As I hobbled into Avenches I was admittedly feeling much less than spry and was earnestly hoping to smoothly & quickly find shelter there for the night. Sadly, neither the local Catholic church nor the tourist information office proved to be very pilgrim-friendly that day, and yet the receptionist of the latter did tell me about a nearby youth hostel that might take me in. And so it was that I hobbled outward & onward and ultimately into the same — where Abadell (the only staff member on site at the time) heard an abbreviated telling of my Walk & its Purpose and then most kindly allowed me to sit down & rest in the hostel’s small lounge-lobby until the hostel’s manager would arrive and decide my fate.

Only one other pilgrim arrived in the 2-hour interim — Saskia, a wonderfully open-hearted Swiss pilgrim who was spending her spring walking from southern Switzerland to her home in the north (and who, fascinatingly enough, had recently worked as an assistant to blind basket weavers) — and things were looking good for me being able to stay the night in the otherwise empty, 100+ bed building.

The current manager of the hostel, a German woman named Sylvia, at that point did indeed arrive for check-in — and here is where the tale took a turn that was more than a bit intriguing. For it became immediately apparent that Sylvia was not the least bit impressed (or even mildly supportive) of my Walk’s underlying intention or purpose (?!?!?!). In truth, she questioned me skeptically for quite some time after hearing about my Journey — openly doubting the truthfulness of that telling, and then (after skimming through my Pilgrimage Journal and realizing that I was indeed “legit”) spent even more time criticizing the dramatic austerity with which I was choosing to fulfill my Peace-full Quest (no money, no sleeping bag, no ID etc) and even trying to convince me to fully abandon the same … :O

After realizing that I was indeed determined to see my Mission through to the end, she told me to wait in the lobby while she tried to get ahold of the hostel’s owner to see if I could stay the night. At this point I naively assumed that I would indeed ultimately be able to do so (after all, it was cold and rainy outside, it was starting to get dark, and I was obviously injured — who could turn anyone away under those conditions?), and I hunkered down to continue sharing a scintillatingly Meaning-full conversation with Saskia while I waited …

About an hour thereafter, while the rains started to more heavily fall and the darkness much more fully descend, Sylvia came back out and informed me that even my request of sleeping on the floor of the lobby had been rejected, AND that the police had been called on me to boot! :O :O :O

Mildly miffed at first (Why she hadn’t simply rejected me right away and thereby allowed me to look elsewhere for shelter while it was still light?), I quickly realized that I might be allowed to sleep in the local jail that evening, and was even giddily hoping for the same when two Swiss policemen indeed arrived … 😀

To their credit, the officers were respectful of (and even openly impressed by) my Peace Pilgrimage, though they firmly noted that I was not allowed to take their picture* and that it was equally not allowed for anyone to overnight in a Swiss youth hostel without being able to provide some form of official personal identification. I then asked them if it would be possible for me to spend the night in jail before setting out the next morning, whereupon they gently laughed while firmly announcing that “Swiss jails are not hotels.” 🙂

That said, I thanked them for their kindness, headed out into the night and back into the center of town, unsuccessfully looked for shelter that was either warm &/or dry, and finally ended up huddled & shivering on a window ledge of a mainstreet shop where I intended to get as much sleep as possible before the then-already-imminent morn … 🙁

Well, it must have been around 11pm when my fortunes shifted towards the much-warmer, as a local resident, Nicole, walked past my makeshift bed. She was a bit shocked (and seemingly a bit nervous) to see me attempting to sleep on the street and I quickly informed her in halting French that I was actually a Peace Pilgrim who would do her absolutely no harm. And then, to her enormous credit, Nicole told me to get up — told me that I would most certainly NOT be spending that cold & rainy night on a concrete ledge downtown; indeed told me with great warmth and kindness that I was going to come home with her, meet her husband and son, and then spend the night on a quite cuddly cot in her quite warm basement instead …

… and that, my Friends, is exactly what I did. 😀 😀 😀

“Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; that I might not so much seek to be understood, as to understand; and that I might not so much seek to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we truly receive, and it is in pardoning that we are ourselves pardoned.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi

*The policemen, after having been told of the book I was writing about The Walk and after having rejected my request for a photo of them for the same, offered me an official Swiss police badge to insert in my tome instead (see the first comment box below for an image of the same) … 😀

P.S. And here is the letter (translation included) I penned to Sylvia; the letter I was able to give to her personally before setting out the following morning … 😀

“Good morning, Sylvia!

I wanted to write you this short letter to let you know that everything went OK for me after I was ‘kicked out” of the hostel last night. A kind woman saw me sleeping on the street, heard about what I was doing and why, thought the same was great, and then took me home and let me sleep in her basement … As far as our meeting is concerned, I also wanted to apologize to you. For no matter how I tried I could not effectively explain to you what I was doing, much less why I am doing so exactly as I am doing so (without any money, without any ID, without a sleeping bag, and without ever begging for food). This failure is 100% my fault, and I deeply regret that I could not properly explain the amazing worth of my wonderful Journey. Again, for that I apologize … That said, I am very thankful that we were able to meet. You openly admit that your current life is ruled in great part by fear, and yet despite this you remain a fantastic woman who has great Courage & Love inside of her … And so it is that I say ‘Farewell’ to you this morning as I walk onward to America for Peace — a Walk that has already accomplished great Good, and a Walk that will almost certainly do even more of the same … Take care, Sylvia, and never forget that are a Good Person and a Brave Woman!

Love & Peace,
Scaughdt”

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt