Rüeggisberg to Fribourg, 32Km and 524m elevation gain
That’s a little grotto with St James in full pilgrim attire along the way this morning.
I managed to find some sleep last night in the rustic barn despite having to get up at 1.00 and negotiate my way around two horses who were wondering what I was doing. They didn’t seem too comfortable with the idea of sharing their barn with pilgrims.
For awhile I lay awake wondering whether the rat trap by the shower had caught anything but then I fell asleep.
Breakfast was good as you’d expect on a farm. There was cereal and a large jug of milk which was cold but not necessarily pasteurised. The bread was fresh and there was homemade marmalade. Walter discovered a very clean WC at the nearby church so we didn’t trouble the on-site facilities anymore.
The walk to Fribourg was long but not as hilly as recent days. All the farmers are busy cutting hay and a few are making silage. It’s much easier to make silage but the cows must be fed on hay if you want to sell your milk to the Swiss cheese producers. Walter grew up on a farm and has educated me on all these farming matters as well as the benefits of all the different types of machinery. It’s a revelation walking with someone who knows what’s going on in the surrounding countryside.
As we approached Fribourg, we passed people who greeted us with a Bonjour. We are edging into the French part of Switzerland and everything is looking a little bit French. The cars have to stop for pedestrians but they do it reluctantly rather than with the good grace of the German speaking drivers. Everyone smokes on the pavement cafes and English is the second language although few people can speak it. It’s going to be a good few days of revision for me before I get the full-on experience of returning to La France.
Pilgrimage 
Looks like a fabulous walk! Bon courage…
Hi Janet, good to hear from you. This is a spectacular walk and some of the steps remind me of Amalfi😅
Thanks for the education Tim…& Walter. 😊 I googled it & now know the difference between hay & silage. On my walks I always wondered why the farmers bundled up the grass when it was wet, thinking surely it would rot…ah well, I’m such a townie!
Good luck with the French…pronunciation which has always defeated me. 🙄
Thanks. I’m like you except I’m learning. I can now tell wheat from barley
Mais oui bon amie
Et vous!
I guess it’s too late to recommend a diversion to lake Neuchatel and Estervayer le lac, where you’d have found me sailing exactly 40 years ago. Great memories and it seems not much has changed in that timeless countryside.
Oh shame! I could have followed the Payerne variant which runs down the side of Lake Neuchâtel. You should return. Nothing changes in Switzerland except the glaciers have melted.
Tim. Your daily posts are fantastic, as always! I guess I’m walking vicariously across Switzerland with you – about as close to a long distance walk as I’ll do this year. The river rock cobbles in the woods look particularly nasty, so happy to be on my couch for that section.
The three billy goats gruff look like they’re penned in by Kiwi farming technology in the form of Gallagher electric fence netting.
Hi both of you, thanks for the contribution on the goat fence. I wonder how many kilometres of electric fencing exist in Switzerland