The whole night there was thunder, lightning and rain. In the morning when I got up it didn’t rain so I hurried to pack my things together before it started again. And it did start again when I headed into the Alps. For the first time in 8 weeks I took out my rain jacket and pants. Before I reached the Gotthard I still saw occasional lightning and I thought about if it was a good idea to go over the mountain pass in these weather conditions. Just when I reached the mountain I saw it clearing up a little and I decided that it would hold long enough to go over the mountain. I didn’t regret the decision. It was a special atmosphere riding up the mountain, with the clouds hanging in the valley and the fresh green slopes with rests of snow on the other side. I grew up in a beautiful country I thought; too bad I haven’t seen a lot of it yet. Certainly one of the next trips has to be in Switzerland itself to finally get to know my own country as well.
The weather changed for the worse on the other side of the mountain. Clouds were hanging deep and soon it started raining and it didn’t stop until I reached home. My shoes were not made for this kind of weather and they were soaking wet the whole ride and my toes started to feel pretty cold.