Schmerikon-Altendorf

Leaving home early, we took the train to Bern, then Zurich and finally Schmerikon. The view over the lake was very calm and pleasing and the hiking pleasant, passing along the As stream. Until the middle ages, the Zürichsee and Walensee formed one lake over what is now the Linth plain. Eventually the lake filled up and made moors and swamps, until 1823 when the Linth canal was built. We approached a covered bridge that look to be of stone but was, in fact, wood. Then we began, what was to be the ‘flavour of the day’ to walk on tarmac! Crossing another bridge, this time metal, we continued a gravel path along the Linth Canal. We passed under the A53 and passed a WW2 bunker. Another bridge and we we at Grynau Castle. The river Linth marked the border of St.Gallen and Schwyz cantons hence the castle. One of the old buildings is now a country inn and the end of which there is a Chapel to the 14 Holy Helpers (it does not look at all like a chapel as it was a house chapel of the Governor of the time). From there we began to follow the road and it was beginning to be very warm. Later turning right we walked along the only forest of the day where we came across the most beautiful ‘Way of the Cross’ we have ever seen. At the end of this was the Chapel of the Holy Trinity in Tuggen. In Tuggen we visited the church of Sts. Erhard and Vitor. which also had wall paintings of Sts.Columbanus and Gall. After this was one of two short ascents of the day and one of the first of many questionable way markings after which we returned to tarmac. Then came a very dangerous road with NO pedestrian path and walking along this was really scary. Leaving the road we found the only shade of the rest of the day outside the Loreto Chapel at Chromen. (I should also mention that water was difficult to come by on the stretch of the Way). Arriving in Siebnen we were not able to visit the St.Nicholas Chapel as it is locked and it was lunch time - the key can be obtained from the main church office. The church of the Sacred Heart was very interesting as it has an original painting gifted by the Bishop of Chur and from which a mosaic in St. Peter’s (in Rome) was made. Crossing the Aa we noticed a strange building which turned out to be a power station. From Siebnen we walked past wayside chapel and at this point we lost the way. We saw a church in Galgenen and assumed that we were to go that way. It was an interesting church as it was in a very different style to that which we were used ( and we also sat in it’s shade to phone our two year old grand-daughteryr for her birthday!) But we missed out on St.Jost Chapel which was built to serve pilgrims first mentioned in 1362. After this the signposting leaves a lot to be desired! Finding our way, by chance, to St.John’s chapel (well worth the climb) we decided that, having run out of water and feeling the 29° heat, that we would give up trying to make it to Pfäffikon, would have linked up our routes (one from Constance and the other from Rorschach.