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Freedom Fortyfive No breakfast in bed. Not even room service. Sherry was very disappointed. She had clad herself in all her clothes, including her fleece Newfoundland squid hat in an effort to look cold. She was still none too warm and stood shivering in a sunbeam. Her objective was to obtain an invitation for tea. Sherry looked so cold in her outfit she probably would have succeeded had anyone been home. Unfortunately we had slept too late and the homeowners were already gone. "The first night is the coldest," I told a shivering Sherry. "Yeah, whatever," she responded. She was too cold to appreciate my humor. We returned to the Rhine and had a cold breakfast. Sharon complained it was a poor substitute for breakfast in bed. The wind blew all day, gusting down the valley and making our progress slower than usual. Villages, perched on mountainsides, had church steeples that poked the sky. The Alps towered on either side of us, but the valley was quite wide and green pastures carpeted the lower slopes. More tourist cows with huge fuzzy ears and large bells grazed everywhere. Switzerland would have been one of my favorite countries, as it was superbly picturesque, were it not for the frequent appearance of the army. Switzerland was a neutral country, but they had a very active army-presumably to ensure they maintained their neutrality. Supposedly mountains were hollowed out, waiting to protect Swiss citizens in the event of war. Our guidebook said that a two year service was mandatory. After their active term of service all Swiss remained in the reserve, with their rifle and army kit at home, until the age of fortyfive. Freedom fortyfive. After listening to all the blasting during the night, I believed it. In the afternoon we were passed by a convoy of army trucks carrying soldiers-all with rifles in hand. A bit unnerving, especially when I thought most were under twenty years of age. Sherry cashed a traveler's cheque so we could buy groceries. We didn't buy much before the whole amount was gone. I thought she should have exchanged more. We would still be in Switzerland for a couple more days and we would have saved time by not having to find another bank and stand in line again. After lunch we found a quiet path through the forest. Eventually, our forest route ended and we followed a good bike path along the autobahn. Onto a bridge, I took the corner too sharp and hooked my pannier on the railing of the bridge. Coming to an abrupt stop I tumbled onto the pavement, skinning my arm. Doctoring it with Mercurochrome made it look worse than it truly was. "Some people will do anything for a little sympathy," Sharon said. I climbed a hillside and found a small flat spot with a fine view of patterned farm fields. The girls voted to keep going. We foolishly continued riding. By the time we hit Thuses it was almost dark. We ended up at the mouth of a gorge and crashed through an overgrown treed area behind a shed. It was cramped and the ground was lumpy, but it would have to do. Behind us was the town and ahead was nothing but ravine. |
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