I think it was on our last trip to Switzerland back in 2015. It was just after dawn and the family was still asleep, so I headed out for a lakeside run. One part of the lake path gets really narrow and coming in the other direction was an elderly chap carrying fishing rods. We got talking, initially in German but then switching to English. I couldn’t remember ever learning any Fishing related German words 😂😂😂. Clearly the Swiss fisherman was more up on plenty of English angling vocabulary.
He was about to head off in his little boat to his favourite spot on the lake. He had been doing this nearly every day, in every type of weather for over 40 years . When he used to work he would go fishing before dawn.
I remember saying that was dedication. He smiled, shook his head and quietly said ‘No, it’s love’. He went onto say that he tells his family it’s all about the fish. But in reality it was an excuse, he just needed that time out in the lake, amongst the mountains. It was his HOME, where he felt at one with life.
As we parted I asked, do you ever catch and fish. He laughed and said very rarely but on the way home I pass a really good place that sells fresh fish catch…..








