Switzerland
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- This was a mix between people who were kind and some who were suspicious. I didn't realise the country was split religiously : I would say there was a difference between the catholic areas of the south and the Catholic missions to the protestant areas in the rest of the country, the protestant areas weren't interested in pilgrims at all. In the south near St Maurice I accidentally came to village festival & many people bought me beers. After 12 days I was in the middle of Switzerland; the official route climbed over into France, but I could see there was a better route up the Swiss valley's up to the Rhine
| Off the VF & up to the Rhine
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- After Beil at local mini zoo a volunteer group invited me to share their barbecue.
Not too many people talked to me at the Roncivilier Chattion Fair, but a kind theatre group paid me food & wine for guarding their tent, which was convenient cos that weekend was a massive thunderstorm. The next day in Moulier I stayed at the house of Marguerite a kind catholic pilgrim and her son. Next day after Delemont the kind Tractor museum people invited me for a beer.
- 2 days after I arrived in Basel at the end of my planned walk. It was a predictable anti-climax; no one there was interested in pilgrimmage stuff & I hadn't found any CS hosts. I met an interesting guy Gabriel in the supermarket. After 1 day CSer Dave invited me over his house for a party.
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Over into Germany/France
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- Olivier in Mulhouse was a great CS host for a few days. Then teacher Jonas from the party in Basel called me over to give a lecture to hs students at a Swiss village. I had hoped to find some work on my VF route, but I just didn't bump into the right people. I checked out a few places in Germany but nothing came up either, so I decided to go back to the UK so I could go to the doctor and dentist.
- There were no convenient flights so I decided to go overland via Strasbourg and Lille to Belgium to get a cheap bus. Wow I had never though of French people as particularly kind and hospitable..but it was a big change from Italy, as I found from hitch hiking. Strasbourg : Excellent hospitality from scoutmaster and retired beer laboratory man Noberto & his wife they invited me to stay at their house instead of camping.
- The next day my ride a grandmother antinuclear campaigner invited me to stay at her house. It being winter the bus schedules were all screwed up so it was another 36 hours before I could get on a bus to London from Bruges
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