Day 4: Neuhaus to Lachen

Leaving Gasthaus Ochsen we are optimistic about the weather. All through breakfast there was even a little sun to be seen. So no rain gear needed, right? Wrong! Three blocks down the road and time to suit up! And so it will be for the next five hours or so: rain, steady but not too hard. Unfortunately we are still damp from yesterday, but oh well. As we leave Neuhaus and head to Schmerlikon we repeat a similar sight while trudging up the hill.

On the why we encounter another pilgrim impersonating a mailbox (note the scallop shell).

And a goat fountain, with a cow behind that seemed to be wondering what we were interested in.

As we head down the hill we get a glimpse of the end of the Zürisee as we approach Schmerlikon.

Skirting the marshland at the very end of the lake we come to the Aarbach and the old covered bridge that crosses it.

Crossing over the Aarbach, we come to the Linth Canal. Built in the early 19th century to connect the Zurisee with the Walensee, it was considered an engineering marvel of its time and helped launch the industrial revolution in Switzerland. Fascinating as that may be, we have something else on our minds as we walk along the tow-path: we have discovered that there is great fly fishing here in the Linth! Yes, not only abundant greyling, but rainbow and brook trout swim in these waters. Even more, very large lake trout are known  to regularly visit from both the Zurisee and the Walensee!

Oh well, today we are walking, not fishing. Maybe next trip!

We Leave the Linth Canal and head toward the town of Tuggen. On the way we pass by the Lindtbord Kappel.

We stop there to for a short visit, mostly to get out of the rain and have a rest. But we do get to meet a new friend. Dog lovers know this noble beast as the Berner Sennenhunde

And we get to struggle speaking Schweizerdeutsch with his owner. Not perfect, but at least we understood each other.

Finally we approach our destination for the day, the beautiful lake side town of Lachen. But, well…

OK, this is a bit hard to confess, …we are staying in a self- service hotel tonight! It is right on the Jokobsweg, which is good, but also right on the highway! and we have a view of tomorrow’s climb out our window. And self-service? In any case we got here early enough to take a bus (it’s ok, we are now off the Weg) down to the town on the south end of the Zurisee for a look around. We head for the twin spired Late Baroque church for our stamp, but alas no stamp is to be found! So we wander down to the harbor. We’ve heard that the restaurant at the Hotel Marina is great, but we settle for a pretty good pizza. We are told by almost everyone we meet that the sunset from here is absolutely the best, but it is cloudy and we just can’t last. So we catch the bus back up the hill to the highway, and to our self-service hotel. At least we will be well positioned for tomorrow’s walk!