The corona pandemic has shown how quickly and how radically a tiny virus can turn our world upside down.
It's gotten pretty boring after a good year and a half. Monotonous. Sometimes horribly dull, then again strangely sedating. For a while ...
What to do?
But what to do in this time, sometimes consisting of nothing at all. Of uniform days and time that drags on and on?
Of course, we might continue to make ourselves comfortable on the sofa with a beer or a glass of Prosecco and watch the umpteenth Netflix series, even knowing that every month they are losing quality and their seductive power.
No option.
We might learn Vietnamese, or the oboe, or breakdancing, or finally read all those philosophy books that have been living their dusty lives on the bookshelf for half a century.
Definitely not an option.
Of course, we might break out of the monotony and finally travel again. So doing what - at least for me - makes the time before and after traveling endurable.
Rather not an option as well, as long as there is a risk of being locked up in a hotel in Bangkok for weeks.
It feels strange. We have made ourselves comfortable in our own pandemic, feeling sluggish but quite at ease.
So again - what can we do? Should we do anything at all?
Then finally the grand idea: how about getting to know Switzerland for a change. The Bernese Oberland or the French-speaking part of Switzerland or the Jura? I have occasionally been accused of knowing Burma or Laos better than my home country. This accusation might finally be refuted. But how? By train? Or by car? By bus or on bicycle?
Not a chance. Then I could be home again after a few hours or days at the most.
But there is another possibility. Discover Switzerland on foot. Also in Switzerland there are certainly some of the so-called long-distance hiking trails.
And so the outlines of a rather crazy plan slowly emerge ...
The long-distance hiking trails through Switzerland
A look at the corresponding Google entries reveals a lot.
The best platform for a detailed overview of the Swiss long-distance hiking trails is provided by switzerlandmobil.ch.
In the section "National Routes", the website describes the 7 long-distance hiking trails leading on different routes through Switzerland.
The choice is only difficult at first glance, but at second glance it quickly becomes clear that none of the more challenging routes comes into question. So neither the Via Alpina or the Trans Swiss Trail nor the Via Jakobi. After all, I'm only old, not crazy.
But one thing clearly stands out - The Alpine Panorama Trail.
This one should be manageable even for older people (we'll find out). It leads along the foothills of the Alps, on the left of the path as a permanent companion the mountain panorama of the Alps. And not to forget: with 30 stages it corresponds approximately to the time duration I can imagine (at least in my dreams).
But doubts remain ...
The Alpine Panorama Trail - a very special challenge
So it's the Alpine Panorama Trail.
The initial skepticism (for which I am grateful, because it usually keeps me from making stupid decisions) is slowly turning into something like confidence that it might at least be within the range of possibility. I'm envisioning rest breaks, stretching my legs every few days, and then moving on. And if all else fails, then just stop and go home.
In any case, I'm already mentally preparing myself for the possibility that the whole thing could go miserably wrong and that I might be back home after 3-4 days. Of course, with extremely battered self-confidence and the realization that there are obviously age-related limits.
But let's see.
But as time passes and spring approaches, the plan becomes more and more concrete, and sometime in April my decision is made. The skepticism of my friends and family is understandable, because I'm not sure myself whether this might be the biggest flop of my life.
So I'll get the Travelguide, providing detailed insights into the individual stages. A good purchase. And as it turns out, a very reliable travel companion.
The planned route leads over 30 or 29 stages (a correction of the route has led to a reduction in the number of stages; that suits me very well) from Rorschach on Lake Constance via Appenzellerland, Toggenburg, Central Switzerland, Emmental, Schwarzburgland to Lake Geneva and finally to the end point Geneva.
And if I actually get there, there will be more than 500 kilometers behind me.
500 kilometers? A number that honestly gives me a stomach ache, because 500 kilometers are 500'000 meters, and if I can believe the calculation I found on the Internet, that's about 800'000 steps. I think that's a lot of steps, but as they say, the first one is always the worst. Or is it simply the first?
Anyway, what can possibly go wrong? I might make a fool of myself, but what the heck, it's worth a try.
The start is getting closer
There is a lot to do. Cats and plants have to be taken care of in my absence, (thanks Robin, thanks Rainer), my equipment has to fit (and above all be as light as possible), to be prepared for any weather imaginable, and my physical and mental performance has to be brought to top level. It can be done mentally, but physically it leaves some questions unanswered.
I did circumnavigate Lake Baldegg for 14 km as a preparation, but with the slight suspicion that this distance might be considerably less than the daily distance to be covered (my suspicions were proven right pretty quickly).
At first, I am convinced that I have to make hotel reservations only for the first few nights before the start. Completely wrong thinking, as it turns out. Even with the hotels for the first week of June, there are some surprising problems. Some are still closed, some are fully booked and some have shut down for good due to Corona.
So I immediately change my reservation practice and book all hotels for the whole route. Already at the end of May, available overnight stays in the Lake Geneva region are a rare commodity. I am aware of the consequences: there are no more spontaneous rest days, I am forced to run the whole route without a break.
But surprisingly, this initially daring decision will, contrary to all expectations, turn out to be positive.
And another rather important detail: I expect and hope that starting from the beginning of June the official opening of the restaurants will take place. This will save me some boring picnics in my hotel room. The beginning of June also seems optimal in terms of snow on the highest elevations of the trip, I do not have the slightest desire to torture myself through snow and ice.
But eventually all questions are settled, the hotels reserved, all provisions packed, backpack and walking sticks and everything else ready.
And so the morning of June 3rd, 2021 dawns ...
And here the hike begins ... from Rorschach to Trogen.
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