and I was awake at 06.00 as I heard things go bump in the nigh, including Swiss cows on the other side of the river before sleep then blitzen donnerung alles durch den nacht. The cows passed by us before we got up, on our side of the river and too close to the tents. They certainly weren’t shy cows. After a breakfast of Familia flockli and water –ug! (we failed to buy milk) then tea, noodle soup, bread rolls and apricot jam we continued on the upward trek of the Nufenen Pass. It became progressively harder but Harry and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Victor was not enjoying it but enduring it, he needed a lot of encouragement. I left the two half way up the pass and continued on my own to the summit at 8500 feet. I ate a good meal of soup, bread roll with ham and an orange and a Mars bar. I wrote 2 postcards while waiting for the others to arrive. They arrived as soon as I finished and it was there that I decided to go solo later or until Saturday or Sunday when we arranged to meet at 19.00 on either of those evenings at St Moritz Bad youth hostel. Harry and Victor took some photos at the road summit while I arranged the separation of our baggage. Harry lent me his Gaz stove, spare cartridge, elastic strap and pan and returned this to him in St Moritz a few days later. We spun the wheels together down the pass to Ulrichen and stopped to take some photos. We found a campsite at 15.45 after buying some more food for our meals. We split the kitty and I left them at 16.30. They camped in Ulrichen and I cycled on along the sunny road through Obwalden then immediately up the Gletsch but this wasn’t difficult. The road consists of gentle hairpins (kurve) and rocky roadsides as I followed the rack and pinion railway up to Gletsch village. This was to be replaced by a more direct route down the mountainside in a few years but for now the Furka-Oberalp bahn goes through Gletsch. I stopped there to refresh then started the climb up the Furka Pass. It was 10km to the road summit. It started to rain, light at first but it came on a bit stronger as I climbed the pass. There was low cloud but the Rhone Glacier was magnificent even in the rain. It was always in sight as I climbed the pass. I planned to make a stop at the house near the road summit. This turned out to be the Hotel Belvedere and a viewpoint, café and shop at the entrance to the Rhone Glacier ice grotto and caves. I was near the summit here but it was very wet, cloudy and cold but fortunately only drizzling. I soon reached the summit from here. It was too cloudy to take a photo of the actual summit marker but just below is the Hotel Furka (photo ). It was a cold quick descent through the clouds down to Realp at 20.10 and I made a stop to don warmer clothing. From there it was along a straight stretch and into Hospental at 20.40. There were plenty of bikes there that night but I had no trouble obtaining a bed on the top floor. The warden was very pretty and civilized too – spoke English! Supper was bread, meat and coffee and slept in that long wooden cot on the creaky floorboards at 22.00.
Tuesday 13th July 1976
From Hospental to Chur and Arosa today. I met another Englishman at Hospental hostel this morning. He was a student enjoying 8 weeks holiday on a long cycle trek across Europe to Marseilles and had already crossed the Rhone, been to Zurich, Lucerne and now the Gotthard Pass going down into Italian Switzerland (Svizzera) at Lugano then on into Italy. I wish I had 8 weeks, how does he do it? After that he was meeting friends in Marseilles and cruising the Med with them. I met some other cyclists from Hull at 09.30 in Andermatt. These two were very well organised right down to spare tyres. They had achieved 1000 miles in 2 weeks! I left Andermatt at 10.30 and cycled up the Oberalp Pass. On the way up it was very cold, wet and misty at the half way point to the top, however it was clear at the summit. Perhaps the air current from the east had kept the summit clear. The descent was completely different from the bad weather conditions up from Andermatt. The descent to Disentis was warm and exhilarating. The valley scenery of the upper Rhine was fantastic. Eventually I arrived in Chur and took the mountain road up to Arosa.
Sunday
St Moritz to Lake Como
Monday
Lake Como to Locarno
Tuesday
Locarno to Domodossola
Wednesday
Domodossola to Goppenstein / Brig / Kandersteg
Thursday
Kandersteg to Grindlewald
Friday
Grindlewald to past Brunig
Saturday
Short ride into Lucerne and shopping for presents