Way of St. James from Thun to Lake Geneva:

Participants: Heimo, Albert, Günther and me

Day 1

Thun – Gwatt – Zwieselberg – Amsoldingen – Uebeschi – Blumenstein – Wattenwil

22 km

Hot weather 32 degrees

After we parked our car in Thun at Heimo’s brother’s place, got a good lunch from Mireille, we start well strengthened at 14.30 o’clock. We still want to go the first stage today. Going in first means getting used to the backpack and getting into the rhythm of walking.

The sun shows its strength. It is hot and we stop every now and then to drink. Nevertheless, we make good progress; there is a lot to talk about after we haven’t seen each other for a while.

Accommodation at the flower store Liechti in the old farmhouse with friendly landlady.

We arrived in Wattenwil at 7 pm. Dinner at Gasthof Bären and a cash machine let us sit relaxed on the terrace in balmy temperatures and drink a carton of beer. The food is good and plentiful. In a happy mood we drink our first Pflümli, while the almost full moon rises and peeks out from behind the roof of an old house.

The Bernese Oberland welcomes us with gentle green meadows, hills and forests rising behind them and, to crown it all, the mighty mountains, some of them covered with snow. The best known are the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

The farms are bustling with activity. The last hay harvest wants to be brought in. The weather forecast in the next few days promises hot and rain-free weather. This is used, and we walk past mowed meadows, hear the tractors and have the smell of dry hay in the nose.

Summer once again shows its strength, knowing that in a few days it will be replaced by autumn.

2nd day

Wattenwil – Burgistein – Riggisberg – Rueggisberg – Elisried – Schöne Tannen – Schwarzenburg – Heitenried

28 km

Hot summer day 32 degrees

We start after a good breakfast and say goodbye to the friendly landlady. A bright summer day will make us sweat again. We walk until lunch break 3 hours in idyllic countryside; past old farmhouses, see grazing cows, sheep, horses and donkeys. We can hardly believe it, suddenly we pass a camel ranch that also owns llamas and guanacos.

In Rueggisberg we fortify ourselves in the only inn with salad and sour cider and lots of water.

In the afternoon, the heat gets to us. We have a longer distance to walk , which goes through farmland and has no shade possibility.

Thank goodness our water bottles are freshly filled.

We have booked accommodation at Gasthof Sternen in the village of Heitenried. They have paella as a specialty tonight. We get a big pan and it tastes delicious; better than in Spain.

The evening glides into night and we sit at 25 degrees at the Pflümli and conclude the day.

Day 3

Heitenried – St. Antoni -Tafern – Schönberg – Friburg

16 km

The hottest day today.

The night was short and lively. The party went on in the inn until 2 am. If we finally managed to fall asleep, we were woken up again a short time later by loud laughter and singing. A good breakfast served by the friendly senior chef has reconciled and strengthened us. We hike on. At 9:00 a.m. the temperature gauge shows 26 degrees and it is getting hotter and hotter.

The paths are alternating, leading through forest and meadows, passing cornfields.

We make good progress and stop for lunch in Schönberg.

The language is now French; Heimo is happy to unpack his knowledge and we order a very good salad. It is very hot by now. We sweat sitting in the shade at what feels like 32 degrees, and don’t even want to get up.

Like every day we think about where we will spend the night today.

The way further into the city of Freiburg is arduous; the sweat runs as we walk through the alleys of the beautiful city.

Glad to have arrived at the booked hotel, it is time to drink, drink, drink and do laundry.

Day 4 Fribourg – Posieux – Autigny – Le fille Dieu – Romont

21 km + 8 km bus

After a very good dinner at an Italian restaurant we sleep very well. The weather will be nice and hot again; we are used to that by now. It is pleasant to know that the rain cover can be quietly at the bottom of the backpack, because it is not needed,

We sweat so much all day, so we wash our hiking clothes in the evening. There are many beautiful fountains along the way. We drink a lot and we don’t have to worry about not being able to keep filling our bottles.

The path in the morning is alternating through forest and meadows and we make good progress in the first 3 hours.

We stop for lunch at a small chapel in the shade of a linden tree.

Wind has risen and the oppressive heat has dissipated. Clouds are gathering, indicating that the weather will soon change.

At 16.0 we will reach Romont where we will spend the night. The small town is located on a hill and we can see it from far away.

Day 5

Romont – Moudon – Syens

21

Today we start at 8.15 am with pleasant temperatures. The hot period ended on August 31. Punctually on September 1, autumn starts with its winds and blows full of energy through the fields and forests. We make good progress and enjoy the stiff breeze that accompanies us,

At 12 o’clock we reach Moudon and eat Swiss Rösti once again, and find out that they don’t taste as good in French-speaking Switzerland. But they fill the belly and make you full.

Heimo tries to find a place to stay for the night. This is proving difficult today. At the end of our day today there are only 2 private room rentals with 2 beds each.

We decide to walk 1.5 h to Syens and then try again to find rooms.

The path leads along the stream; for a short time the sun peeks out between the full clouds. The wind calms down and then the rain starts. We scurry into a small bus shelter at a stop just outside the hamlet.

There are no rooms to be found here or in the next village. Therefore, we decide to go to Lausanne by bus. No sooner said than done. Bus and metro are used and we sit after some travel time in Lausanne at a street café. The search for a room continues. W-lan is weak and Heimo tries for an hour to find a hotel at a halfway reasonable price.

In the end it succeeds and we are happy to have a shower and dinner. Outside, the rain is pelting down.

Day 6

Lausanne – Saint Sul Pice – Morges – Saint Prez – Allaman

25 km and 15 km by train

From our hotel, on the outskirts of the city of Lausanne, we walk 1 h along the busy streets until we meet the Way of Saint James again.

A beautiful forest path alternates with paths directly on the lake, through the villages. We eat ice cream by the lake and enjoy the peace and quiet in beautiful weather.

You can feel the post-season, individual guests walk along the lake promenade.

The temperature shows a pleasant 24 degrees with a light wind.

Today’s accommodation is right next to a private airport with a grass runway. Heimo is pleased and examines the small fliers,

We are lucky. The in-house restaurant cooks Italian and it tastes very good.

We are tired and have a nightcap before falling into bed.

Day 7

Allaman – Pragins – Nyon – Crans – Celigny – Vounex – Copette – Tannay

20 km

Today was very good for walking in terms of weather. It was overcast sky, pleasantly warm and without wind.

The paths were exhausting. We walked on asphalt most of the time and rarely had variety on forest or meadow trails.

We saw Lake Geneva, but we could not walk along the shore. There were no boardwalks throughout the day. The Way of St. James passed through the villages with beautiful houses, villas and castles.

As a substitute we found a nice little restaurant for lunch, where we were served friendly in the garden and ate deliciously.

Passing vineyards full of grapes and apple orchards, whose harvest will not be less, we march to Tanny.

In Copette we wanted to spend the night. There is only one small hotel there. When we arrive there we are glad that the landlady is not there. It doesn’t look inviting. At the tourist office sits a friendly gentleman, explains to us that there is no other accommodation in the village and reserves and in a hotel in Tanny 2 rooms.

We find that the possibilities to stay overnight on this route are rather few, and it is advantageous to make reservations. Otherwise, it may happen that finding a room can take time.

The hotel has an ital, restaurant with it and we are looking forward to a good meal,

Day 8

Tannay – Geneva

17 km

For us the last day in the direction of Geneva.

We are lucky again with the weather and after a simple breakfast we leave. Today the path again leads away from Lake Geneva, past private villas, former stately homes, manicured parks. In this beautiful area we walk on asphalt paths next to the road or the railroad. Arriving at the Geneva city sign, the path passes directly by the busy city highway,

Heimo promises that after a few hundred meters we have a turnoff to the lake. His GPS indicates that we can walk the last 2 km along the lake.

We are thirsty and stop at the first opportunity at the lake, enjoy the break and are happy that we arrived well.

Our hotel Warwick is located opposite the train station. This is convenient; we can go directly to the train tomorrow with our backpack,

The farewell dinner in Geneva we enjoy after a city tour of Geneva at a good Thai with hot curry.

A schnapps from the hip flask to finish, and we sleep well.

We hiked 170 kilometers and drove 40 kilometers.

Keywords: Heat, underwear, poncho, hiking top and blouse, grooming cream, reading material, spare reading glasses, sweat towel, deer tallow, backpack with bottom compartment,