As expected from last night's low battery reading, it was not possible to start the engine of the van this morning. The starter battery was just too low to even get any reaction on turning the key. Having the mains power connected overnight doesn't seem to have done anything for the charge in the starter battery (as we expected). This leaves us in an awkward situation, if we are unable to even start the van. The solar panel seems to have charged the house and starter batteries in the past, so we'll wait and see what happens today.

But the morning was not all bad news, as we learned that the neighbour, who allowed us to plug into his garage power socket, used to be a baker, and every Saturday morning he bakes bread for his neighbours and other local customers, in a bread oven he has installed in his new garage. Beatrice had ordered some loaves and buns, and they looked and smelt great.

Today Beatrice asked if we wanted to go for a morning walk with Kibo, so given yesterday's experience, we readily agreed. This time, instead of turning left when leaving Schwandli and going down the hill, we turned right and went up the hill to an area called First. As we drove up the hill we passed a herd of goats lying in a field. Given my close personal connection with at least one goat in the past (Oscar) I got Beatrice to stop the car while I took a photo.

After about 15 minutes driving, we stopped at an informal carpark which had a great view down the valley with the Bernese Alps in the background, then walked back down the road for five minutes before heading off into a forest, and beginning an uphill walk.

After about an hour walking up the hill through forests, we got to a cleared ridge which gave us a view back into the Schüpfheim valley. Beatrice, Kibo and Rita looked like they were part of The Sound of Music.

Eventually we reached the summit where there was a lovely restaurant/cafe (as there often is at the end of Swiss walks). It was here that we had an unexpected incident, when a small dog that was left unattended and unleashed decided to pick a fight with Kibo, and raced 10 metres towards him yapping loudly. Bad move! Kibo just grabbed him around the neck and held him down (he looked like he could have swallowed him!) until the owner came out of the restaurant and retrieved him and put the leash on him. After that we settled down at a nearby table and had coffees and a snack, and admired the panoramic mountain views.

After a while we headed off down a different path and about 30 minutes later we arrived at the carpark. Beatrice has clearly done this walk several times before, because she knew all the options without the need to look at any maps. After we got home, we had another coffee, as an excuse to sample the bread from the neighbour's oven, while we watched the birds on the feeder on the balcony. When Beatrice served my coffee in this cup, I thought she had run out of real cups and was giving me a crumpled plastic cup. However, this turned out to be a ceramic cup, with the crumple in-built. Interesting look, and the crumple made it easier to hold.

After coffee, we realised it was time to check out the starter battery again, given that the van had been sitting in the sun all day to give the solar panel a chance to charge the batteries. Unfortunately, the van would still not start. So we searched online for a auto electrician and found a Campervan repair shop in nearby Hasle. So we gave him a call, more in hope than expectation since it was almost Saturday evening. We got onto him (Mr. Portmann at Hasle Camperworld) and explained our situation and he apologised that he couldn't come out now since he was short-staffed as a result of staff being away on August holidays. But given our situation, and the fact that Monday was a public holiday, he said he would come over after he had gone home and had some dinner (and said hello to his kids).

And so around 2000h, he turned up in his van, and proceeded to do a diagnosis of the problem. He was as perplexed as we were, but eventually decided that it was probably a problem with the alternator not charging the starter battery sufficiently. There was nothing he could do about it now, however, and he was fully booked-up and short-staffed next week as well, but he thought he might know someone else who could help us on Tuesday. But he had the foresight to bring another second-hand battery with him, and offered to fit it in the van until the bigger repairs could be done. We agreed to this, and after fitting the new used battery, the van started. At least we could now move the van if need be. Around 2100h, he left to go home again, and we were left with a very favourable impression of the great personal service he had offered on a Saturday night.

When we returned to the house, I realised that the events of the evening had meant that I hadn't followed the Speedway Grand Prix from Cardiff. But I checked the results and saw that young British rider Dan Bewley had popped out of nowhere to win the meeting. When I later saw a video of his performance, it showed him winning by the length of the straight - his mechanics must really have got his bike flying for the event, because normally he's nowhere near as quick as this.