Everybody Poops

We departed from Lachan and the paths were very smooth through interesting countryside.  Here is an example of the MANY wineyards on our route, this time we are right between the freeway and the steep hillside.

Horse riding is apparently a popular pasttime in Switzerland, we've seen many horses en route.

Of course, where there are horses there is this:

A  lot of it.  More than you can imagine.  Every ride is a game of "dodge the pile of steaming/stinky poop."   (Well, ok, sometimes the poop pile is dry but I still don't want to roll through it.)

We also see a lot of people walking dogs.  Some are big, some are small, all pretty friendly and well behaved.  The dog owners are asked to pickup after their pets and these stations are available all over, even in the most remote setting,.

So what is it that makes the Swiss obsessed with picking up tiny dog poop, yet totally makes them willing to overlook the giant GIANT piles of pooh in the middle of the road?   We're still trying to figure it out. This is not rhetorical - we really want to know!

The scenery on Thursday was starting to become more impressive with the mountains growing larger.  The Churfirsten was coming up, a small rock at 2300 meters (if I remember correctly).

The next stop on our route was the town of Weesen, where we had a ferry ticket to traverse the Walensee to Walenstadt, our stop for the night.  Weesen was charming with a cute town and lovely park.

(Bob waiting for the ferry)

The boat trip was very beautiful and offered a different perspective. It was also nice not to have to navigate.  We understand this ferry is primarily for vacationers.  

 (we just rolled the bikes on board)

 (a tiny little dock in the middle of nowhere, it seemed)

 (a far away view of one of the towns along the lake.  The towns on this side were accessible by road/train too, but not on the other side)

We disembarked in Walenstadt and found our hotel.  The Hotel Churfirsten was a little old fashioned, but the service was the best!