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Switzerland 2017 (#3)

Part 3: July 24th – August 1st

By Watracz Is Traveling

July 2^nd, 2019

Day 20: Mapragg reservoir, Gigerwaldsee, Klausen Pass, Oberalp Pass

July 24th, 2017

It was raining all night, so even early on, all the bikers at the campsite are anxious for the weather to improve. When it stops raining for a bit, we pack up our tents and ride out of the campsite. It’s cold, so I put on two sets of thermal underwear.

Mapragg reservoir

It starts to rain again, but I don’t mind it much. There’s a tam and a hydroelectric power plant on the lake.

Gigerwaldsee

It’s a really nice lake. The road takes you through the dam; you can see the waterfall falling into the lake on one side, and the entire valley on the other. On the south side of the lake, there’s a narrow road with a few tunnels. I arrive at a parking lot by a small church dedicated to St. Martin, I take some photos, eat my second breakfast, and go back the same way.

Klausen Pass

1,948 m. a.s.l.

There are only 3 bikers on the road aside from me. The route is blocked by a herd of cows and we need to squeeze through between them. It’s raining hard, so I try to get through the pass as quickly as possible, without taking out my camera.

Around 4:30 p.m. I buy some groceries at a supermarket and begin to look for a campsite. The temperature drops below 10°C, and this, together with the rain and wind, makes me shiver with cold.

Andermatt

It’s still a long way to the campsite, so out of curiosity I stop by a roadside hotel to ask for the price of accommodation. 85 francs, which is definitely outside of my budget, so I grit my teeth and keep going.

Oberalp Pass

2,044 m. a.s.l.

There’s a storm raging over the pass, and there are no other vehicles up here, only me. I finally reach the Rhein Camping in Tujetsch. One night is 27.5 francs. The landlady wants me to buy a trash bag for 2 francs, too, but I manage to negotiate my way out of that. I set up my tent and go take a shower. The water is hot and pleasant. It’s like someone plugged me into a charger, and after a tough day in the rain and the cold I feel energy coming back to me.

Before I hit the sack, I do my laundry and dry the clothes (2 francs for each service). The lady at the reception desk was nice enough to give me laundry capsules for free. The campsite is about 1,500 m. a.s.l., and in the evening the temperature drops to 5°C. It looks like it’s going to be a tough night.

Day 21: Oberalp Pass, Andermatt

July 25th, 2017

Another day of rain. When I leave the tent it turns out that snow has fallen several hundred meters up, in the mountains. As soon as the campsite restaurant opens, I order a cappuccino (4.5 francs) and tell the owner about my torn jacket zipper. I find out it’s a very unusual problem, and that there’s no one in the vicinity fixing those types of things. People tend to get new jackets, rather than get them mended. But the lady calls an acquaintance of hers, who runs the Alpina Sport store in Andermatt and tells me to go there — maybe she’ll be able to help.

Oberalp Pass

2,044 m. a.s.l.

There’s a railway station next to the Operalpsee, and tracks run along the road, with the typical red trains riding on them.

Andermatt

Naturally, the sports store doesn’t replace zippers, but I can buy something new instead. The cheapest thing on offer is an ordinary fleece jacket, priced at 90 francs, which is 30% more than my rain jacket cost in Poland. And the cheapest similar rain jacket is more than 170 francs. I thank the staff and keep looking. There are two clothing stores nearby, but no luck there. No one fixes these things, and everybody’s surprised that I want to mend my old jacket instead of buying a new one. Somehow, I’m not on board with this train of thought, but it does look like I won’t be able to fix my jacket before I get back to Poland. I return to the campsite and I spend the rest of the evening drinking local beer and waiting for the weather to improve.

Day 22: Oberalp Pass, Furka Pass

July 26th, 2017

It kept raining all night, and it was cold. The sun comes out for a second around noon, so I get out of the tent, shower, have a cappuccino, and check the weather for the rest of the day. Nothing inspiring.

Water begins to pool under the fuel intake in the bike. I think one of the vapor lines in the tank is clogged. I take the tank off, and use a thin strip of a painkillers blister to clear the line. It’s not supposed to rain for the next two hours, so I take a ride around the area.

Furka Pass

2,429 m. a.s.l.

Another location from a James Bond movie — this time, Goldfinger (1964). I reach the pass before 4 p.m. There’s a strong wind, and when I stop to take a photo I feel like a gust might tip over my motorbike at any moment. A few times, I run over to it and hold it up until the wind lets off.

I stop at the parking lot in front of the Belvédère hotel. You can see the south side of the pass from here, the village of Gletsch and the road up Grimsel Pass, which is also on my list.

I get to Gletsch and follow the same road to the campsite.

I want to stop for some shopping in Andermatt, but all the markets closed at 6:30 p.m., so I’m out of luck.

A short break in Oberalp Pass.

I check my email at the campsite and learn that the AirBnb reservation I made for the next few days was canceled. The host is supposedly hospitalized, so I need to find a new place to stay. Unfortunately, after a cancelation you need to wait 5 to 7 days to get your money back. I book another stay quickly, making sure I’ll have a place to park the bike; then I go to sleep.

Day 23: Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass, Susten Pass

July 27th, 2017

I get up in the morning — and it’s not raining! I pack up my tent fast and leave as soon as I can, because I got tired of this campsite after all this time. I stop for shopping in Andermatt and I head to the mountains.

Furka Pass

2,429 m. a.s.l.

When I take a break by the Belvédère and get my still-warm croissants from the case, a biker on a KTM 1290 Super Adventure pulls up next to me, and we get to talking about motorcycle travels. I find out that the owner of this new, over-150-BHP motorbike comes from the US, and that he had his bike transported here for a 4-month tour. The transport itself was 2,000 euros. He travels without a tent, sleeping in hotels. He eats only at restaurants. I keep re-calculating the budget needed for a trip like this, considering the local prices. He’s already been to Slovenia, Italy, and is going to France. I think I could get used to having this sort of retirement.

Grimsel Pass

2,164 m. a.s.l.

A beautiful pass. Terrific tarmac, winding roads, lakes, dams, and waterfalls. I stop every moment to take photos, but none of them give justice to the charm of the place.

The Grimsel Hospiz historical hotel

Coffee and cake at the restaurant are almost 20 francs. No thank you, the landscape gives me more of a kick than a double espresso would!

Innertkirchen

I fill up the bike, do a bit of shopping, and head towards the next pass. I stop by the Triftbahn cable car that goes to the Trift Bridge, one of the items on my list. Unfortunately, all the return tickets are sold out, so I make a reservation for the following day and keep going.

Susten Pass

2,260 m. a.s.l.

Another impressive pass. It’s incredibly winding and picturesque. You can get a great view of the Stein glacier and the Steinsee lake at its foot.

I go through the tunnel, reach the end of the pass, and turn back towards Innertkirchen. I stop for the night at Farm Camping Wyler. As I put up my tent, a storm breaks. The rubber line that connects the poles of the frame has stretched so far that the frame won’t stay together. I try to fix it, but water keeps pouring into the tent. After 5 minutes of my struggling, I manage to get it to stick, but by then everything inside is wet. I dab the inside of the tent with a towel, take off the wet clothes and throw everything into the campsite’s dryer. I take a hot shower and get into my sleeping bag.

Day 24: Trift Bridge, Grimsel Pass, Furka Pass, Susten Pass, Bern

July 28th, 2017

Trift Bridge

I reach the Triftbahn cable car before 10 a.m. The cable car route is almost 2.5 km long. Getting from there to the bridge was supposed to take me an hour and a half, but I manage it in an hour. The Trift Bridge itself is 170 meters long, and you can see the Triftsee lake and the Triftgletscher glacier from it.

The weather changes quickly. The sun is shining one minute, and moments later the bridge disappears in the fog.

About an hour later, I start to make my way back. I pass a few groups of Polish tourists, and after some 40 minutes I’m at the cable car station. It’s 1:40 p.m., and my ticket is for 3:26 p.m., but I got lucky — there’s a free spot in the car, so I get to ride down almost right away.

I buy some groceries in Innertkirchen and get a vignette for the highway. I still have some time, so I do a quick round of the passes. First Grimsel, then Furka, and finally Susten. I don’t stop for photos or record videos; I just enjoy the dynamic ride in the turns.

I get to Innertkirchen again and turn west, towards Bern. An hour later I’m in the capital. The first thing that strikes me is the light traffic. There are no jams, there are very few cars, and I’m often by myself at stop lights. The city isn’t big, and I hit the center 10 minutes after exiting the highway. I park my bike, get to know the host, run a quick laundry, and go to bed early.

Day 25: Bern, pool party

July 29th, 2017

In the morning I do some shopping, then visit a car wash, and spend the remainder of the day resting from biking. My host invites me to a pool party held by a friend of his. There’s more than 150 people, a DJ is playing, we’re having beers, barbecuing, and jumping into the pool. A bit later, Absolut Vodka joins the party. When my new friends find out I’m from Poland, they start pouring me half-mug rounds. One guy says he used to have a girlfriend from somewhere near Krakow, and he can speak a bit of Polish. I can barely understand him, but it’s a very funny conversation. We take the bus home after midnight, but it looks like the party’s going to go on till the morning.

Day 26: Bern, Lucerne

July 30th, 2017

Hangover wakes me at 6 a.m., and I go looking for water with my eyes closed. I finally get up around 9, shower, and take a bit of time before going out to check out the area early in the afternoon.

Lucerne

Getting to Lucerne by the highway takes me an hour and twenty minutes. I have no trouble finding a parking spot in the center. The city is clean, pretty, and full of tourists. There are boats and swans swimming in the lake, and the swans even let people pet them. There are banks and Swiss flags everywhere.

Around 5 p.m. I start to get ready to go back to Bern, since there’s supposed to be a storm in the evening. There was a multi-car crash on the highway (the other lane, luckily), and there’s a big traffic jam, so I need to squeeze through between the cars.

Day 27: Bern

July 31st, 2017

Today I get to meet a client I’ve been working with for the past 4 years, and yet we’ve never met before; that’s pretty exciting! Their office is just a 15-minute walk away. I meet the entire team, they give me a tour of the office, we do a short photo shoot, and then go grab lunch.

Our tables are right by the river Aare. As I try to decide what to pick from the menu, in the corner of my eye I see people swimming in the river! It turns out the river is so clean, it serves as the city’s swimming pool. And on your lunch break, you can throw your things into a waterproof bag, jump into the river, swim a kilometer, get out by the restaurant, eat your lunch and return to the office. How cool is that!

After lunch, we take a walk through the old town. I learn a few historical facts and some local legends first hand. I also find out where the St Bernard dog breed comes from.

In the evening, we go out in search for a bar that serves vodka, which is actually harder than it sounds. Very few people in Switzerland drink strong liquors, and only after visiting quite a few bars we find one that has vodka on the menu. And not just any vodka — Polish Żubrówka! After a few rounds, the boss goes home, while me and the rest of the team go for “one more drink.” We order ginger liqueur, then tequila, then ginger liqueur and tequila. About a dozen rounds later, we decide to go home. Fortunately, I was able to find my way, and I hope so did the rest of the crew. Thanks guys!

Day 28: Basel, Karlsruhe, Nuremberg, Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Krakow

August 1st, 2017

I get up around 6 a.m. and my head is still swimming. I pack up, make sandwiches for the road, and around 7:30 leave Bern heading for Poland. Right after I get to the highway, a light bulb goes out, so I replace it when I’m getting gas. My route for the day is 1,400 km; luckily it’s mostly through highways. I stop only to fill up, and get a coffee every time I do.

I pass Basel and enter Germany, then go north towards Karlsruhe, turn east towards Nuremberg, and then on to Prague. It’s really hot in Czechia; the thermometer shows 39°C. It’s difficult to ride, especially in the merino wool thermal wear I put on this morning… I pass Brno, Ostrava, and enter Poland in the evening. I arrive in Krakow before 10 p.m. and, come to think of it, I’m not even exhausted. I guess spending a month in a motorcycle seat gets you used to long distances.