After breakfast we walked up to lake Oeschinensee and took some pictures. Warren walked along the shore for two miles to get some good shots. We started down and followed the chairlift down. Took the 5 pm train through the Lotschburg Tunnel after dinner on the loading dock. We got into Goppenstein at dark and cycled down and into Visp. His light went out halfway down and our brakes were earing thin by the time we reached bottom. Took the 7:10 train up to Zermatt. Camped out under the stars in an empty camping spot.
Train 5.00
Train 1.25
Food 2.00
Mileage: 20 km
[Photo taken by P. Baldwin]Arose and took the front wheel to a bike shop. Walked around Kandersteg. Walked by the Scout Chalet, which is now closed, and by the river Kander through forest land. The sky is white with cirrus clouds, and the mountains are dressed in gowns of white snow and blue ice.
Had lunch at the side of the Hotel National. Warren arrived on the train from Lucarno. I got my bike wheel. We cleaned up our bikes, then bought some food and had a feast up in our room at the youth hostel. He eats his tuna fish with a stamped bike wrench. Without my can opener, he would have opened the can with a screwdriver and his shoe.
Bike 2.00
YH 1.00
Lunch and Dinner 1.50
After packing and breakfast, I cycled to the Sager residence. Ali's mother had some gifts for me. I showed her my collectibles from Oklahoma and then left in a light mist for Spiez. On arriving I tried to fix the wheel but it looks like I'll need a new one. Waited around for three hours at the train station. Left for Kandersteg at 5 pm. Arrived at 6:30, quite dark. Picked up the front end of the bike and dragged it to the youth hostel. Warren Havens, a cyclist I was to meet here, hasn't shown up.
Thun to Spiez - 10 km
Train $2.00
Hostel $1.00
After breakfast I left for Bern. Cycling through meadows and forests reminded me of the days in Sweden. I bought a scout shirt at the materials supply and went to the scout office. The Federal commissioner wasn't in but I sat in the office and read the newspaper. Went to the bear pits before leaving. On the return trip I badly bent the front wheel when I ran into a curb. Went to Dr. Statter's. Read the War of the Worlds and the newspaper. Had dinner of goulash and wine. I showed them my collectibles, which includes patches, and Indian beaded rosettas from Oklahoma. Dr. and I walked around town, for his health, not mine. Cycled home. Got to bed at midnight.
Thun - Bern - Thun 52 km
Dinner 1.10
Had breakfast in the hotel cafe and left Interlaken. It was a clear day. As I turned a corner I saw before me miles away the Frutigen mountains blazing in the early morning sunlight. I cycled along the Thuner See for 22 km, arriving in Thun at 11 am. Went to the address I had. Cleaned the bike and went downtown.
Today's Herald Tribune doesn't have the results [of the election]. Read and wrote until dark. At 6:40 the Air Force Radio News service carried Nixon's acceptance speech. Went over to Dr. Statter's at 7 pm. Read until he arrived, had dinner, then went to a movie. Took a short walk afterward. Went home for tea.
Mileage: Interlaken to Thun 22 km
Expenses: Newspaper .25
Gloves 7.00
After breakfast, Mr. Agostini left for work. I followed right afterward. Cycled to Interlaken along the Brienzer See, stopping only to put on my thick wool socks as a replacement for gloves. Heavy clouds obscured everything. It didn't rain but the mist was heavy. Went to the Drei Schewizer Hotel. Had a big lunch of soup, french fries, steak, broccoli, pudding and beer on the house, since the owner is hosting me. Tonight, went out for a beer with the Italian waiter. Bought a new ski jacket.
Piredda Antonio
Via Verdi 10
Thiesi, Sassari, Italy
Carabiners 4.60
Pen .10
Coat 9.20
Postcards .25
Mileage: Meiringin to Interlaken 31 km
After breakfast I left in a cool downpour, cycled along the lake and then south to Giswil by the Sarner See. Through the mist and fog I could see the silhouette of giant mountains. Got the noon train up to Brunig, where I got off and coasted, freezing, to the Agostini residence in Meiringen. Had lunch and read that afternoon. After dinner he fixed me up with an address in Interlaken. I pray the clouds lift so I can see the Eiger, Monch, and Jungrau peaks.
Train 1.00
Candy .25
Mileage: Luzern to Meiringin 40 km
After breakfast we went to church down the street. Except for the language, the service was identical to our Catholic service. The church was new, spacious and modern in design. After lunch I went to the Transportation Museum where I spent four hours browsing through bicycles, cars, trains, ships, airplanes, telephones, etc. Afterward I walked to the Hermitage Hotel, where Hans' mother works at the mini-golf. We had dinner with Susie, and across the way we could see the lights of Lucerne reflected in the sea. Took the bus home, wrote and retired.
Museum .25
Bus .20
Candy .50
As I set out to Fluelen it started raining. I got my bike on the small boat and we left Fluelen at 12:12. Tugged through the green waters of the Lake, with rain falling outside. Changed boats at Brunnen, and I left my ski jacket on the small boat. Nobody's perfect!
Arrived in Luzern at 5 pm, rain still falling. Checked in at Mr. Birnstiel's house, left a number. I went back to the station and called it. Got another number. After an hour I got through to Hans Peter Tschupp, who invited me home. That night we went to a con
cert at the Kunsthaus, on the shore of Lake Lucerne.
[The concert was Ludwig van Beethoven's Ouverture zum Trauerspiel, and the Mass in C Minor op 86. The director was Eduard Muri, with Solists Josefine Hocher, Elanor-Jans-Ulmi, Peter Sigrist, and Eduard Stocker. I remember how much I enjoyed the concert, and felt I was royalty. Earlier in the day, losing my jacket, and being in the rain, I remember I was feeling a lot more like a peasant! Years later, while stationed in England, I would return here, and remember it as one of the most inspiring evenings of my four month trip]
Expenses: Boat $2.00
Candy .25
After breakfast we went to church. There is only one church in this village of all Catholics. Everybody was looking around to see who wasn't there, as Robert explained. After lunch we slept. I read and wrote a bit. That evening Robert's brother came over. He has a wife, a four year old girl and infant boy. We had snacks and watched TV. I showed them my Boy Scout patches. The next morning he brought me a Swiss neckerchief and many patches.
No expenses - no mileage
After breakfast we walked up to lake Oeschinensee and took some pictures. Warren walked along the shore for two miles to get some good shots. We started down and followed the chairlift down. Took the 5 pm train through the Lotschburg Tunnel after dinner on the loading dock. We got into Goppenstein at dark and cycled down and into Visp. His light went out halfway down and our brakes were earing thin by the time we reached bottom. Took the 7:10 train up to Zermatt. Camped out under the stars in an empty camping spot.
