Recently I was listening to the podcast, Travel With Rick Steves. He spoke of travelers, tourists, and pilgrims. I like explorers too. But sometimes when I travel solo, those terms don’t quite fit. Sometimes I am just a wanderer. I wander the planet with no agenda, other than to see the beauty in front of me and let my day unfold before me.
On my own, I feel completely free. I make no plans, and let the day lead me. Checking in with myself often, I ask, where to next? Am I drawn to walk here or there? Do I feel like immersing myself in art or would I rather sit over a cup of coffee and soak in the city and its vibe? Or, do I want to walk over there just because I’m curious or it for some reason, vaguely calls me?
This is much more child-like than the rest of my days, when I’m scheduled, getting things done. I think that’s why I love it so. Reminds me of when I’d go outside as a kid and decide in the moment if I wanted to climb that tree or make mud pies. シ
I’ve mentioned before that Switzerland is a wonderful place to travel solo. It is safe, transportation is excellent, and it’s a small country with incredibly varied scenery, so it is easy to change your views in a short time. Yesterday I added another couple of reasons I love to travel in Switzerland to my list. I knew of both of these in my head, but experience is a much more powerful persuader, and so now I have a deep appreciation of these aspects of life in this lovely country I now call home.
Trails lead, well, everywhere.
Potable water is available, almost everywhere.
I got up early and was on the train as the sun was coming up. What a wonderful way to start the day!
I arrived in Luzern, said hello to the lake, and then decided to take the PE train, the Panoramic Express, to Brienz in Central Switzerland. My thought was to take the ferry from there to Interlaken, and then maybe continue by ferry to Thun. But it was just a thought. One of the ways I like to practice presence is to postpone decisions when I can, choosing to make them in the moment rather than in advance.
I arrived in Brienz and briefly considered taking the Rothorn Bahn up the mountain. I will definitely do that sometime soon. But as it was kind of cloudy/hazy, I decided no. For the same reason, I decided not to get on a ferry. Instead, I saw a bright yellow Postbus waiting. Destination, Axalp. Didn’t know it, but wanted to, so I hopped on.
I was traveling with a day pass, which meant I could get on almost any transportation in the whole country. Up toward Axalp we went. I rode to the penultimate stop called Bellevue, and yes, the view was beautiful. I could stay briefly and await the bus coming down. I checked in with myself. No, that didn’t feel right. Wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I began to wander, walking vaguely uphill.
Hmmm, I could walk down the hill/mountain a bit, and then catch a bus the rest of the way. Yes that felt right. Okay, checked in with Google Maps which told me to walk down the main road. No, wait, this is Switzerland, where you can walk almost everywhere following the yellow path signs. I continued wandering and looking out for a sign.
First I found the concert of the cows.
Just beyond that I found my yellow sign. I could walk all the way to Brienz (2 + hours felt too far) or toward Giessbach and the waterfalls, which was shorter and more appealing. My water bottle was full, and so I proceeded, through farm fields, abundant wild flowers and forest.
The trek down was steep at times and sometimes wet, which meant that I needed to be present for each step. I found myself getting a little nervous from time to time when I’d look ahead. Wow that looks steep! But I reminded myself to be here in this part of the path, and address that one when I was there. Sure enough, it looked steeper from a distance. Once I was there, I could see my way down, calmly, creatively, in my own way.
I think the beauty of being on my own there was that there was no temptation to rush; I didn’t need to show anyone that I could go fast or that I had good balance. I wasn’t trying to match anyone else’s pace. It was just me and the earth. It was a bit challenging in spots, and more than a few times, I reached my hand down to grab a rock or lean on the ground and support a big step down. That felt great; the planet and I were in this together, and together we’d figure out how to get me down this trail.
And we did. Did slip a couple of times, over the pinecones or on the gravel part of the pathway toward the end. All along the sound of the waterfalls beckoned me gently down and down. As I meandered, I passed along an old barn and wasn’t completely clear where to go next. I kept on going and sure enough, there was my sign.
Wanderweg means hiking trail in German, but to me, it’s my invitation to wander…slowly, lovingly, wander the earth.
Next, I came across my water source. All water in Switzerland, unless specifically labeled as non-potable, is cold, delicious drinkable water.
So I refilled and continued toward the falls which were by then quite loud.
I could have kept on going down the hill for apparently more dramatic views of more falls, but my feet and I were done. I walked along the road to the bus stop, hoping it might be coming soon. I was in luck. It was arriving in eight minutes. If I hadn’t caught that bus I would have been hanging out at the nearby restaurant for three hours waiting for the next one (a midday break?), so eight minutes was grand. I took a couple more photos and then happily jumped aboard the cool bus.
Had a nice lunch by the lake…
and then put my tired, happy self on the train home.
Wandering, just wandering, feeds my soul. Truly, solo soul travel.
❤️
Your trip down reminded me of our exploring of Muir Woods and our walk as darkness descended.