Gordon:We bagged another pass today. The Brunig pass is only 1000 m, but that is 600 m more than where we started the day. Once over the pass we took a secondary road into Brienzwiler, and the 16th century. It seems that this town missed the memo that all quaint towns should embrace tourism. Many of the houses, including the pilgrim hostel, were built in ... Read More
Walenstadt - Rapperswil 52 km of flat and beautiful cycle paths. Ruth:The welcome at the Rapperswil Pilger Herberge was one of the best you will find. This is a gem of a place and a must stay if you are on the Camino in Switzerland.We really needed the hot showers, because the heavens opened up on us during our last 5 km into town. Everything that ... Read More
60 kmGordonWe tripled our country count today, starting in Austria, passing through most of the length of Liechtenstein, and finishing at the end of a lake, Walensee, in Switzerland. By virtue of its novelty and a whiff of the exotic, Liechtenstein was the highlight of the day. It has only 36,000 citizens, but according to Wikipedia they enjoy the highest per capita purchasing power in ... Read More
Imst- St. Anton 50kmSt. Anton - Feldkirk 65kmElevation gained over the Arlberg Pass 1000 mRuth:I did it! I did it!!!!Yesterday and today were the first real challenges on our ride. But people, add this to your bucket list: cycling in Austria is amazing! In 175 km we have only spent 40 km on roads, and they were quiet. The rest of the time we were on ... Read More
Imst, AustriaInnsbruck to Imst 60km all on bike path and flat until last 10kmRomedihof Backpacker HostelGord:This morning we parted company with Innsbruck and our incomparable hosts Kurt and Ilse. We are very taken with the area and I am sure we will see both the city and our friends again. Any sadness regarding our departure was quickly eclipsed by the excitement of our first day of ... Read More
Our week in Innsbruck is coming to an end and we will take up our bike pilgrimage on Tuesday heading first up the Inn river following the Camino to Santiago or Jakobsweg and then returning to the Via Francegena when we connect with it in Lausanne . We have had a wonderful introduction to Austria with lots of time enjoying the beautiful mountains and sampling the best of ... Read More
Our bikes arrived a day after us, having spent the night on a date that involved some rough play with the American customs officers in Seattle. Gord was able to have a local mechanic repair his brakes and I will buy a new bike computer because the wire to mine was cut. Some poor American beagle is probably still coughing up talcum powder after sniffing ... Read More
A pilgrim walks, cycles and draws with awareness of the small moments.It is almost time to quit our busy life at home to become pilgrims again on the Via Francigena. I am not a patient person at all, so I have already started my travel journal for the trip which is still just under a month away. Gord teases me and asks periodically how the trip ... Read More
We are loving our time in Paris! We expected that we would, but we did not anticipate that Paris would be fairly affordable even in high season. We have rented an apartment in the 2nd arrondissemont with everything we need and some lovely additions, like a cappuccino maker. Other than our rent, museum and velo lib passes, and groceries we have spent very little here.The ... Read More
Our last day on the Via Francigena was a difficult one largely as a result of failing to follow good Swiss instructions. The signage for bike and pedestrian routes is amazing here. For the past two days we have been following bike routes primarily, so it seemed sporting of me to take the pedestrian route for our last day. Apparently the word pedestrian does not ... Read More