DAY 204 - FRIBOURG TO BERNE: 19.7 MILES (39,400 STEPS)

12 November, 2011

19.7 miles (Total 2021.8 miles) 39,400 steps (Total: 4,352,201 steps)

‘But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.’
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by William Butler Yeats

Fribourg looks like a very interesting place; at times I wish I wasn’t walking to such deadlines so that I could pause and drink in some of the history of the places I am having the privilege of walking through. The weather remains cold, damp and foggy. In one of those clever bits of planning I managed again to book a hotel that was about as far off my required route as it is possible to get whilst still being designated ‘Fribourg’.

Anyway, the bonus was that I got the opportunity to walk through the impressive University campus—I always get a slight shiver of excitement when I am close to a university and think that if I could have traded a few of my ‘fat cells’ for a few extra ‘grey cells’ then I would have loved to have spent my days in academia teaching, researching and writing. Still that is idle speculation; we need to make a difference where we are, use what we have and love where we live, because we can’t impact where we are not, and use what we have not—and you don’t need a PhD in Quantum Physics to figure that one out.

I set off early the next day in the direction of Berne—the freezing fog hadn’t lifted much and I hadn’t slept much. I could really have done with an extra layer of clothes, but they were in my rucksack which was now waiting for me in Berne having made its way up from Montreux thanks to the ‘assistance’ of Tom Goodwin in Geneva and the ‘insistence’ of Xuelin in London. I was also running low on batteries on my computer and camera, but again the re-charging and power chords were in my rucksack. I decided to splash out 14 Swiss Francs on a USB charger which would keep my phone and my iTouch powered up until Berne and then use the last bit of juice in my laptop to download a couple of sermons by Paul Francis and Rob Parsons from my favourite church—Glenwood in Cardiff www.glenwoodchurch.org It was a great decision as my ‘spiritual’ batteries had been running rather low for a few days and also needed to be re-charged.

I walked out of the hotel not looking forward to the three mile trek back down into Fribourg town to reconnect with route 12 and to find a crossing point for the Sarine River and then I noticed that just outside the hotel there was a foot path, the Route de Grandfey which pointed to Dudingen and would actually save me about five miles. I set off, I confess, expecting to be disappointed, but it was worth the chance. I then came to a very high railway bridge and thought that was it, but I then noticed that built into the bridge was a foot and cycle path.  My spirits began to lift even if the fog didn’t. I felt quite moved by the sermons and it was as if in the midst of the fog God was thinking, “you know I think I’ll give Michael a bit of a break today; I think he has earned it…”

As I walked I got this picture of God as a judge on the ‘X factor’ and he was playing the role of Simon Cowell, who else—hope Simon isn’t offended. I was on the stage and had just given everything I had got in the performance of my lifetime. I finished with a flourish took my bow and a polite ripple of applause came, but then quickly subsided. Cheryl Cole, ‘Our Cheryl’, tried her best to be nice as possible to a fellow Geordie, but even she struggled to come up with any positives other than “I think you’ve done really well to get this far, like, pet”.  But all eyes were now on God/Simon as he swung around in his chair looking skyward, and after a pause, where he glanced at his notes, he began: “Let’s face it Michael you were a crap.  In fact, that was the worst performance I have ever seen on this show.  As a politician you are a karaoke singer at best and don’t even get me started on your performance in business, but you know I kind of like you” (few cheers, led by mum). He continued, “Listen I can’t put you through to the next round” (few jeers, led by mum)…God swung round on his chair again to face down the audience, well, mum, and then turned back…”I can’t put you through to the next round because this is a talent show and you haven’t got any (jeer, mum again), but you know what, you have something which will last longer than the moment of fame this show can offer, because you have dreams.  You get knocked down, you get back up, you don’t give up, you don’t get bitter or blame, you believe in other people more than you believe in yourself, you think of other people often more than you think of yourself, and there is a kind of courage about you that borders at times on the reckless: I can use all that, just not on this show, but here is my personal mobile number to keep in touch.”

The picture made me smile, but was also quite comforting. I think that just about sums me up, when Martin Luther King has a dream it is “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. That one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” When I have a dream, it is of being compared to a karaoke singer and booted off the X Factor. Still I have got His personal number now and I might just give him a call this weekend to see if anything has come up.

I arrived into Berne at 5:00PM and managed to pop into ‘Bigoudi Coiffure’ on Zwyssigstrause and got a good old short back and sides so I could look smart for church on Remembrance Sunday. They were very kind and interested in my walk. They did a great job with ever decreasing available material and I received a free cup of coffee with the bill—40 Swiss Francs or about £25—I must of looked a bit surprised, being more used to £6.50 cuts at the student barbers on Saddler Street in Durham and so they quickly produced a “10% Off” voucher for my next visit. If anyone if is planning to be in Berne and wants a haircut then let me know and I am sure we can agree a reasonable price for the voucher, though payment will be required in Swiss Francs.

I arrived into the centre of Berne, next to the Bubenberg Platz at 6PM to the most amazing sound of church bells ringing out across the city. The city is absolutely beautiful and a buzz with activity. My hotel was plumb in the centre, right next door to a Starbucks. I was glad that I was going to be able to stay here for a few days. It was a wonderful end to a good day. I slept well.