Summer 2009 Trip Summary

Dates:  June 10 to September 10, 2009  (Alan actually started 2 weeks earlier)

We left Brussels on June 13 and arrived in Switzerland on July 4.

We spent two months inside Switzerland.  See chronology below.

Countries:  Belgium, France, Switzerland

Distance:  About 1,700 kilometers bicycled; 1,000 from Brussels to Switzerland and about 700 km inside Switzerland.  250  kilometers hiked.  Went from sea level up to 2,912 meters.

Expense:  Averaged overall about $100 per day.  

We stayed with friends, youth hostels, campgrounds, and Swiss mountain huts.  

With friends, the average cost was about $80/day; on the road we spent about $150/day.

Photos:  If you scroll down in this blog and look for "Older Posts" button in the lower right you can work your way to entries going back in time.  You may have to hit the Older Posts button successively, or you can choose a date from the menu on the right.

Chronology:

13 & 14 June:  Travel from Brussels down the Maas/Meuse River thru Namur, Dinant, Givet

15 - 24 June:  Rent an old house in Haulme, on the Semoy River east of Montherme

25 - 26 June:  Bicycle south from Haulme, generally along the Meuse River visiting Verdun

27 & 28 June:  Stay in Nancy, Alsace

29 & 30 June:  Bike east along the Marne Canal thru Lorraine and into the Rhine region

1 July:  Stay in Strasbourg

2 & 3 July:  Bike south along the Rhine toward Basel

4 & 5 July:  Stay in Basel, Switzerland

6 & 7 July:  Bike southeast from Basel over the Jura Hills and along the Aar River to Zurich

7 - 11 July:  Stay in Zurich with Monica and Andres

12 - 17 July:  Bicycle loop route from Zurich thru: Filzbach, Braunwald, Seelisberg, Luzerne

18 & 19 July:  Zurich

20 - 23 July:  Train trip to Gimmelwald, with hike to Gspaltenhornhut

24 - 31 July:  Zurich

1 - 8 August:  Bicycle trip south over high mountain passes to Locarno Film Festival thru:

  Alpnachstad, Innertkirchen, Hospental, Bellinzona, Locarno, San Bernadino, Hinterrhein Valley.  

9 - 13 August:  Visit in Churwalden with hike to Arrosa

14 - 18 August:  Bike to Frauenkirch and visit in the Davos area

19 - 24 August:  Train trip to Vorderrhein Valley with hikes to Terri hut, Capanna Bovarina, and from Vals to Lanta Hut.

26 - 29 August:  Zurich

30 August - 5 Sept:  Paris, stay in rental apartment in the Fifth Arondissement

5 - 9 Sept:  Stay with relatives in the Fifteenth Arondissement

10 Sept:  Fly Paris to JFK