The pilgrimage walk between Rapperswil, on the shores of Lake Zurich, to the town of Einsiedeln, located in an alpine valley close to the Sihlsee, is a well-established day-hike on the Via Jacobi, otherwise known as the Swiss Camino.

The usual aim of the pilgrimage is to pay reverence to the Black Madonna at Einsiedeln Abbey, and this typically dictates the direction of travel – Rapperswil to Einsiedeln, rather than the reverse.

The thing is, I had already seen the Black Madonna; in fact, had arrived in Einsiedeln the evening before – by train!

But that didn’t stop me wanting to make the pilgrimage walk.  It promised to be a 17km hike, through beautiful Swiss alpine scenery, and the weather was perfect for walking.  But I was still left with a dilemma.  Either be a traditionalist and walk in the conventional pilgrimage direction from Rapperswil to Einsiedeln, or be a heretic and walk from Einsiedeln to Rapperswil.

In the end, my inherent heretic nature won out.  Einsiedeln to Rapperswil it would be.  Although, in truth, there was nothing heretical about my decision.  It came down to purely being a question of altitudes.  Rapperswil is located at an elevation of roughly 400m above sea level; Einsiedeln closer to 900m.  A 500m height gain in a matter of a couple of hours walking time is no laughing matter.  I simply plumped for the downhill route.

And was I glad of my choice.  All of the pilgrims I passed walking in the opposite direction looked absolutely knackered.  The incline (decline for me) up to St Meinrad is long, relentless and brutal.

An additional benefit of the downhill route is that the view of Lake Zurich is always in front of you.

But, could I strictly call my walk a pilgrimage?  I needed a purpose for my hike.

Well, Rapperswil boasts the longest wooden footbridge in Switzerland.  And if that is not a good-enough objective for a pilgrimage, I don’t know what is.

© E. C. Glendenny

E. C. Glendenny opts to go down whenever she has the opportunity.