To turn a movie quote I heard this morning and I rephrased and turned into a mantra: I was born into the wet. A decent day. I’m soaked but kinda warm. I’m writing this from a park bench in Lucerne waiting for check in time.
I didn’t feel confident I would have a good chance at a decent and safe passing of Sustenpass so decided to take a smaller pass and start making my way towards The Black Forest in Germany.
My plan was to stick around in Lauterbrunnen Valley for a day but I was feeling a bit antsy. As some of the others I’d met the night before were leaving I felt a bit propelled into motion. Tomorrow looks to be wetter so it was a trade off. In the end I don’t think it would have been more wet.
I made my way out of the valley. It was raining almost immediately when I left and would for the majority of the ride. The climbing was more than some of the previous days but it came fairly readily.
There were beautiful views of Brienzersee which I was able to make out from the south side through brief breaks in the rain. I also passed several waterfalls and stuff. To classify them as buildings would require me to use an adjective.
I went up the Brünigpasstrasse. That was a big mistake. While it wasn’t busy when I first started, it became a bit of a death trap. The climb was pretty easy but the pouring rain, limited visibility, fog, lack of shoulder, and large trucks made it pretty miserable. I had proper lighting and made it out mostly fine.
The descent was fun, but not as fun as I’d hoped due to the visibility issues. I was wet enough I needed to layer up.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. It was beautiful along the lake but I was just putting the pedal down to finish up the day.
The ride into Lucerne had varied paths including a long boardwalk. This eventually led into a neighborhood that reminded me of the homes in the Portland along Skyline Drive, with more windows than walls.
I checked into a hostel, Backpackers Lucerne and then wandered the city. I ran into a friend, Selene, I’d made the previous day. I wandered the city and got very hangry before buying some raviolis from the supermarket in the train station. I saw pretty things including an incredible bridge, called the Chapel Bridge. All throughout the interior were ornate carvings and paintings along the interior (along with a…chapel).
I cooked them up and had dinner with Selene and Matias who Selene introduced me too. We talked about travel plans, endurance, and all the wonderful things before heading to sleep.