Jakobsweg: Schwyz to Beckenried: 13 June 2011

It's been quite a while since I managed to cover more of Jakobsweg, but with a public holiday today and despite the grey weather, I decided that this was a day not to be wasted. After 4 changes of train I arrived at Schwyz station, but then had to take the bus to the town centre. The route took me through the outskirts of town, past the Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Sorrows chapel, across the river and past another chapel to a large expanse of grassy fields. I could hear shots in the distance, but when I came nearer to a farm building, a loud shot rang out quite close by. I also saw what looked like a burst balloon fall down between some trees. Fearing for my life and imagining some crazed farmer doing target practice, I kept on walking as I was on the public "Wanderweg". The closer I got, the more clearly I could see the "burst balloon" and the cherry trees that surrounded it. It was not a balloon at all, but some kind of contraption that occasionally made the shooting sound, presumably to frighten birds away from the cherries. Nevertheless, I kept my eyes on it as I went past, afraid that it would go off again before I managed to get past. No sooner had I escaped from one "danger" than a large alsatian came out of the house I was passing and started barking loudly. Beware, walking the Way of St. James is not for the faint hearted.

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Schwyz to Beckenried