Tour de Schwiitz

We arrived yesterday from a 6 day cycling trip We started in Basel, Switzerland and headed south towards Lugano. This is Chris' 4th annual trip, selecting a new route each year and inviting several of his Swiss friends. This year, some of the regulars returned and they included Rachel, Antonia and her sister Esther and her boyfriend Ivo. I know what everyone is thinking, biking Switzerland with 3 Swiss girls - the hardships I have to face!

Photos of the trip are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/erik.forrester/SwissBikeTour

Chris will also have additional pictures here very shortly: http://blog.schwiiz.org/

The "Number 3" North/South route is 375kms through the Swiss Alps and presents the challenge of climbing the Gothard Pass. I can confirm that there were no sightings of Heidi or the Von Trapps along my trip.

In the early morning of Friday, June 22nd, we felt good that the rain would pass, so we left St. Gallen and took the train up to Basel where we started our journey. Only Chris and Rachel joined from the start, and we were going to meet up with Esther later in the afternoon. About 2 hours into the tour, a preview of what was to come hit me. A hill! And not just any hill, a 10km climb up 400 vertical meters (1300ft). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - as we crested the top to get a better look from above - I realized what I just climbed was only a foothill of much larger mountains to come.

After logging in a good day of cycling, we checking into a barn. Yes, a barn. Horses, cows and bails and bails of hay. It's a general practice in Switzerland that farmers rent out their stables in the summer to cyclists and hikers. For about $25, you get a roof over your head and breakfast. The Swiss call it Schlaf-in-Stroh! ("sleep in straw") Our accommodations on this evening was run by a Swiss German couple in their 70's - they actually gave up the sleep and straw business a while ago - but Rachel spoke with the lady and convinced her to let us sleep the night. I find it interesting listing to the Swiss Germans.

The Swiss German language sounds like German, but with a twist. The best way to describe the twist: Someone speaking German + a melodic Swedish Chef = Swiss German.

In the morning, our hosts greeted us into their home and served up some breakfast. The milk, cheese and eggs were straight from the farm - I didn't ask about the cold cuts. Even if I could ask - this couple spoke no English - so it's a good thing I was cycling with "locals".

The next day we continued our trip south and made our way to Lucern - quite possibly the nicest Swiss city I've seen to date. We had lunch in the town centre and picked up Ivo at the train station. We decided to take a more scenic tour (read: longer route!) around the lake and it was worth it. By coincidence, this route took us past a International Youth Hostel right on Lake Lucern. It was basically a house with our room overlooking the lake. There was also a beach volleyball court - it was a fantastic place to stay! We bought some meats and veggies (and Paprika chips!) and lit a campfire right on the shores of the lake.

The next day, we were given two options according to the official "Swiss Bike Map". The first option was to continue around Lake Lucern down to Fluelen - however the map had the first and only "Achtung!!" about a road in a bright yellow warning note. It was basically a stretch of 7kms of main highway with lots of traffic and taking the ferry to Fluelen was the recommended option.

Chris took off and chose to bike the route, while I wasn't as confident. I gained confidence when they said it was going to cost me $25 to take the ferry (as a non-Swiss resident, I pay 2x the posted rates - don't get me started on this one). I decided to "suck it up" and take the main road. I quickly realized this was by far the best option - there was a dedicated lane for bikes and the view along the lake was spectacular. When Chris and I met at the train station in Altdorf, we were convinced the ferry company pays the map folks for every cyclist they take. At the train station we also met up with our final cyclist, Antonia and started our climb up the Gothard. The Gothard is a 40 km road with an elevation change of over 1600M (5200ft).

It was Sunday, so the traffic up the hill was relatively light - but the northbound traffic was quite heavy. Now that I've completed the trip, I can look back and honestly say that was one of the most dangerous things I've ever done - yet at the same time it was one of the most physically challenging and rewarding. In fact, on the way up, you would get several looks from drivers on their way down. The best way to describe the look is the "Are you f***ing nuts!?!" look. Chris does a good impression (see photo). I also noticed several Ferraris on the road - I later learned that there was a Ferrari 60th anniversary party where owners gathered in the northern part of Italy.

We split the climb in two days and stayed the night in Andermatt - a great skiing base town where I would like to return to in the winter. Here we found another "barn" to stay at run by a farmer who enjoyed hosting cyclist and talking about the region. He even drove us back into town and made sure we received the "local" rate for a traditional Swiss meal (pasta, cheese and potatoes - yum!)

The next morning, the Farmer greeted me with my choice of cheeses. He was very proud of his selection and Gruyere is my new favourite! When we headed outside, we could clearly see that Part Two of our journey was not going to be a pleasant one. Grey clouds surrounded the summit and there was a noticeable change in the temperature. Nevertheless, we put on our rain gear and continued our climb. The cycling today was not as pleasant - in fact out of all my days cycling this month - it was the worst. It was cold, rainy and I was giving myself the same look as drivers from the previous day. Fortunately, the traffic was much lighter and we only had 12kms until we reached the summit.

As soon as we reached the top - all signs changed from German to Italian as the Gothard is known to be the dividing line between the German and Italian regions of Switzerland. There was a restaurant at the top where we dried ourselves off and had some Goulash soup. We continued down the hill - about a 1000M drop over 10kms - without having to pedal! Very cool! With the rain continuing to fall, we decided to call it a short day and spend the night in Airolo. A non eventful town on the side of a mountain. Over dinner, the weather report came on and you would have thought there was a sporting event on. Everyone cheered when they said that our region was going to be sunny for the next three days.

Sure enough, the next day the sky was blue and we continued on our path and made our way to San Antonio. I'm glad we waited as the views on the way down the hills were amazing. All the small towns we went through were very Italian - it's funny how different two parts of the same country can differ so drastically (weather, language, architecture). At the end of our ride, while the girls went swimming, Chris and I searched for our final barn on the trip - and once again we lucked out. It was on a "Bio friendly" farm - where we had full use of their professional kitchen and outdoor grill. We cooked up some meats and veggies - had a few pops and called it a night.

The next morning, I awoke to the noise of a saw - someone must be cutting wood I thought. I then realized I was on a working farm with working butchers! The last leg of our journey would take us up one more "hill" before we headed down towards Lake Lugano - with homes built into the mountain on one side and the lake on the other (and Italy on the other side of the lake). As we made our way along the narrow streets, we spent some time at a park on the lake before completing our journey in Morcote - where we had a light lunch and some local red wine.

What better way to complete our journey than to have been served by an Italian waitress who is also a model. A super model! Seriously! She was simply working at her mom's restaurant this week while her mom went on vacation. Sure, she could have stayed at her house in Rome or Paris or even her apartment in New York - but no - she's a down to earth super model and decided to fill in for her mother and serve us lunch. We couldn't decided if she was a super model who waitresses in her spare time or was a waitress who super models in her spare time? Check her out here. Prior to knowing she was a world famous model (in the modeling world at least, I had no idea who she was - other than cute) - she seemed to be very clumsy and forgetful - and English wasn't her first language. Both Chris and I were able to forgive her.

We boarded a train later in the afternoon and headed back up to St. Gallen - where we've been able to spend the day and relax.

As I wind down my final day in Switzerland, I'm getting ready to fly back to Canada and spend the long weekend at the cottage in Ottawa. There is a part of me looking forward to no longer living out of a back pack, having a new change of clothes and seeing family and friends. Another part of me is shocked on how quickly the past 11 weeks have gone by.

To sum up a few things:
I can best describe my experience in New Zealand as unique and a lot of fun - the group I ended up with had a large part in making my experience enjoyable.
The Australian east coast, looking back, was very "cookie cutter" - where I experienced and saw a number of things that I've only read and heard about - but considering what I did in two weeks, I'm glad I joined that tour.
The Centre and Southern Australian tours began to give me a bit more of a feel for the country and it's people.
This past month in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, however, was by far the highlight. To see a country through the eyes of small towns and back roads truly gives me a perspective on a country which I think few people get to experience.

Up next? I'm still deciding - perhaps a short summer road trip, simply relax at the cottage and at some point (not just yet!) start exploring employment opportunities. I look forward to seeing everyone shortly, sharing more stories, pictures and catching up.