Jerusalem way - Page 4

St. Margrethen - Lugano

From Lindau I went today in mostly sunny weather to Austria. Always along the shore of Lake Constance I came through Bregenz. Here I strolled along the beautiful lake promenade and treated myself to a coffee. Continuing through suburbs, I crossed the bridges of the Bregenzer Ach and later the Rhine. The latter was here forced into a channel before it flowed into Lake Constance. A nice quiet bike path then led me to Rohrspitz, near the Rhine delta. Here I took the first campground. It became beautiful weather in the evening. The next morning I was after a few kilometers along the Rhine in Switzerland. From Sankt Margrethen it went a dead straight cycle track along the Rhine to the last private accommodation, to Lienz. In the wonderful area I paused two days, the last evening still two friends came over. While walking over to Austria to do some cheap shopping, I then also found my faithful pilgrim stick 🙂.

After that it became fresher in Switzerland, moreover I had some campsites in front of me, alternative accommodations were too expensive for me here. Further along the Rhine, the path passed Vaduz, Liechtenstein's capital. A beautiful setting, the mountains rising steeply on the other side of the river. Arrived in Bad Ragaz, I first set up the tent, before I found something to eat in town. I was the only one with tent, scattered camper were still there. At night I froze, again an indication that I was not optimally equipped. But my backpack was heavy enough with tent, I did not want to buy things now, especially not in expensive Switzerland. So the next two campsites in Chur and Carerra were not any better. For this, however, compensated the increasingly beautiful landscape, it went along the border with Austria and Liechtenstein slowly into the mountains. Fog hung in the trees. Camping Carrera was completely empty, no guest, no attendant. One should just throw the money in the mailbox on departure.

So I put my tent. But here was nothing, no store, nothing. I ate my few leftovers, water ran at least in the open kitchen. In the evening still a couple came, which stayed here in the car. So I could still exchange a few words and even got a hot coffee the next morning. Before crossing the Alps, I decided to try my luck in the monastery Disentis/Muster on a warming accommodation to draw strength. I was lucky, for a donation I got accommodation and a good dinner, but had to attend mass. I like to do that, but with Benedictines it takes so long. And then still in a freezing cold church, where I was so frozen through 😒. But I had a huge room with all the trimmings for me. After breakfast at the bakery the next morning I ran up the road to the pass - Lukmanier Pass.

The hospice up there was closed, the night before I had heard by phone that there was an inn 16 km after the pass in a town. But I had to first up. But the weather played along, slightly fresh, and as a Saxon's also few problems to climb mountains. Last concerns there was still downhill because of the knees, but it should run optimally. Only a tunnel shortly before the pass annoyed, he was kilometers long and the wind pulled ice cold in there. The landscape however was gigantic and the descent relaxed. Only the completely overpriced room in Camperio in the evening clouded something my mood. In addition, I just landed from Graubünden in Ticino, suddenly no one understands German 🙂.

But I could warm up again for now, the next campsites followed again. Unfortunately, the time with forest, field or bike paths ended for now. It went mainly main roads along without shoulder, the Ticinese drive already clearly faster than still before the pass. All in all, I now had to get used to walking differently, something in the landscape look around, no longer worked, too dangerous. The next campsites followed. So my tent stood mostly all alone, first in Acquarossa, then in Cresciano. The latter was an agriturismo, there was at least a building to warm up. In addition, the weather became sunnier again. Larger towns like Biasca or Belinzona had to be crossed. And the landscape remained fascinating, big mountains left and right.

Continuing along the road, I walked to the campground in Mezzovico Vira, then on to Lugano. It was beautiful to walk along Lake Lugano, masses of tourists were brought by buses. After the beautiful promenade, the road along the lake became dangerous again, there were again no shoulder. Behind the bridge, at one of the foothills of the lake was my last campsite in Switzerland, Monte Generoso. The fact that I should camp on the whole way only once, I did not know there yet, I dragged along my tent still to the end. Interim mileage according to my Google MyTracks app: 1120 km. I was happy to have come so far, sun was shining and I ran the kilometer back in the village to the restaurant for pizza and beer 🙂.

Switzerland is gigantically beautiful, but difficult to walk away from well-known pilgrimage routes such as to Einsiedeln. The change from dead-straight paths in the Rhine Valley, suddenly steep mountains up and down, then busy roads with few shoulder in Ticino. Was a nice challenge.