Swiss Cycling Tour, April 1988
Saturday 30th April 1988 Holmes Chapel to Lille
Ferry dispute with P&O and all English Sealink boats out of action because full compliments of crews couldn’t be found for the ships. Left Holmes Chapel at 10.09 left Crewe at 11.11, via Kensington Olympia and arrived in Dover Priory at 15.45. (There was a delay at Rugby due to signal failure) Rang Mum to ring Ruth (family at Helen’s house helping her to move). The ferry was only ½ late leaving – longer delays were expected. The boat left at 17.00 (18.00 French time) and arrived in Calais at 19.25. I passed quickly through customs, waived through. I backtracked along the road looking for Gare Calais Ville. I came in at the wrong end, over some ballast to the platform but no matter, cycled along the platform and found the train for Basel on another platform. I hoisted the bike into the guard’s van, shouldering it in up the carriage steps. I paid 10.00SF (no French Francs with me) for the bike supplement then settled back as far as Basel. It was dark when I reached Lille, 1-½ hours away from Calais.
Sunday 1st May 1988 Lille to Lugano
I didn’t get much sleep on the train. I had an Ovalmaltine at Basel SBB station, 2.00SF and paid 5.00SF to register the bike from Basel to Chiasso on the Holland Express. It arrived 15 minutes late, timed for 06.08 and left at 06.25, arriving in Lucerne at 07.25. I washed on the train. It was a bit crowded but I found plenty of space further down. It was cloudy along the lake but there was an even bigger surprise south of the Gotthard – it was raining in Airolo and continued all the way to Chiasso. I arrived there at 10.30 in gentle drizzle. I cycled out along to the frontier where the rain went off. I rode out along the lake from Como towards Menaggio on the quiet road. I stopped a few times to take photos. One English motorist passed me and honked. Only other foreign tourists were German, but not many. There are good views along Lake Como but it became increasingly cloudy and eventually rained again. I went inside a church on the lakeside and settled down to pray and commit the holiday to God, prayed that the rain might stop, as I didn’t want a few days spent in this. I went out 10 minutes later and the weather was bright and sunny! Coincidence maybe but faith works. Sang in the sun all the way to Menaggio. I stopped for a pizza, pastry and coffee (5000 lire) turned away from the lake in Menaggio and up the hill for the Swiss border heading for Gandria and eventually to Lugano. I stopped to take a photo at Porlezza of Gandria and along the lake looking south. I was waived through at the border. Stopped at Gandria and took the 450 steps down to the jetty. I took two photos and had an ice cream (1.20SF). Sweep down to Lugano from here and overshot the station to get my directions to the hostel at Crocifisso, so made my weary way back up the hill again. I booked in at the hostel, 10.00SF + 2.00SF for sleep sheet + 4.50SF for breakfast. I met a Dutchman at the hostel who told me a good idea for a local ride would be to take the road over to Morcote over San Salvatore and round to Figino and back over the top. This would be perfect in the bad weather as the roads are mainly sheltered under the trees. That evening I went down to the centre of Lugano with a New Zealander where we ate relatively cheaply in a restaurant for 9.50SF and finished off with an ice cream. I shared a room with these two and a Brazilian footballer looking for a contract in Lugano.
Monday 2nd May 1988 Lugano – Morcote – Figino – Lugano
Took a short trip over the hills on the Figino peninsula north of Lake Lugano. It was dry at the top but wet along the lake. There are some rich properties on the hillsides above the lake. The day was very cloudy and scenery almost non-existent. Out for a meal with the Dutchman from the hostel, Peter Van Dinter that evening. I had spaghetti Bolognese (15.00SF). This was the second night at the Lugano hostel. Shopped at a Migros in Morcote, Cakes, milk, yoghurt and biscuits (4.10SF)
Tuesday 3rd May 1988 Lugano to Lucerne
Bikes loaded into Peter’s car. We heard that the weather was better north of the Alps so we bundled them in and drove on the main Gotthard road to Airolo and through the Gotthard tunnel on the autobahn to Wassen. He dropped me off here where I was on my own again for a ride up the Gotthard Pass from the south starting from Wassen. I cycled up through Goschenen, the Reusseschluct and into Andermatt. I had a beer and a coffee here and bought three postcards and posted them to Ruth, Petra and Hans. On along the plateau to Hospental, which was as far as I, could go and turned back down the mountain from there. A new road now avoids the village centre and continues to the summit of the Gotthard to the left of the original old road that goes through the centre of the village. There was not much traffic going up the Gotthard as the road was closed until 22nd May from Hospental. There was drizzle on the way up but on the plateau it was dry. The sun was out at the top and the conditions were dry on the descent except for a short sudden shower at Wassen. There are new road works here. I could see that one of the pillars had sunk below the autobahn and that large cracks appeared in the road above the pillar, so at tremendous expense new supports for the pillars had to be packed in and the pillars jacked up. Also there were new bridges on the minor road meant swinging diversions on to temporary wooden structures spanning the gorge below, only fenced off by temporary plastic mesh fencing on the road I was cycling along. It made the descent a bit more adventurous! When I reached Altdorf I stopped to buy yoghurt, biscuits and milk from the Migros and took a photo of the William Tell statue in the centre of the town. From here I set out along the Axenstrasse on the south end of Lake Lucerne, continued on to Brunnen, an old spa resort in an old style, then veered away from the lake and up to Schwyz. The approach into Schwyz is framed in the background by the snow-capped twin peaks of the Grosse and Kleine Mythen dominating the skyline. The whole area around is very green but put that down to the heavy rain! I took a train from here to Lucerne, leaving at 18.49 and arriving at 19.35.
I met Peter again at the youth hostel, as arranged and booked in for two nights. It’s an impersonal hostel now that the old wooden hostel at the end of Wansee Lake is closed. I had a meal down at a nearby café with Peter, an Australian and a girl from Washington. I shared the dorm with two lads from Singapore. One of them sang appallingly – in his sleep, bearing some resemblance to sawing wood.
Wednesday 4th May 1988 Lucerne – Glaubenberg – Sonnenburg - Lucerne
I was up early and joined Peter on a circular from Lucerne through Horw, Hergiswil, Alpnach and Sarnen up to the Glaubenberg Pass. This is very high for the area around and has some steep sections with hairpins. It was free from snow even though an indication board at Sarnen at the foot of the pass indicated ‘Strasse geschlossen’. Peter went on ahead on a high gear and there was no way I could keep up with him. How is it physically possible to turn the pedals on a strong gear and not crack the chain or worse, damage muscles? A Swiss cyclist also pushing a high gear overtook me halfway up. Peter had been talking to him for half an hour at the top of the pass by the time I eventually reached there. Going past the hotel after taking in so many great views on the way up and passing the Swiss military shooting down the mountain to the left of the road, I finally reached the top of the pass at 4600 feet. I took some photos at the top in a 7-foot wall of ice at either side of the road but this was only near the top on both sides. It was easy to see why the road was indicated as closed at the foot of the pass. For us the result was a traffic free ascent and descent of the Glaubenberg. From there down the other side the road was rough and narrow but after a few kilometres it became smooth and a little wider. It was a long wind down the mountain to Rengg then right on to a minor road to Schachen in glorious scenery on the way down. The whole landscape is very green and to make it even better there are a few long sweeps down where I didn’t need to pump the brakes. We arrived at Schachen through Matters and had our last stop here to finish eating what we had in our bags for the last push back to Lucerne. The rise over the Sonnenburg was not so interesting but it was a quiet road and on the way down there were good views of Lucerne and the lake beyond, then a long sweep down into the city. We changed and paid for our second night here. (16.00SF, which included breakfast and a lunch bag.) We went back to the same café as yesterday evening, as it wasn’t far from the hostel. We talked about favourite passes and listening to good advice from other cyclists for possible future col climbing. We ate for 7.50SF at the hostel, soup, spaghetti Bolognese and finished off with bananas. I thought about the possibility of leaving by train tomorrow to Meiringen and seeing if it is possible to cycle up the Grosse Scheidegg to Grindlewald. Peter was motoring on to Aarau then cycling around the Jura and eventually back home to Emmen, Netherlands. I was disappointed by the bad weather earlier in Lugano. That night the Singapore man didn’t sing, a poor show. For that reason I had a good night’s sleep.
Thursday 5th May 1988 Lucerne – Grosse Scheidegg – Grindlewald - Lauterbrunnen
I was late out after re-organising my bags and the parting of the ways. I had a look at Lucerne old town around the Lion Monument area then made my way to the station to register the bike as far as rung. There was a bit of confusion at the ticket office. I wanted the 10.12 train bound for Interlaken and was directed to three different counters to purchase the ticket. From Brunig I enjoyed an exhilarating ride down to Mieringen. Great views across to Grosse Scheidegg on the way down and a hopeful ride up there later and over to Grindlewald. Took a few photos on the descent. At Meiringen I asked about the post bus but it wasn’t operating yet on the direct route over to Grindlewald because there was still too much snow under the Wetterhorn at the top of the Grosse Scheidegg. After a midday snack of yoghurt, cakes and milk I set out undaunted to the other end of the town, past Baker Street and a Sherlock Holmes pub, a small turn to the right which is something like a farmtrack. This is signposted ‘Schwarzwald Alp’ but it really does go over the Grosse Scheidegg to Grindlewald. To date this is the most beautiful pass I’ve ever been on by far. It is quiet, scenic, good road conditions and plenty of variety unlike other passes which have been too much of the same, no contrast or variety on the climb up. Over the Reichenbach Falls to start with at the beginning of the climb. This is where Sherlock Holmes met his end with Moriarty when they both fell and tumbled over the cliffs. I met an English motorist on the lower climb but they were of the stiff upper lift variety, they didn’t want to speak to a lower class English road user. I met a local, a forest ranger a bit further on up the road. In complete contrast to the English couple this man was good for a long conversation on conservation, acid rain and global warming. In his opinion this is the best pass in Switzerland but said it was a pity it had to finish in Grindlewald where all the German tourists were! He was saying that people think that the forestry organisation can cure the trees affected by acid rain by planting new trees but of course it will continue to happen with the younger trees unless countries around Switzerland start using new industrial methods for their waste disposal other than air emission which finds its way to the forests. There were many road works further up the pass. New wooden bridges were being constructed and parts of the road were being resurfaced. There is a surprising flat stretch of metalled road from Gschwanenau to Rosenlauibad for a kilometre or so in an upper valley. There are good views on the way up to the limestone cliffs of the Wellhorn and Gstellihorn. There were more roadworks at the bridge here, between wet tar and a high bank, I had only a six-inch width to push my bike through ahead of me, No trouble from here to Schwarzwaldalp, a smattering of chalets then the end of the dry surface at the hotel. Immediately behind the hotel the road was icy, about an inch thick so put extra clothing on and other shoes ready for either a long walk up or a cold ride back down the same side to Meiringen. The ice on the road wasn’t continuous and after two kilometres there was a lot of dry patches so I plodded on up the pass. About a third of the way to the top I heard what I thought were thunderstorms coming from the mountains ahead, overlooking the sides of the pass. I imagined the bad weather they were having behind the ridge as all the Rhone area with Ticino was experiencing very bad weather However, looking more closely I could see several small avalanches, then another clap of thunder followed by a bigger avalanche. The snow was melting fast up there, well over a 1000 metres above the road, a 3000+ foot cliff – the total height of Ben Nevis from its foot or Snowdon from sea level. I took a few photographs of the high ten-foot wall on both sides. Some Hawker Hunter jets flew overhead, creating further minor avalanches on the mountains. From about half way I could now bike the whole way up but the sun was so overpowering. It was like when Ruth and I were skiing on the Mannlichen, the sun’s ultra violet light bouncing off the snow. The road summit of Grosse Scheidegg appeared sooner than I expected. I thought it was a lower point looking up at the mountains on either side, especially the towering Wetterhorn to the south. Reaching this point was an exciting moment. I was probably one of the first cyclists over the pass this year as the road was still officially closed – with good reason I now found out! With the ice on the road and the danger of avalanches reaching the road I had taken a risk but from here it was down all the way to Grindlewald. It was also a great sense of achievement against the snow, sun and ice and the long haul of the last few kilometres. It was all-worthwhile to experience the sheer thrill of it. I took a few photographs and began the slow descent to Grindlewald, deep in the valley and to the ‘real’ (?) world where all the Japanese and Germans with their high tech, equipment were paying astronomical prices to get to Jungfraujoch when they could have a much greater experience if they were to ride bikes and see equally glorious sights. I stayed up there for a while, taking in the fantastic view from the top. Grindlewald lies deep in the valley with the huge slope of the Wetterhorn sweeping down to meet it. Beyond the Wetterhorn is the Eiger, Monch and the Jungfrau, from left to right, followed by the ridge of the Kleine Scheidegg on the opposite side of Grindlewald. Then there is the Silberhorn and Mannlichen following along the ridge. Grindlewald is in a long green valley 3000 feet below my vantage point on the Grosse Scheidegg.
On the descent to Grindlewald I found out that my headstock was loose and my front brake rubbers had worn down. I hoped they would hold out a while longer. Peter had told me to brake down the passes by using pump action on the brakes and not to keep the levers pressed continually. I did this and it was much more effective as I could speed up on the straight bits and pump at the road bends. It was great scenery all the way down with the Bernese Oberland peaks in line as far as the eye could see, and here was their nearest point without having to walk and climb. At Grosse Scheidegg I was at 1931 metres, approx 6400 feet. On the descent the conditions gave way from the twelve foot snow clearance wall on either side of the road and became clearer on the way down on one side to lower walls of snow that had turned to slush then to lower patches of slush and wet grass until the Grindlewald glacier was reached where nearly all the snow traces were gone. It was a really stark contrast lower down where farmers were working in fields of lush grass where the first chalets appeared. Suddenly the track widened into a road at the Wetterhorn hotel and a long sweep down into the town. I turned off for Terrassenweg to find the youth hostel where we had stopped when we went skiing on the Mannlichen on the Oak Hall trip from Camberley. It was closed and that was a real let down as I had nowhere else to stay. First though I was hungry. I shopped at ‘our’ Migros in the village centre. I bought birchermuesli, bananas, beer and cakes then sat in the small park opposite the Migros and admired the scenery from a stationary position for once. What I bought wasn’t enough so I rummaged in the panniers and started on the reserves. Besides I needed the energy to get to Lauterbrunnen where I hoped to find somewhere to stay because Grindlewald is too expensive apart from the hostel. I enjoyed the long sweep down the valley and the sun was almost behind showing to best effect the waterfalls and rock formations on either side of the valley called “the Valley of a Hundred Waterfalls” (Hundertwasserfallewald). At Zweilutschinen I stopped to check the map and figure out if there was a possibility of finding a youth hostel that lay within reach before it got dark. There were none so I carried on along the valley towards Lauterbrunnen.
I reached Gummelwald, a long climb up towards Lauterbrunnen. I really didn’t want to take in another climb at this time of the day. Brienz hostel was too far away. Interlaken hostel was closed – so there was only one thing for it, head on along the valley and look for a ‘Zimmer Frei’ gasthaus. After a few kilometres steady climb I came to Lauterbrunnen but couldn’t find anywhere to stay. I cycled on along the minor road to the right and past Murren perched high above on the cliff, through a campsite and back along the main road on the other side of the valley before I came to the first ‘zimmer frei’. I was refused for a single night stay and was told to try back at the campsite. I was in luck, it cost me 12.00SF for the overnight, bed only and I had a small wooden chalet to myself. I had a shower, 50 rappen in the slot to operate it. I wandered into Lauterbrunnen and had a meal in a restaurant opposite the station, just a thick soup, sausages and bread with a couple of beers for 10.00SF. It was a bit noisy in there to begin with when a drunk was making a fool of himself and had to be shown the door before he broadened his field. He had already been round the tables kissing all the ladies he knew and was about to pounce on some tourists who had just walked in. Later I sat in the lounge area listening to two Americans describing their travels around Europe. I thought I was the one who was drunk when I walked out because way above were many bright lights and I thought either the air is so much clearer here to see the stars appearing so bright or the earth had moved because they were too bright and had no constellation shapes I recognised. My eyes gradually accustomed to the dark and I could make out the dark shape of the cliffs a long way above, towering up to Wengen and the lights from the houses there. Then I saw a train crawling up the mountainside like a fluorescent caterpillar on its way to Wengen station from Kleine Scheidegg. Wandered back to the campsite later and settled down for the night. The room had two bunk beds but I had it to myself and slept well on my last night in Switzerland.
Friday 6th May 1988 Lauterbrunnen to Basel
I woke up at 07.30, no rush getting out. It was another gorgeous sunny day. I cycled along to the end of the valley where there is a nature reserve and paths going up the mountains, which surrounded the end of the valley. There are some interesting chalets on the lower slopes here, brightly varnished showpieces of typical Swiss neatness. Another cable car station for the Schilthorn starts here at the end of the valley. It costs 53.00SF for a one-way ticket to get to the top. The main cable car goes up from Lauterbrunnen then by train to Murren and another cable-car from there to the revolving restaurant. This is a place worth visiting one year, but I can’t get up there with a bike! I could see the houses of Murren way above on the cliff. There is a large waterfall here at the watershed of the Jungfrau. I walked up a mountain path a short distance but turned back as I couldn’t leave the bike. I really needed it for the rest of the day. Back to Lauterbrunnen and through the village after taking a few more photos of the large torrent that falls from the cliffs just south of the village. I soon came to Zweilutschinen again. It didn’t seem too far going back down and on to Interlaken. Kept my money intact here as it really is an expensive place, a tourist centre. I had a look at both rail stations and the main road in-between but as always it was too touristy so I headed north through Boningen for the long, steady climb towards Beatenburg. This was a long climb that gradually became steeper and I got hotter! I didn’t expect it to be quite as high as it was, and so many twists and turns of the road on the way up. A hand glider flew overhead; as I took the hairpins I could see him at each turn. Eventually he landed near the main road from Interlaken to Thun, by Thunersee way down below in the valley. If I had the guts I would like to hand glide down there with the stunning views all around. Those same views from even higher, unobstructed by trees, ground and the constant stream of cars and no corresponding constant drone must be fantastic and peaceful. As it was I came down to earth and was determined to enjoy my last day here. This road was interesting, not too much traffic as the road is an alternative high route to the main road along the valley that eventually winds down again to Thun. It may be an easier road along the lake but it’s far too busy and the views are nothing compared to the mountain road. From her I could see the Neissen, a conical mountain over the valley to the south, also the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau now in the background and the two lakes; Thunersee and Brienzersee. At Beatenburg there is a panoramic view along a terrace for a few miles with great views south across the Bernese Oberland. It was really good weather too. The mountains were in a light grey haze with the sun shining and the big three were snow-capped. The sky was a pale blue with the deep blue of the lakes below and the lakeside road a long way down, parallel to this mountain road. Through Beatenburg the road took an inward swing to get round the gorge into the slope of the mountainside This reminded me of the road around Lake Vyrnwy in Wales – don’t really know why as this is much higher, maybe it was the twists and turns through the trees with the Thunersee below and it is wild in places. At one time this was a toll road and the tollhouse is still there at the end of the upper valley I had just skirted to get around the gorge. Along the other side of the upper valley and back above the lake again it was now downhill all the way. I found an ideal stopping place complete with a barbecue stove. I had my lunch and took a last photograph. I had left my lights on after passing through a tunnel further back. One Swiss gentleman with his family switched them off and came over for a chat while I was eating and appreciating the view. They were from Lausanne and he travelled the world on business. He had just returned from Guinea in South America. It makes you jealous when having never ventured out of Europe. From here down the mountain for the long sweep down to Oberhofen with its church bells and cowbells and onto Thunersee again for the last few miles along the lake into Thun. When I arrived there I started searching for some suitable presents for home as it was getting a bit late, now 16.00. I thought I would find something good in Thun but didn’t. I locked the bike up in front of the Migros store in the centre of town, by the river and had a wash and change after a coffee in the café toilets. Feeling a lot better I caught a train to Berne where I met up with the two Singapore lads that Peter and I shared a dorm with in Luzern hostel. We chatted for the rest of the trip. They were travelling onward to Koln then Hamburg then a flight home. When I went back for the bike I found out it wasn’t on the train! I had to hang around for a while at Bern station waiting for it to arrive on another train then register it on for London Victoria. The wait took precious time off me for buying presents. Eventually I found a store still open on the station that sold gifts and chocolates, etc. Bought some gifts while waiting for the bike to appear. I was reunited with the bike a short time later and registered it for England but I was told it wouldn’t leave on my same train – but it did as I saw it being unloaded at Calais. That was the last I saw of it until I collected it from the Red Star office at Crewe the following Tuesday, three days after I arrived home. I took 8 hours to get from Switzerland to Calais bit 3 days from Calais to Crewe, a much shorter journey. Still in Bern, I had a quick wander around the city. I saw the Zeitenglockenturm figures doing their dance at 19.00 chiming, so did a few score of others gathered around the clock. I sat in the Parliament Square gardens eating the remnants from my panniers and taking in the glorious sunset over the Bernese Oberland from the terrace by the Parliament building. The mountains are about 35 miles south of here but they were very clear against the red sky. I boarded the train for Basel and changed here for Basel SNCF and home via Calais and the boat, arriving home at 18.30 on Sunday.
There are no further tales except to say that at London Victoria the bike hadn’t arrived and was still either at Calais or in quarantine in Dover. I was disappointed as it would have been easier to cycle through London with the panniers attached rather than struggle with them on the London Underground. I was even more disappointed the following Tuesday when I collected it at Crewe to find out that both wheels were buckled, the rear one very much so. The wheel couldn’t be turned in the frame and had to be dragged along by rail staff when loading / unloading down to me below the platform where it had been stored. This had caused one tyre top puncture. I was annoyed with the staff for their mishandling and they agreed to give me a declaration from them so I could claim from my insurance. The front wheel was not so bad but it had been buckled into an elliptical shape. I wrote to the Co-op insurance and received compensation a few weeks later.