On Wednesday 10 April 2024 I decided to hike around my small area of Switzerland. The weather was cooler (half what it was earlier in the week), so I thought it would be perfect for hiking. I left the apartment around 8:30 with a plan of spending about 3 hours in the forest and small villages nearby. I think I succeeded.

The first path I turned onto was wide and well-worn from hikers and forest vehicles over the years. As I started toward the deeper part of the forest I heard something in the trees overhead. I looked up and saw a beautiful blue heron landing in the top of one of the tall pine trees which grow in this area. The large bird landed gently in the top of the tree and stood magically on the tip-top without moving the branches. I took a few photos and moved on. I soon noticed a small broken blue eggshell that looked like the candy Robins Eggs I used to get in my Easter Basket as a child. That was one of my favorite candies. I have no idea if the egg was dropped from a bird that had actually hatched or if a prdator bird took the egg from its nest and dropped it on its way away from the tree. As I continued on I hoped to myself that the shell was from a hatchling and that the bird family were celebrating the baby in a nest high above me.

I was not far from a roadway so I could hear the rush hour traffic, but with the new growth from early Springtime I could not see many vehicles. By the time I reached the intersection where I would either turn to go back home or hike further, I was feeling excited that I was strong, confident, and ready for a day on the trail. At about the 5th kilometer I was nearing a small village near the facility where Todd works. Not far from there is a park called Ufer Park… it is really just a concrete slab with concrete walls and no roof. The slabs are divided into rooms and each room is different. For instance, one room has a slide from the top to the bottom, some rooms have concrete slabs that look like the platforms in a Mario Brothers video game with water surrounding them, so you have to move from slab to slab to avoid stepping in water. Other rooms have trees and tables for a picnic… it is a great place to hang out (and take a rest)… the walls are covered with professional looking grafiti and I never get bored of spending time there. It was a perfect stop for my first pause. I ate a granola bar, drank some water, and then started back. I texted Todd to let him know I was nearby and headed toward Wangen an der Aare but turned before I got that far and crossed the river to stay on one of the Helsana Fitness Trails. I took some photos from the bridge looking back toward Biogen and then continued on my way.

After about 2.5 kilometers I was back near Biogen but just across the river. I headed up the hill toward Riedholz and noticed a bizarre piece of art painted on the wall of an old warehouse wall. The figure in the painting bore astriking resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger and beside the headshot was the number 45 usingthe colors red, white, and blue. I know it is weird, but that was my perspective of this picture. I cannot wait to take Mason over to see it.

I continued up the hill to the point where the pavement ends and one must make a left turn toward the forest to stay on the wanderweg. I was in the forest for another 90 minutes before I took another pause by a small pond that Todd and I have rested at many times. There were ducks wading in the water and doing their best to avoid having their picture taken by me. I had another granola bar and more water. I paused for about 15 minutes before packing my journal and phones back inthe rucksack and headed toward Schloss Waldegg.

I hiked along the lower path for about 800 meters and then turned left to go up the hill to another favorite area of mine… a large wooden picnic table at the edge of the forest facing the Alps with Schloss Waldegg to the right. Sometimes in December the table will be decorated with greens and berries as if a family were celebrating a holiday meal together. It is a lovely sight.

I continued my walk to the front of Waldegg, took several pictures and then headed down the tree-lined drive toward Solothurn. When I was near the end of the driveway I decided to turn right and go to Solothurn via the street on which the S-Bahn runs instead of crossing over and walking along the river. This path would add about another kilimeter to my total for the day. Along this walk I passed grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, bars, and a Kloster. It is back away from the city but it takes you directly behing the csthedral which stands slightly above the streets of the Altstadt in Solothurn. I always love to see this cathedral. I ahd said early in our time here in Switzerland that I can see the cathedral from almost anywhere I hike and it is like finding my center every time I see it. It calms me.

I was heading down the hill from Baseltor into Solothurn to Hauptbahnhof because I was supposed to meet Mason for lunch. I had sent him a text from Schloss Waldegg, but he had not responded… I would send another once I reached Hauptbahnhof…

I made it to my destination, stopped my hike on my watch and texted Mason once more… five minutes later still no response. I decided I was tired and would just order the food and take it home. After getting on the bus I heard back from Mason. I explained that I had already ordered food and boarded the bus towards Derendingen.

My hike was 13.5 kilometers over a time span of 3.5 hours (30 minutes of which I was taking pauses). After being home about 1.5 hours I realized how exhausted I was and decided that I would not be able to complete the plans I had made for the day. Mason and I spent the rest of the day on the balcony enjoying the sun even though the temperature was not above 14 C.

I was proud of this accomplishment and will definitely do this again soon.

Here are a few pictures: