05 Sep 2011 Basel, Switzerland to Staufen, Germany (60 Km) Switzerland to Germany. Germany to Switzerland. Switzerland to Germany. We are like a ping pong ball in a table tennis match, bouncing back and forth between countries. It’s a little sad that there’s no one at the borders, checking our credentials, stamping our passports. But …
04 Sep 2011 Waldshut, Germany to Basel, Switzerland (70 Km) If one can smoke in the lobby, then I see no problem with one lighting up their butane camp stove in the room. This is necessary because I need coffee and our accommodation does not include breakfast. In fact, our accommodation does not include much …
03 Sep 2011 Stafa, Switzerland to Waldshut, Germany (91 Km) Time to strike out, time to leave behind the pampering, the lovely accommodations and meals and conversations, the generosity of friends Monique and Matthias who took us in, took us out, and ensured that we had a truly wonderful time in Stafa and Davos, time …
02 Sep 2011 Davos to Stafa (By Train) Sheila is my favorite Swiss dog. She is brave, loyal, spunky, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit crazy. She welcomed us back to Stafa with frenzied, ferocious barking, as any good guard dog would. After 3 hours on trains, we likely smelled like a pair of …
01 Sep 2011 Davos (2 km by Foot) Computer. Internet. Lists. Notebooks. Maps. Just another day at the office. [And for anyone wondering why we’re not out hiking those Davos peaks, (a) it’s raining and (b) we can hardly walk after the last two days.]
31 Aug 2011 Sertig to Monstein Hike (12 km) I was doing the math as we walked away. Born in 1925 … carry over the one … add four right fingers … yep, makes him 86 years old. Eighty-six years old and he’s out here on this 12 km hike, headed for Fanezfurgga Pass, intending …
30 Aug 2011 Weissfluhjoch/Haupter Talli/Strelapass/Panoramaweg/Davos Dorf (10 km by Foot) The Swiss build trains up to the most amazing heights. This Parsennbahn cable railway is climbing us up to 2662 m (8733 ft) and no one in this car besides me seems the least bit bothered by the fact that we are at a most …
29 Aug 2011 Stafa to Davos (130 km By Car) Pinch me because I’m definitely dreaming, dreaming that I’ve gone from lounging on the shores of Lake Zurich to the mountains of Davos. Surely this isn’t real. And yet somehow it is. Here we are, enjoying an afternoon walk through town, Monique and Sheila giving …
28 Aug 2011 Fussbach, Austria to Stafa, Switzerland (48 km) She was flagging us down from the side of the road and we simultaneously thought to ourselves, “Who is that crazy lady?” Why it was Monique, of course. Monique from New Zealand, Monique from the Banks Peninsula Track, Monique from the Christchurch earthquake experience, Monique …
27 Aug 2011 Outside Hergatz, Germany to Fussbach, Austria (37 km) Thunder is a really cool sound when you’re indoors, wrapped up in your fluffy duvet, contemplating that steaming cup of coffee that’s brewing in the Biker Bar downstairs. It’s not the coolest of sounds when you think past the coffee to the next step, …