Today was an easy ride, but interesting still. There was a nice walking path leading out of town along the north shore of the river/see; very relaxing to look out at the lake & swans and nice peaks opposite - the ferries moving at about the same speed as me.

So I followed the trail north until it gave out, then the main road along the lake. The ride was only 23 km (by the book), so I took my time. The highlight, at the top of the hill, was the St. Beatushöhlen caves (somewhat redundant) which in concert with my reading inspired many poetic thoughts, none of which still exist after the evening's beer.

The general flow: Exploring the depths within: harsh environment outside, hot passion within, but cool layer beneath the surface. Dueling forces in a foreign time frame: Erosion carves out the mountain; limestone deposits help to rebuild it; this card shows some of the results. This madonna and child has probably existed since before the original. What did it look like before then? Why do people crawl through the earth to discover things that look like things they left behind? In English, they're called caves; in German hölen; in French grottes. Why is the sport called spelunking? Smacks of Greek to me. The cave system had 3000 m. of developed caves. Many interesting and spectacular formations, all with interesting names. The average (and constant) temperature of the caves is 50º. So strange to feel this enveloping coolness so close to the surface of the earth. The sun really isn't so strong after all.

After arriving at Interlaken I signed up for a bed, walked around town, got my bed assignment, then went on a quick ride to Grindelwald. Over an hour to get up there, about a half to get down, my longest extended downhill ride, and I was pushing to get down before they stop serving dinner. Most impressive were the incredible blasts of cold that came off the river as I crossed or passed by; the water rushing down off the three towering peaks above Grindelwald.