Day 41: Our Last Day into Venice August 10

Chioggia to Venice (Lido) - 18 miles

Total: 1467miles from Travemunde, Germany to Venice

Okay! We made it! This is our last day on the bikes. Today we take the ferries and ride up the barrier islands into Venice. We will actually be stopping in Lido, one of the islands next to Venice because you are actually not allowed to have bicycles in Venice proper. We booked a room and we are ready to go! We started off the morning with Andrea taking a quick swim in the Adriatic and Bruce making coffee. We packed up the tent and all of our bits and bobs for one last time. Although, since we stayed at the beach all of our stuff is very sandy. We will have to do some serious cleaning of our gear when we get home. We headed out into Chioggia to catch our first Vaporetto- water bus to the next island. The boarding dock was packed and we were told initially that we would not be able to fit our bikes on the boat but of course we did and we were off. There was some confusion about the next stop up the islands (Caroman) because the Venetians decided to build a huge sea wall from one tiny island to another without telling anyone. So we thought we could cycle up this "island" but it turned out to be just a wall with a very wet side walk attached. We were frustrated at the Vaporetto driver at first as he was saying we could not get off at the stop we had planned but when we saw what we would have been cycling on, we understood his hesitance. We weren't the only confused cycle tourists, even the Italian one we met didn't understand until we sailed past the very long sea wall. We got off at the next stop (Pellestrina), checked out the sea wall again to make sure that it REALLY wasn't a good idea and then headed north towards Venice. We pedaled through some beautiful sea side fishing villages on the islands. Had a cappuccino before 11am, took lots of photos of boats, blue water, and fishing buoys. When we stopped to catch our last ferry of the day to Lido, we had an hour to kill so we ordered a panini from the food truck at the ferry terminal and tried to shade ourselves as best we could from the 12 o'clock sun. Another cycle tourist pulled up so we invited him to sit with us. His name is Fabio and he had cycled here from Rome (his home town). Turns out he had recently visited Boston and has family in New York. We chatted and waited for the ferry together. We ended up cycling the length of Lido together. We took the big car ferry together. The island bus actually took the ferry too. Can you imagine taking a bus that boards a ferry to the next island? Crazy! We parted ways at the other end of Lido after taking photos with Venice in the distance. He went off to try to get his bike over into St. Marks Square to take a photo. We really hope he made it!!!! ( Fabio if you made it send us a photo!!!) and we went off to find our hotel. The rest of the day was pretty easy. We checked in, locked up our bikes in the back garden, carried all of our bags upstairs, slept until the temperature went down. Went to the beach on Lido and then headed over to Venice! We took photos in St. Marks Square and got lost in narrow alley ways. We listened to accordion music while eating gnocchi and lasagna. We had a great first night in Venice but we are a bit freaked out by the sheer number of tourists and how much English we are hearing. Our bikes are safe but we don't want to leave them alone for long. Even though we cycled today, it really is the end of this tour. We will see the many islands of Venice for the next few days, drink wine and buy Murano glass. We might try to take a train to the city state of San Marino.   Then we are off to the UK to see friends and family. We jump back to Venice to pick up the bikes for our last flight home. What an amazing adventure. We enjoyed ourselves. We feel good. We aren't ready for it to be over yet but we never really are. For the last time until the next time... The World is Ours!!!

Day 40: Figs, Swimming in the Adriatic, and Karaoke Competitions August 9

Polesella to Chioggia 40 miles

Started our morning off with breakfast and a photo shoot. Our hotel manager asked if he could take photos of us for his hotel's website. Hey, why not? We powered out 26 miles before 11am! We are cutting through this flat terrain like butta'! We even had time to have a cappuccino because it was still early enough! Another touring cyclist pair passed us while we were at the cafe. Turns out they were a Belgian mother/son pair cycling from Belgium to Rome.

How cool? They were just as frustrated with the heat so after our chat we all set off in our opposite directions trying to beat the scorching sun. One of the best parts of today was the pilfering!!! We pilfered grapes and FIGS!!! We ate figs right off of the tree on our way down one of the canals of the Po. Andrea has been looking for grapes to pilfer that weren't in someone's yard, garden, or vineyard. We found them today growing wild on a fence that did not seem to belong to anyone! Both fruits were so sweet that made our mouths dry, which is good so we drank more water as we rode! Yay!!!! We made it to Chioggia and Venice County by 12:30. This is the beginning of the end of our trip. Chioggia is the last stop before we take the ferries and cycle up the barrier islands to Venice. We think we might camp tonight. Use all of our camping gear one last time before we pack it up for good. We found a grocery store and had lunch in the shade. It wasn't hard to find a campsite since there are about 10 on this beach resort peninsula. We chose a descent one. They were all pretty pricey but this one had direct access to the beach and was on the lower end of the high prices. After finding a decently shady site in the packed campground we headed off to the beach to go swimming in the Adriatic. It was spectacular!!!! The water was warm and the sun was getting lower. Even though there were lots of people on the beach it didn't feel insanely crowded. We swam and swam and then laid out in the lounge chairs provided by the camp ground. Andrea ran back and picked up a couple of cans of beer at the camp shop, so we stretched out, read books and drank a beer on the beach while the sun began to set ( the only time I can take my very pale Scottish husband to the beach). Back at the campsite Andrea was practicing the uke and one of the camp's activities directors invited her to attend the karaoke night and play uke later on that evening around 10pm. We weren't sure if we would even be up at 10 so we said we might be there. We had dinner at the campsite restaurant which was pretty good! Where else can you get a Frutti di Mare pizza, brick oven baked, at a camp ground? Only in Italy! It was hot and mosquito-y and the karaoke hadn't started by 10 so we tried to go to bed. But the campground had other plans. It was so incredibly hot in the tent and all you could hear was the karaoke night and people talking and partying all over the campsite. Sleep wasn't happening any time soon, so Andrea got up and redressed at 11pm and went out to see if they still wanted her to play. Turns out she was expected and they pulled her back stage to prepare. With a big introduction and a dedication to Bruce ( who had also gotten up.. What a supportive husband he is!), she performed Stay with Me by Sam Smith both singing and playing the ukulele in front of a much bigger crowd than she expected. She got a huge round of applause, especially from the gaggle of tween girls at the front of the stage (she collects middle schoolers wherever she goes). The camp director asked if we would wait and watch a couple more performers. It was cooler outside then in the tent, so sure...Why not?. One guy even sang Andrea Boccelli, a real crowd pleaser.Turns out this was a competition and guess what? Andrea won! With 98% applause. She got called up at the end and was given a certificate and another round of applause. What a crazy night?!? Sleeping was still really tough in the stifling heat of the tent...But we can handle that for one night... We head to Venice in the morning!

The World is Ours!

Day 39: Taking it Easy on the Po August 8

Castelmassa to Polesella 32 miles

Breakfast at 6:30... Have to beat the heat! But the alarm clock didn't go off... Grrr... Even without the alarm we were fed and out the door by 7:15 with a guide!!! Our hotel person cycled with us back to the levee to make sure we got there alright. He was very nice and helpful. The clouds stayed in the sky longer this morning so even though it was incredibly humid the temp didn't get scorchingly hot only about 90 or so. Almost cool! We kept up a really good speed in the morning with no head wind averaging over 11mph which is kjnda incredible for us. The headwind kicked in about 10am and slowed us down but we still made good time. We stopped to resupply at the first larger village we saw, Stiente. Andrea went into the patisserie with lots of Italian ladies waiting in line. They wanted to know where we were going and where we were coming from and where me and my handsome husband were from... No English what-so-ever but I totally understood "handsome husband"... I love Italian ladies!!! We made it to our hotel after some back and forthing when google maps didn't put the hotel in the right place...We even had to ask directions at a Pizzeria! Oh dear... It was just up the way and on the left... There was a very cute and lovable kitty guarding the hotel... We really miss our cats. So we unpacked the bikes, stored them in the guest house (seriously... The bikes had a vintage juke box and our room smelled of stale cigarettes)... Such is life. We did our normal break down; washed clothes and relaxed in the AC. Napped through the hottest part of the day (12-5) and then we went to dinner next door to the hopping-est place in town... Who knew? We had seafood risotto and vino frissante (bubbly) that was out of this world! For dessert our very nice waitress recommended English soap and whipped Marscapone with Nutella. But no espresso for Andrea... Not at 9 o'clock at night. That would be a bad idea... There was a mosquito infestation for about 10 min at dinner that really ruined everyone's dinner for a bit. Every one was swatting and scratching and then it was over... Now we know why the restaurant had candles and incense burning, not just for ambiance on the outside porch. Off to bed for an early start again tomorrow to beat the heat. The days are getting easier as we head to Venice. The trip is wrapping up. Just a few more days and this adventure will be coming to an end... Not yet though!

The World is Ours!

Day 38: Aperol Spritz with Truckers August 7

Mantua to Castelmassa 40 miles exactly

Holy hot day on the Po River Valley!

We mostly followed the levee today. The river is very low. We saw a lot of evidence of past flooding in the river valley but today the river barely filled its banks. We got buzzed today by Italian painted fighter jets... They are painted red and green like, "yes the Italians are bombing you and we are doing it in style!" They also have Italian flag hay bales as well, with red white and green stripes on the outer covering... We have seen a lot of hay bales on this trip but none have been as fashionable as the ones in Italy. We went to Revere, Italy today! Had to cross over a very big, very high bridge to do so but we just had to go!!! Andrea works in Revere, Massachusetts. We ate lunch in the shade of a big beautiful church and then had gelato in an air conditioned restaurant a little ways down the road. It was SO scorching hot today! It starts off as humid hot and then it gets so hot that the humidity burns off and all you get is dry scorching Sahara winds to the face! Whoo!!! We pushed out the last 15 km to the hotel with little stopping but for water breaks. There is very little shade on the levee but we knew that the nice man at the hotel was going to turn on the AC for us before we arrived. We went to the restaurant attached to the gas station next door for dinner. Well, it wasn't really right next door. By bike it felt that way but on foot we actually had to walk a New York City block back down the highway to get there with no sidewalk... But the food was excellent! Andrea had to have a drink called an Aperol Spritz since all of the manly trucker men were having them too! Turns out men have them with Campari but hey... They are all bright orange in a big wine glass. Awesome! Had fettuccine with duck and a grilled plate of German proportions... Except it had polenta and no German plate would have polenta... :) what a crazy hot day but really good cycling! Onwards!

The World is Ours!

Day 37: Our Angel Angelo August 6

Cremona to Mantua (via Angelo's boat) 56 miles

Okay... So today was a little boring... Really hot! Very steamy. Flat. Lots of churches... Nothing too special to write home about as we left Cremona... Until... About 15km from Mantua we come up to the bridge we are supposed to cross at Torre D'Oglio.... And let's say, the engineer who built this floating pontoon bridge wasn't expecting the dam up River to let out so little water. So the access to the bridge was about 20 feet above where the bridge was floating. Damn! There was no way to get across this river! The only way back to our route would have been a 30 mile detour back tracking a great deal of our progress today... Not good. Bruce was suggesting lowering the bikes from the end of the bridge. I was considering commandeering the little rickety boat with an off board motor way down on the river's edge...   And by the way, it was still almost 100 degrees F at this point and we had already pedaled 45 miles. Then ( about 10 min after we got there) a guy in a little SUV drives up. We ask him what happened to the bridge? He said (in broken Italian/English) that the bridge was caput and bad planning. He tried to tell us that we should go back and take the detour... That wasn't happening ... So it turns out that this guy owns the rickety boat Andrea was considering commandeering. So he offered to take us across the river by boat! So we unpacked the bikes, carried them and all the bags down the river bank on makeshift dirt stairs. We filled the little boat while he said all the words he knew in English (Obama, Mississippi, Kennedy, Bruce Springsteen, one, two... You get the picture.) This was a conversation of hand gestures and terms in our respective languages. We loaded both bikes in at serious angles and then Bruce stepped in and I slowly sat on the end with the bags. All the while the lip of this little boat was getting closer and closer to the water line. Then we cast off, moving with the current the little outboard motor puffed to life after a few tries. With a little back and forth, swaying and teetering we made it to the little rickety dock on the other side. The tires used for bumpers were scorching when we reached out to hold on while we got out and unloaded his little boat. Pulling the bikes out was scary but we managed to get all of our stuff on the dock safely and dry. We tried to give the very nice man some money for all of his troubles but he staunchly refused our offer, standing in his little boat swaying with the current in the heat. So we gave him one of our cards before he set off to go fishing or whatever he was planning on doing down river. Before he left he told us his name was Angelo. Angelo, the Angel! Thank you bicycle gods for sending him just at the right time! Wow!!! Two days in a row we have been helped by selfless, kind, knowledgable people here in Italy! We thanked Angelo as he left and then we had the task of getting all of our gear off the dock and back up the 50 foot river bank. There were 2 flights of old warped metal stairs up from the dock and then up to the road above. Bruce powered Tonka all the way up both flights before remembering that it was about 100 degrees and there was no shade! So while he recouped from his feat of strength, I brought the bags up, 1 or 2 at a time up the first flight. Then he powered Tractor up and we both brought the bags up to road level. Holy moly it was hot!!! So we finally got the bags in the bikes and headed towards the village of Cesole which was only 2km down the road in hopes there would be a shop open with cold water. We were in luck, a little cafe was open and the owner got us a bottle of cold water (frizzante-bubbly) and two glasses with lemon. We drank the whole 1.5 L bottle in the shade, sitting at the little plastic tables and chairs that are so common here. Both of us needed that time to settle back into ourselves after the craziness at the bridge. As we were sitting we looked up accommodation in Mantua, so we would have a hotel to get o that we knew had AC. We found a really good deal and booked it right there. How much technology has changed our lives! We cooled down enough to push on to Mantua, which was another 15km down the road. We cranked it out keeping an average above 10mph for the whole day.

Bruce navigated us through town and we found our hotel without issue. The bikes are safely tucked away downstairs. We had pizza at Pizzeria Gigi after walking around downtown. There is a St. Andrea's Cathedral in this town... Not too shabby...

Now we are back at the hotel, chilling in the AC, writing blogs and route planning, knowing that this is an amazing world with really good people in it.

By the way we wanted to say thank you to everyone who is reading and commenting on the blog and on Facebook (Barbara, Mary, Emily, Friedrich, Joany, John, and all of you who know who you are!) and to our silent readers who we hope are enjoying our adventures as much as we are (We love you Gree Gree!). Keep reading, commenting, correcting and adding! We love you all!

The World is Ours!

Day 36: Cremona and the 3 Ts August 5

Milan to Cremona via Lodi by Train 38 miles

So, we are heading out of Milan and for Cremona today. We are taking the local train to Lodi, which is a town just outside of the Milan city limits. The hassle of trying to navigate out of a crowded Italian city is more than we need, so to the train station we go! As Bruce checked us out of hotel, one of the hotel managers asked him where we were going and Bruce responded, Cremona. The hotel manager said, "oh did you know that Cremona is known for the three Ts?" Bruce said, "no, what are the three Ts?" "The Tower, Torrone, and "teets'", the man replied. So in an explanation, Cremona has a huge tower that we need to see, Torrone is a Christmas candy first made in Cremona, and the ladies have large... tracts of land in Cremona. So we guess this is the place to go!

The train ride was pretty uneventful (yay!) but it was a steamy hot day. We broke the rules straight away as the train arrived at the island platform of Lodi station and the only way to exit was down the stairs....so instead we just rolled the bikes across the barrow crossing as the platforms were low level ones.....worked great except for the big signs saying not to do it.Although when we got out of the train station in Lodi, many people gawked at our passing and one older lady even crossed herself as we pedaled by... Are we really that odd looking? The canal path was pretty shaden (beat up), so we bumped along over tree roots and looked longingly into the algae green cabal wishing we could go swimming without growing a third arm or something... Definitely not the same water as the Aare or the Emme. We had part of our lunch on a bench and later a little more under a bridge... Any where with shade. We took the road all the way into Cremona. Beautiful old downtown with a huge duomo with an even bigger tower(T #1). We found our hotel after avoiding road construction and checked in early! Took a nap because it was so hot and we have air conditioning! When we woke up, we went out for a quick walk to go get something to drink but the gas station down the way did not have a shop... On our way back, we bumped into one of the ladies that works at the hotel. She offered to drive us to the grocery store, since she was going any way. Oh boy, She drove like an Italian! Little grandma in a tiny silver car, rocketed down the road just putting on her brakes when the lights are really red. She buzzed down one way streets the wrong way and practically did donuts to park her car in the right spot in the underground garage below the supermarket. Bruce was grinning ear to ear in the front seat. We all went shopping and she even gave us her discount card. Then on our way back, she had to stop at the best gelateria in town for their 50th anniversary sale. So we got 500g of fine gelato! She even offered to put it in the hotel freezer for dessert! To get back to the hotel she drove around a detour and then drove against traffic to park in front of the hotel. She also offered to drive us to dinner tonight down town. So an hour later we met her down stairs and she brought us to a place for dinner. She even escorted us in and sternly told the waitress to take care of us and give us the English menu. We had a very nice dinner of risotto and salad and bruschetta. After dinner we called and she picked us up since the restaurant was pretty far from the hotel. But we did not go directly back. She wanted to give us a tour of her city. She told us all about Cremona in 1/3 english 2/3 basic slow loud Italian. The city was in partial blackout so she was upset the we would not see her duomo illuminated at night. The tower was built in the 12th century but an earthquake bought it down and then it was rebuilt in the 1400s. It is 119 meters tall and the clock on its face still works. A little man climbs the 500 steps to wind it every day. She showed us the Torrone shop where you can get the famous Christmas candy (T#2). And we chatted all the way back to her tiny silver car. We drove back to the hotel Italian style and said our good nights. Her husband spoke a little more English (turns out they are the owners) and he still has a flat in Edinburgh on Dalkeith St. He was going there in a few weeks to get away from the Italian heat! Funny night! Although we did not quite experience the third T... Sorry Bruce.... Another good day in Italy! Thank you Loretta!!!

The World is Ours!

Day 35: Rest Day in Milan August 4

We slept until 10am!!! Didn't get out until after 11! By the time we went out it was time for lunch. So we headed over to a little restaurant recommended by the hotel. We had risotto and linguini in Milan! Then we headed back to the train station to get an all day ticket so we could go wherever we wanted. We rode the trams all day. They look similar to the cable cars in San Fransisco. They were built about 100 years ago and did not get destroyed in WWII when the Germans bombed Milan. A nice lady told us their history while we rode to the Duomo, she was very proud of them you could tell. In our tour of Milan we saw the Duomo, the castle,the Central Park, the arch, the Galleria, gawked at the high fashions(which is so just a throw back to the 70s this year) and ate gelato. We went food shopping for tomorrow. Got SIM cards for the phones. Went out for apperitivo for dinner again. Got train tickets for tomorrow to Lodi to get us out of the city. Relaxed and watched some BBC and CNN to see what is going on in the world. And finally fell asleep around midnight. What a day!

The World is Ours!

Day 34: Day of the Crowded Train Under the Alps August 3

Started off the morning with a wonderful breakfast with Daniel and Karin. They both needed to head off to work, so we said our thank you's and goodbyes, then we changed into bathing suits. We walked down to where we had dessert last night on the lake and went swimming in the Thunnersee at the foot of the alps!!! There were so many swans where we had originally planned to swim, we shifted our swimming area about 50meters away almost into the do not swim area. If you read the post from a few days ago, you know why we didn't want to swim with those beasts. After a refreshing dip, Andrea sun bathed on the wall (at the foot of the alps) while Bruce found shade nearby. We had the morning to relax because our train to Milan didn't leave until 2pm. So we headed back to the apartment to pick up our bikes and bags (which they let us leave at their place! How nice!!!) then we headed off to catch the train! Wow was it crowded!!! First, we got the bikes into car 5 with tickets and there was NO ROOM!!! The bike racks are also luggage racks on this train and there were so many suitcases they were spilling into the rest of the compartment. So the nice ticket lady who checked our tickets made room in the next car's bike racks, so we had to get off at the next stop and run the bikes down one car, get back on the train, unpack the bikes, store them hanging from the front wheel from the ceiling of the luggage racks all in this tiny space with a train bathroom narrowing the space even more! People trying to get to their seats were huffy with us but what else could we do? And we paid CHF20 ($21) per bike for this space so they needed to wait. So after all of that, the bikes were hanging, the bags were stored and we went to get our seat. They were taken by two Chinese girls who looked terribly confused when we asked them what seat number their ticket had. They didn't seem to have tickets. So we got them out of our seats (there were no others to sit in) and watched the alps go by out the window. For the next 3 hours we did one of 3 things; 1. watch the Alps get bigger and bigger until the train dove through one or another miles long tunnel, 2. Jump up and protect the bikes from inconsiderate passengers who kept using them to swing into the next carriage, or 3. Protecting our own seats from seat vultures. There were a ton of people on this train without a ticket. I'm talking while families with eight suitcases without tickets, who stood in the aisle making it impossible to pass, or trying to sit in any empty seat they could find. It was really chaotic. Bruce even had to deal with a stupid American tourist being a bully about the bikes. Really??!!?? The mountains were amazing and the lady who sat next to us (from Italy) saw that I was amazed by the scenery and told us the names of some of the mountains and of the islands in the Italian lake we came to next. We finally made it to Milan. We had to get the bikes and all of our gear onto the platform while beating off abusive grannies who pushed Andrea when she tried to get her bike down from the train. Really??!!?? We made it out of the train station and Bruce navigated us to the hotel we booked. Really classy!!! They had a looked courtyard for our bikes. We went out for an aperitivo which is a drink with free buffet for happy hour. It is getting very hot again but we have AC in our apartment. We made a mad dash through the subway for the supermarket when we realized they were going to close. It was closed but there was a little corner shop open, so we got some cold drinks and headed back for some sleep... We didn't cycle at all today but damn are we tired! Tomorrow we are taking a rest day to tour Milan.

The World is Ours!

Day 33: Land of My People August 2

Burgdorf to Thun via Langnau 38 miles

We saw alps! Oh did we see alps! And they are HUGE!!!! We followed rt 24 up the Emme River and it started looking really mountainous all around us. We were in the valley so the ride was pretty easygoing. We traveled back and forth across the much more narrow valley a bunch of times. Up to Langnau, we climbed a lot but didn't feel it because it was really gradual for most of the day. We crossed and passed so many covered bridges! It felt like we were in Vermont. This area is very beautiful, made more so because every village has up flags of their village, Bern canton, and Switzerland. These colorful banners gently flapping in the breeze looks like a jousting tournament in Game of Thrones. The flags are so cool too. Most of the villages are right on the river so their flags have blue or a fish or an oar. They are so expressive. Especially the canton flag of Bern which is a ferocious black bear. The blazon ( oh yeah... New word!!!) of Langnau is 3 fir trees on a red background. Not very ferocious but appropriate for its location off the river and more up in the hills surround by pines. We made it to Langnau (home of the Aeschlimanns) at about noon. We went to the museum on the history of the region and of the village and learned a lot about the many different products made in Langnau over the years; cheese, glass, barrels, shoes, linen, and more. We also learned that Langnau is the sunniest village (meaning it gets the most sunny days) in Switzerland! Not too bad to be from an important town. After the museum, we cycled around the area which is much bigger than we thought it was and had a coffee at a local tea shop. Most stuff was closed since it was Sunday so after our look around, we headed back down to the river Emme and joined the route 94 to the 84 to get to Thun, our destination for the day. The route climbed a little more before we went down to the lake but we had a tail wind so it was easy going into town. We made it into Thun early, so we went to the train station to see about tickets to Milan tomorrow. Bruce went in and had success! We bought tickets for us and for the bikes to Italy for tomorrow afternoon! Yay!

After the train station, we made it to Daniel and Karin's house, our hosts for tonight. They cycle toured in the states on Route 66 and are trying to move to Colorado. He is an architect and has won many competitions and he even showed us a house he built.She is a teacher and gets an hour and 45 min off for lunch. Wicked jealous! Karin made a lovely dinner and we ate out in their back yard. We went out on the town for dessert. We had dessert with lake front amazing views of the alps across the Thunnersee... Wow!!! We saw three very important and well known mountain from our seats; Eiger, Munch(Monk), and JungFrau(virgin). They were such gracious hosts and we hope we will get to host them some day! What an amazing day finished off with Toblerone Chocolate Mousse!

The World is Ours!

Day 32: the Rhythm is It! August 1

Lostorf to Burgdorf 38 miles

Happy Swiss National Day!!!

We left Marcus and Yolanda's lovely B&B in a little bit of drizzle. It has been raining throughout the morning. We followed the route 8 up the Aare River then switched over to Route#34 to Kirchberg. As we were pedaling along we saw this big blue silo protruding up from the corn and wheat fields and as we pedaled up on it we saw that it had a HUGE Aeschlimann sign on the building and then on the trucks later down the road!!!! This is the land of my people!!!! My name is on everything!!!! We even went through the town of "Aeschi" and cycled on Aeschlistrasse!!! We took lots of photos. We just had to!!! There were so many Swiss houses and castles with flags and so much going on for the national holiday! We passed into Bern canton for the first time, which is the canton the Aeschlimanns are from. Of course we saw and heard an inordinate number of cow bells and sheep bells and goat bells...We made it to Burgdorf in good time. Even a bit early so we went into Burgdorf's city center. There are several Metal sculptures and one bench which Bruce and I inhabited for a little while while we ate a snack and talked to our families in Skype. After our break, we found our way to Bernhard and his lovely wife's house. They are a totally cool! We found them through Warm Showers. Their son Sam did a world tour by bike so they are supporting the cycle touring community by hosting. What a wonderful couple! It turns out that Bernhard is a guitar teacher! We played ukulele and guitar together. He played the SchwitzaUrguli (sp?) which is the Swiss Accordion. He taught me how to play the blues on the uke and how to strum for Hotel California. We had an excellent dinner prepared by his wife and chatted about their daughters(one of whom was named Andrea) and their new granddaughter Mia. They also had Jesse, their 16 year old kitty. There were fireworks most of the night but we fell asleep pretty quickly. How awesome is it to meet wonderful people who open up their homes to complete strangers. Amazing!

The World is Ours!