Day 337 – EU – Switzerland [Leissigen to Zweisimmen]

07/03/21

44.7km

  From Leissigen (Switzerland) to Zweisimmen (Switzerland)

Europe

Leaving the lakes towards the Simmental valley and meeting with friends in Zweisimmen

I ran a little around the Thunersee before heading towards the mountains and the Simmental valley. A complete change of scenery from the past few days. I am surrounded left and right by very tall snowy summits and ski resorts. The most famous one in the valley is the Gstaad resort of course and the Chateau d’Oex one which I will run past tomorrow.

I had planned to run today on Route 11, the main road that swerves through the valley. It quickly appeared that was a poor choice, it was fairly busy with car traffic (going down and up the mountains) and it was also a narrow road with no sidewalk or dedicated cycling lane. I switched to the network of cycling and walking paths. This meant probably a bit more elevation, but I gained in tranquility and quality of environment. Priceless.

Alex, Kostis, Phoebe, me

I was eager to finish not too late today: I had visitors! The Sapounakis family (Alex, Kostis, little Phoebe and Remi the dog) were awaiting me at Zweissimmen, having driven 3hrs from their home in northern Switzerland! Alex ran the last 1.5km with me of what has been a day of constant uphill, that was a nice treat to finish the run. What a joy to see them again, it had been a long while since we last saw each other. I was treated to a great picnic in the meadows, with warm food, cold beer and hot coffee. Most of all, I enjoyed the great company and there were loads of catching up to do. It is always too short, we never have enough time – but how lovely to meet friends on the journey.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: