Day 22 – Avenches to Lucens (31,6km) – Saturday 22.07.2023
I got up at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. I had breakfast with my room partner for a while and we talked about the routes we had planned for today. After eating, I took off my bed and packed up my things. I didn’t leave the hostel until 9 a.m., even though I wanted to go on a longer hike today.
I headed through meadows and fields towards Payerne. Since the path climbed slightly, there were always nice views back in the direction from which I came.
When I arrived in Payerne, I saw the scallop for the first time in a long time, which showed me the way. So right at the entrance to the city I came across the Via Jacobi, which is the most famous Way of St. James in Switzerland and leads from Constance to Geneva. The path was now better signposted and I followed the scallop through the city again instead of yellow signs.
I took a short tour of the historic church in Payerne, during which I was told interesting details about the history of the church at various points via headphones. In addition to the various uses of the church as a place of worship, grain store, school and town hall, the architectural details were also very interesting. For example, the church was significantly deeper at the entrance where you entered it than at the back. Likewise, the deck further back became higher and higher. The architects used this trick, which is still often used in films today, to make the church appear larger and more impressive to visitors.
After almost an hour I was finished with the sightseeing and quickly looked for something to eat in the area so that I could continue my journey refreshed. After a Yufka I actually went out of the city.
After Payerne I followed the Broye river for the rest of the day. I walked upstream along the bank for hours. The path was very pleasant to walk and I made quick progress. At some point an older gentleman spoke to me and asked if I was walking the Way of St. James. When I said yes, he told me that he lived here and had already walked to Santiago from home. He really enjoyed it and was obviously happy to meet a pilgrim on the Way of St. James who wanted to walk the entire route. I talked to him for a few minutes and he gave me a few tips for the rest of the trip. Then he said goodbye and wished me much success and fun on my further journey. He then went further downstream with his wife.
Strengthened by the conversation, I continue my hike along the river. After a few more kilometers I bought a few things for the evening in a supermarket and started looking for a suitable place to sleep. I just kept walking along the river until I saw a small forest next to the path. I wanted to set up camp there for the night. Luckily there was another bench by the river right at this point. So I prepared my dinner there and left it for a while. As the sun slowly set, I set up my tent in front of the small forest so that I couldn’t be seen from the path, but I could only sleep a few meters away. I quickly fell asleep with the sound of the river in my ears.
Day 23 – Lucens to Lausanne (29,8km) – Sunday 23.07.2023
After a good night’s sleep in the tent, I woke up at 6am. As I put my tent together, I enjoyed the sunflowers in front of me, illuminated by the rising sun. After packing everything up again, I sat on the same bench as last night and prepared my morning coffee on my small stove. As I ate breakfast, the sun slowly rose behind me and I listened to the splashing of the water in the river next to me. Even though it was only 13 degrees at the time, it was a beautiful, calm morning.
I happily began my march today. After just a few minutes I reached Lucens and immediately afterwards Curtilles, where the Basel-Jura-Weg ended for me and from now on I only traveled on the Via Jacobi. As a farewell, I got a stamp in the local church and then filled up my water at a fountain.
I followed the river again to Moudon. When I got there just before 10 a few people were going to church. Since it was Sunday today, I decided to attend the service. I sit in a seat at the back and listen to the organ music and the singing. Unfortunately, apart from a few Latin words, I couldn’t understand much because the mass was held in French. When the bread was shared, everyone was given a piece of braided bread and a shot glass full of wine.
After church, the priest waits at the exit to say goodbye to the people. He then asked me in French where I came from before continuing to talk to me in German. I explained to him that I was walking the Way of St. James, and he asked me where I started, where I wanted to go and how many kilometers there were left. When I had explained all this to him, he turned to the congregation again and told the people in the church about my trip in French. Then everyone clapped at me, which almost made me feel like a rock star, and some wished me good luck on my journey.
Afterwards I left the church and things went uphill again for a short time. After a few minutes of climbing, the descent followed again and I left the city again. First I followed the river again. But later I turned off and it went further and further up. After a few kilometers I got a nice view of the Alps. So in beautiful weather I walked along the ridge of the mountain and admired the big mountains in the distance.
After a while I slowly became exhausted and I looked around again for a suitable place to sleep. A few kilometers away there was a cheap campsite with a pool. So I decided to go for this one. I went briefly through the forest again and then I arrived at the campsite in a suburb of Lausanne. After setting up my tent there, I took my pajamas, which I used as swimming trunks, and went swimming in the pool. At 28 degrees, the cold water was quite pleasant and it was also a relief for the legs.
Later in the evening I relaxed and drank a beer on the kiosk’s veranda while reading a book. After a nice day, I went to sleep in my tent shortly before 10. Since rain was forecast for 7 a.m. the next day, I set my alarm for 6 a.m. so that I could still assemble my tent dry.
Day 24 – Lausanne to Lausanne (18,4km) – Monday 24.07.2023
At 5 a.m. I was woken up by a thunderstorm. I had set my alarm for 6 a.m. the evening before so that I could take down my tent before the rain was reported, but today I was unfortunately surprised by an unexpected thunderstorm. Since my tent was already wet, I decided to just stay in bed until 7 and get another nap.
At 7 a.m. it stopped raining and I took down my wet tent again. I shook off the water as best I could and packed everything up. Then I set off at 8:30 am.
First we went through the forest in light rain. Since strong thunderstorms were reported again for this afternoon, I had planned a smaller tour for today. So I sat down on a still-dry bench in the forest and relaxed and drank my coffee there. Unfortunately, since I had already eaten all of my food reserves, there was nothing for me to eat.
After walking for a few more minutes I reached a small chapel on a mountain, but it was locked. But from outside you had a beautiful view of the mountains and Lake Geneva. When a hiker happened to pass by, I asked him if he could take a picture of me.
After the picture, it turned out that Martin also came from Germany and was also on the Way of St. James. He walked the Via Jacobi from Konstanz and wanted to get to Geneva. Similar to me, he often travels in a tent because he also suffers from the high prices in Switzerland and therefore doesn’t want to sleep in accommodation every night.
We talked for half an hour about the different sections of the trail, our equipment, future plans and much more. Then he wished me much success on my further journey and said goodbye. I take advantage of the beautiful view again to take a few photos. Afterwards I also continued my journey.
Through a larger green area we continued towards the city center. I passed a viewing tower that I had to go up and down with my equipment. Despite the bad weather, I had a nice view from above, but it would certainly have been a lot better if the weather had been good.
Then I went briefly through the forest again and soon found myself in the middle of the city. I passed Lausanne Cathedral. Because of the many tourists, I only looked in briefly and then continued down to the lake.
Once there, I was able to marvel at the lake with the mountains behind it in beautiful swimming weather. I really enjoyed being able to walk along the lake in this weather. Unfortunately, since it was now almost 2 a.m. and thunderstorms were reported for 3 a.m., I had to move on and couldn’t take a swim in the lake.
I arrived at my accommodation shortly after 2am. For tonight I had chosen the cheapest hotel, but it was still very expensive for my standards and cost me almost double my daily budget without breakfast. When the receptionist asked me where I was traveling and I told her about my hike, she kept asking questions with great interest and was obviously impressed by my trip.
When I got to my room, I first washed my clothes. Afterwards I went to a shop below the hotel and had a delicious burger with fries and drank a coke. After dinner, I did some shopping at the supermarket and then went back to my room, where I took a long shower and then wrote my blog. It once again became clear to me that I had already arrived at Lake Geneva and would soon be leaving Switzerland behind me.
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