Day 10: Düdingen
Welcome
Yesterday we crossed the border from France into the Swiss Confederation, home of Velcro, Aluminium Foil, Muesli, LSD, the Helvetica Font, and the Alps.
There was no free hotel breakfast on offer so we decided to get some miles under our belt before stopping at a rest area to feed ourselves and our van. The van had a healthy mouthful of diesel and I ate a baguette with tomato, mozzarella, and tarragon.
The border crossing was uneventful thanks to Jonathan’s now formidable negotiating prowess and before we knew it we were cresting a hill and Lake Geneva was coming into view. Most of Switzerland is quite breathtaking to drive through but the Northeast route on the A1 Motorway travels alongside the lake which is framed by the Alps above and the city of Geneva below.
Jonathan going through his usual preparations before a tough customs negotiation.
Lake Geneva
Our arrival at the venue was marked by a chorus of clucking from the field of hens that sat adjacent to the carpark. Where The Hell Is Bad Bonn? - these were the words prominently displayed on top of the building, a tiny venue and cafe that lies on the outskirts of Düdingen, a village 30km Southwest of Bern. We were met with some extremely generous hospitality from the lovely cafe staff which included fresh eggs from the chickens, among other local delicacies.
Fresh eggs (hard boiled).
With the completion of a highly successful setup and soundcheck we were treated to more incredibly generous hospitality and enjoyed a small banquet prepared by the cafe staff.
Afterwards we walked down the road to visit Badd Bonn Beach which is on the shore of Lake Schiffenensee, an artificial lake that was formed in 1963. The story goes that there used to be famous thermal baths in the area but they were destroyed along with the Hamlet of Bonn when the river was dammed to create this new lake. Bad means bath in German, hence the venue name Where The Hell is Bad Bonn serves to inform us of a lost location and a forgotten past.
Enjoying the welcome heat from the brazier.
Schiffenensee looking majestic in the twilight.
Skimming stones at Bad Bonn Beach.
It was a lively night at Cafe Bad Bonn although talking to a local we discovered that our gig was possibly ill-attended due to an upset in the national ice hockey championship game that had happened the night before. Whether or not this is true it didn’t affect the mood of the evening and we played an enjoyable set of music to a quiet but friendly audience.
📷 Will Reading
I’ll leave you with a clip of Cherym playing a particularly great rendition of their song Listening to My Head.