Day 1 was climbing and caving. Day 2 was Via Ferrata and Hiking. So what would Day 3 have in store? This morning’s program was to walk down to the Mediterranean, go for a dip and return home before lunch. Continue reading
Swimming
100 yards
The last time i was in london i was taken to a velodrome. A surprisingly fun experience. Today we hit a 100 yard outside pool with a water temp of 17 deg. I felt a little hardcore swimming 1000 yards next to someone in a full wetsuit, gloves and flippers!
Rhein Swim
Basel is a beautiful town to visit and today i saw it from a new perspective. My host had promised me a swim in the local river. I was a little dubious – how could this brown, slower flowing river be any fun after you’ve lived with the Aare at your front door ?!? When i ride the Aare it’s about a 1km trip. I’ll need a map to work out how long today’s ride was (~2km ??), but it was long enough that you def carry a waterproof bag and take all your belongings with you! And i swear i was in the river with about 100 other people and more spread out along the banks.
It was about 28 degrees out and the water 20.2 degrees. We watched the old city gate pass us by as well as the old ribbon factory, the Münster and several bridges. What a ride! We then did the Swissy/European thing and had a beer whilst drying off.
Thanks A!
Die Schweiz
I’m back in Bern! My second home. It doesn’t feel like 2 years have past at all… Esp since my hostess was able to produce my very own sheets and towels (and vacuum cleaner, and bicarb soda, and hiking book, and … !!!) from years ago.
The forecast was atrocious (thunderstorms!) so i’d given up on my plan to hike up a big, Swiss mountain. Instead I did exactly what i used to do (and ignored the fact it was crap weather) and I wandered up the local hill (the Gurten, 858m) that i used to live right next to.
At the top of the Gurten is a viewing platform. I couldn’t see anything but mist! But there are now new signs pointing out the peaks i should have been able to see. I didn’t need to look at the signs though – i can still picture them and I remember the names of most of them – esp my favourites (Shreckhorn and Finsteraarhorn).
I also went for a swim in the Aare – the natural wonder that used to be 5 mins from my door in the other direction. It still flows quicker than i can run (i checked – since i’m turning into a runner these days). Check out this news coverage to get more of an idea.
I saw the odd person in the river throughout the day but i had the whole river to myself when i ‘launched’. I’d forgotten what it sounds like to lie on one’s back and hear the water moving over the pebbles at the bottom….
The rest of the day was spent catching up with old friends. Good times!
Smiling Leaf 