Saint-Imier (6/19/1983)

Sunday, June 19, 1983

I called the Ss at 8:00, as we had planned to hike from Weissenstein, but they thought it was too windy today. So I let Marsha C sleep in, and we left later at 11:00. At the train station, Marsha was able to get her ticket at the automat, but it wouldn’t accept my brand new 20 CHF/$10 bill. So I had to get my ticket inside at the window. We caught the 11:35 train to Saint-Imier, arriving at 12:05. We walked across town to the Funicular Saint-Imier-Mont-Soleil. We got half-price tickets for 1.20 CHF/60 cents and caught the 12:30 train.

Saint-Imier Mont-Soleil
funicular ticket

We got in the compartment with an old man who was dressed up, but kept scratching one cheek as he stared at the floor. We were joined by a young couple; the girl was a sloppy preppie, and the guy had just rolled out of bed. The trip was ten minutes and after we disembarked, we had farther to climb up Mont Soleil. We passed the same three ladies walking two dogs that we had seen on our way to the funicular! They asked us in two languages if there was a buffet near the upper funicular station. We could only tell them that there was a restaurant. We continued on, following signs to Les Breuleux, which is on the other side of the mountain. We passed farmland, chalets, and then heard cowbells. We passed through a “barnyard” to get closer to the cows, but felt like we were trespassing. We turned around to get back to Saint-Imier. The Wanderung/trail sign pointed us through a pasture, so we passed through the turnstile and walked over to a low stone wall to get a closer look at cows.

Swiss chocolate brown cows

After taking pictures, we looked for a place to picnic, and Marsha found fresh cow manure with her shoe. We ate our bread and cheese with ham, and had chocolate chip cookies, greeting other hikers as they passed.

Marsha at the picnic spot

View towards Chasseral

We then followed a path through the woods to Saint-Imier. This has been quite a workout for Marsha’s knees. As we neared the funicular, I heard it approaching, so I ran ahead to take pictures.

Saint-Imier Mt-Soleil Funicular

Saint-Imier Mt-Soleil Funicular

Saint-Imier

We walked down to town, stopping at a fountain for Marsha to wash her shoe, and soak her fingers that got stuck by some plant’s stickers. We caught the 15:35 train to Biel. It was a local train,, arriving at about 16:15. On our way home, we stopped at Metropolis for Marsha to buy a large Coke. At Mühlebrücke, she caught the bus, while I walked up to the Personalhaus/staff residence.

Monday, June 20, 1983

I found a four-leaf clover while working outside with Pia. She took it home with her.