Nadine

So whenever someone tells you it will be flat for the whole day do not believe them.  I think we started the day just out of Konstanz with 1100 steps up. (I’m exaggerating just a little). 

We were lazy this morning and slept in on purpose. It was a wise decision as it was raining very hard for most of the morning. We donned our rain gear and headed out into the dreary morning.

The walk out of the city was challenging only because of the rain. We had to stop and find shelter often in order to dig out Mark’s phone and check out our planned route. I was struck by how many bicycles were parked on the sidewalks since we had to keep dodging them. Bicycles are most definitely a major mode of transportation for all ages here in Europe.

It didn’t take long until we’d crossed the somewhat unimpressive German-Swiss border. It’s now a whole new country.

One interesting thing we noticed today were the signs.  Normally you would see kilometers to a certain destination. But Mark joked that here it is listed in the time it takes for a Swiss grandmother to walk (well I qualify for part of that description!)

Leaving the city we had a nice and gentle (in Mark’s opinion) climb through the woods. (HA says Nadine).

We arrived at a posted sign for The Camino in Switzerland about the same time another woman arrived. 

Eliane is a mom to 8 months old twins and a three year old … All boys!  She was taking a day off of parenting and walking the same route we were.  She was a gastrointestinal nurse but has made a decision to be home with her children.  That’s a brave thing to do in this culture, and we applauded her for that!  She was a delight giving us cultural and historical tips of the area.  It was like having our own tour guide!  And her pace matched mine! 

Eliane received a key from me. Thank you Eliane for spending your day with us!

We parted ways after sharing a coffee and some ice cream. Elaine continued to the train station to head to her home. And we headed to our pilgrim lodging which was conveniently located across the street from the local grocery.

Our hostess Monika is an energetic lady who has walked a portion of the Camino in Switzerland before. Her love for helping pilgrims is a joy to see. Her kindness and enthusiasm is appreciated.

A few misc pictures of the day