Luzia had been pinging me over the last couple of weeks to go on a hike together and each time, i had something else planned for the day. So when she pinged me ~10AM asking if I'd like to hike with her later that afternoon in Bürgenstock, i said "But Of-course"! I had been there a couple of days back with Lukas, but i just didn't want to tell her a No again..

It's extremely foggy in the afternoon as we drive up the hill in Ennetbürgen. Visibility is almost zero on a few curves. She drives bravely through the mist and almost magically after one turn, we're over the Sea of Fog..  blessed with brilliant Sunshine - the Winter Sun almost blinding us. We park the car, pull out our Sunglasses and start walking & talking... About this & that - Yoga, her kids, my plans to start offering trips to India. We watch the Setting Sun and the colors in total Silence and Respect. And now, we need to start heading down as the Sun goes down. 

We hurry as it starts to get dark stepping gingerly through the slippery Snowy patches along the trail. Then we come to a T junction, Luzia isn't sure anymore which path to take and we end up bearing Left as that's where we logically need to reach. After an hour of walking, we realise we've taken the wrong path. This one comes to a dead end!!! 

Instead of heading back, we decide to continue along the unmarked slope - always heading in the direction where we've parked our car. Those who know me, know that while going Uphill is a piece of cake for me (usually), coming Downhill is not my forte. I try to use my thigh muscles as i step gingerly - feeling my way.. drawing inspiration from the cows & goats. About 20 minutes later, we breathe a sigh of relief as we spot the trail ahead of us and gleefully almost run back to the car. One can't really get lost here in Switzerland, the trails are pretty well marked, but in the dark and fog, with slippery patches underneath, we're happy to be back on the trail... 

The drive back is equally thrilling with dense fog.. As she drops me back home, i invite her for a cup of Tea or Coffee, but she needs to go. Her kids are coming home for dinner. I wish her "Fröhliche Weihnachten" as I give her Christmas cards for her family and Elizabeth/Warwick. I wave her goodbye and relive the moments when we realised we were lost, but neither of us was getting stressed, we just continued to plough our way through - Trail or Not.