Just a couple of minutes walking along the forest path, and I found myself on the beach. There wasn't a single soul around (it was a weekday after all), but there was a little scoop and a broom to clean the fire pit! I don't remember seeing anything like this before. Back home in Latgale, these items would have been nicked sooner or later.
The water turned out to be surprisingly warm, considering the depth (200m) and the size (38 km2) of the lake. Especially since it's supposed to be autumn outside. The Swiss are lucky with their climate, what can you say. I went for a swim, stood around to dry off a bit (true hussars don't need towels), and rolled on. I returned from the forest onto an asphalt path going through the village. Where it ended and turned into a steep dirt climb, a girl was training a small horse in a round arena. Her car with an enclosed horse trailer was parked nearby. How the car got there is a mystery — on one side there's a pedestrian path, on the other side motorized transport is forbidden, and the climb is too steep anyway. Apparently, if you're a local, you can get a special permit to ignore such rules.
I walked up the hill along the dirt road through the forest, and once again discovered wonderful asphalt there. It's like that everywhere here! Fortunately, there it was already completely official to hop onto the iron horse and push on, which is exactly what I did. I rode through the forest for a bit, but soon hit the lake shore again, where civilization began: a parking lot near a pub. The prices for a set meal (30+ francs) did not thrill me, and I didn't stick around. Soon I rode out onto the large highway going around the lake. Only a tiny strip of the road was allocated for cyclists. It was stressful: lots of cars, frequent oncoming riders, and it was like that almost all the way to Zug, half the trip. The only saving grace were the views of the other side of the lake.
As for the cyclists, there were almost none on pub bikes. Mostly, I ran into athletes on Cervélos. Which is weird, because the brand is Canadian, and I have no idea why it's so popular in Switzerland. But everything must come to an end sooner or later. I made it home without any adventures, though I was too lazy to take my pill on time, and suffered greatly.
Never happened before, and here we go again!
P.S. A huge thanks to my friend for the pub bike, and to his wife for the dinners and conversation!
