Day 326 – EU – Switzerland [Fribourg to Bern]

24/02/21

39.2km

  From Fribourg (Switzerland) to Bern (Switzerland)

Europe

Country run by the lakes, through pine trees forests and into Bern, Federal Capital of Switzerland

I left Fribourg this morning by the Viaduct of Grandfey. The railway line runs on top of it and the pedestrian line is underneath, on quite an impressive tunnel with amazing vistas of the Sarine Valley. The viaduct not only crosses the Sarine river, it also crosses a language border. Once on the other side I was on German speaking Switzerland! I haven’t practiced my German for quite a long time, I am sure it’s rusty but I am happy to give it a go again.

Today’s route was once again very tranquil. Running up and down the valley via the network of cycling routes, quiet country roads mostly used by cyclists and runners. I felt physically very strong today, I think it’s a combination of the weather, the environment and some serenity too. Though everything changes quickly with Covid, it seems I don’t have to worry for the next few weeks with my plans to cut from Switzerland to Italy. And to close on the physical chapter, my fingers (which caused me a great deal of problems) are now back in shape – the ergonomic adaptation of the handlebar has done its job and they are back to normal.

I finished the run in Bern today, the “de facto capital” of Switzerland (the country officially has no Capital). The beautiful renaissance-style Bundeshaus (Federal Parliament) is set in the central square of Bern. I also walked past the Zytglogge (Clock Tower) an 800 year old tower fitted with a huge astronomical clock. Fun fact the city is where Albert Einstein used to live. There is a Museum in his honour and I am told this is where the E=mc2 formula was written. A stunning city really.

Note: the 1st week of March my website will be down for a few days. I am changing web-hosts and upgrading a few things on the site. Meanwhile my Garmin/Strava data will still be uploaded every day on my accounts. Thanks 🙂

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: