Thoughts on the way from Merligen to Amsoldingen

From the diary of the pilgrim James

It's the pride – and the daily growing feeling of coming to terms with myself, of noticing things I've lost sight of for far too long. This keeps me going – on foot, sometimes alone, sometimes among a hiking group, but always as pilgrim James. I'm amazed at how "rich" the left bank path is – the beautiful Spiez Bay with its castle and church in the vineyards, in Einen the thousand-year-old church by the lake, and in Amsoldingen – in the hinterland – the Romanesque St. James's Church – a jewel! I enter and am struck by the power of this space. I sit in the cool nave with my pilgrim friend from East Germany and listen – to the silence.

Church of Einigen

Food for thought

"I followed the ancient pilgrimage route to the tomb of Saint Beatus and arrived at Lake Thun. Then I decided, like the ancient pilgrims, to be ferried across the lake, and I was richly rewarded along the way."

There are still moments when we feel a sense of peace and serenity within us.
Come to the place of your rest, to the solid ground, to the flowing being.
Pause – take yourself seriously with your abundance of experiences, marked by pleasure and pain.
Become calm, – let go in the liberating memory of being safe in eternity.
Pierre Stutz

back