You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm home. No, I'm not back in my Alpine woods, I'm in the Swiss countryside, and I feel like I am home. Home for me is quiet mountain ranges with villages right at their feet; home is waking up to birds in the trees outside singing their morning melodies; home is walking out and picking berries, cherries, and pears; home is sitting outside with rolling hills in the distance; home is being inspired to create written melodies of my own in these moments of tranquil solitude.
Our voyage from Venice, Italy all the way to Stans, Switzerland took sixteen hours, longer than the flight from Los Angeles to Düsseldorf, Germany. It was, however, very much welcomed. In all, Anne and I took four trains: one nine-hour night train from Venice to Munich, this train had cabins of three-bed bunks which we took complete advantage of; next we traveled from Munich to Zurich, Switzerland; then we took a smaller train from Zurich to Luzern; finally, a small city train took us from to our destination, Stans, Switzerland. Venice left us yearning to be away from tourists, and I have counted at least seventeen mosquito bites all around my legs, arms, and face. Yes, Venice was great, but I'm glad it is over. Our time in the French Riviera and then Venice left me with a desire to move away from the heat and sun to a much calmer environment, and boy, were we in for a treat.
Anne's third cousin, Brigitte Scheuber, gladly welcomed us into her home, along with her husband, their daughter Flavia, and their son Benno. There are a few other relatives living with them, and this lovely family also has plenty of cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, and barn cats! The same feeling of welcome I felt when we walked into Nele's home was apparent upon meeting the Scheuber family. Brigitte was kind enough to pick us up from the train station, and we drove in her car to her beautiful farmhouse on one of the many rolling hills of the Rotzberg, the mountain on which her home is located along the Swiss Alps Range.
First on her agenda was a tour of the property. Her husband, Paul, was out by the farm making sure the cows were milked properly, and we met the newest little member of the cow family at the Scheuber's, a baby calf! Then we walked down to the cellar where the eggs are packaged and ready to be sent off to local markets, butcher shops, and customers who are referred through word-of-mouth. We got to stamp the eggs, place them in their cartons, and keep track of their weight. Brigitte informed us we were in no way expected to help her, but neither Anne nor I could resist the temptation to get involved in the farming process! In about half an hour, and after seeing the chickens and pigs safely in their resting places for the night, we had packaged six boxes of eggs, a variety of sizes and colors, and we were ready to start dinner. We sat at the table with Brigitte and her family, and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of our favorite meal, bread with salami and fruit! Our very long and tiring journey had left us weary so we headed off to bed early, smiling as we learned that Switzerland had won its futbol match that evening.
I awoke at 06:00, such a bright and early hour, to the sound of birds chirping away morning tunes. Anne was still in bed so I decided to start writing this entry with the mountain view from our bedroom, the morning light helping to illuminate my thoughts into words. I was initially taken back to my graduate school days (is it too soon after graduation to talk about grad school like that?) when I would stare at a blank screen for hours trying to come up with that one sentence to get my brain going. I would start writing a few words and quickly press the delete button several times to erase what I thought to be an inadequate first sentence. I saw the page limit as an impossible target, but once I felt the initial sentence was up to my standards, the rest was a blur. Before I knew it, I had exceeded the page limit by a page or two (or five) and had to go back to edit and revise.
This was how I felt about writing this entry. The feeling of "home" was the similar to going back to my grandfather's hometown and helping with the horses or going to my Alpine home and picking flowers for my mama's vase. Sitting down with a family at dinner and enjoying some good country food (Älpermagronen) and a good conversation brought me back home. Even if it wasn't my family, this environment brought my heart back to center, which is exactly what I longed for while sitting on the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice. So there I was, beginning this entry with thoughts such as, "Being here in Switzerland feels great!" or "I'm so happy to be here!" None of them seemed appropriate, and then something just clicked and I found myself six paragraphs into the entry in about twenty minutes. I apologize as I have given myself no page or word limit so you all are in for a long post, perhaps.
Our first day in Switzerland, we went up to the top of a great mountain called Klewenalp via a gondola, a ten minute ride up the steep mountain. It is a ski resort when it snows, but in summer it offers many trails to go "spazieren" or walking around. Once at the top, we left the gondola and walked along one of the many many trails to a restaurant in one of the valleys. It is owned by Paul's brother, and we were treated to a traditional Swiss meal: Käsekuchen and Schnitzel with a veggie spread that included cabbage, carrots, and beets. We also had a leek soup to warm us up, as it got pretty cold up there in the mountains. I could have stayed up there for hours longer than we did. I basked in the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze that flew up from the other mountain peaks; I delighted in the view of such a wide variety of flowers; I enjoyed listening to a language that I know and yet remains a bit foreign to me, especially with the Swiss pronunciation. Most of all, I just sat and stared out into the landscape right before my eyes, wishing to bring everyone from back home here, and hoping my pictures and my descriptions would suffice to share such an experience with you all. Eventually we made our way back down, but I'm hoping to climb another mountain sometime before leaving this astounding mountain range.
Back down in Stans, we got ready for another family dinner; this time, we planned to have an outside picnic of sorts, complete with cheese fondue, Swiss bread, and an assortment of fruits. We had the opportunity to meet Benno's girlfriend, Sandra, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner with jokes and laughter, plenty to go around. Afterward, we rode up with Paul and Flavia to another part of their land, where he had relocated a few of his cows earlier that day. Driving up the mountain, I got to see the sun setting over the tall peaks, with the various colors shooting up from the stark contrast of the dark mountain range and the sky. It was a beautiful sight to behold, yet another marvelous view during my short stay here in the Alps. Once back at their house, Flavia, Anne, and I picked cherries from the tree outside their garden. After noticing I was the only one gently passing the cherry seed from my mouth to my hand and then tossing it, I begged Anne to teach me how to spit cherry seeds out like a real girl. We had a cherry seed slitting contest and I didn't win at all, but I had fun. Kind of I like learning to skip stones by the lake or learning how to throw a better punch (aim past the target, right SC?), something new to acquire--all skills that might come in handy one day.
Yes, I have seen the Eiffel Tower in Paris; I have wandered the halls of the Louvre and seen the Mona Lisa; I've walked along the rocky shores of the Mediterranean on the French Riviera; I've crossed canals in Venice and been serenaded with accordions. I have done plenty while in Europe, but at this point in my adventure I am most pleased to report that I have helped herd cows into their new barn on the side of a mountain in the Swiss Alps, I have sat among strangers who became friends in less than an hour while attempting to add a Swiss accent to my German, I have picked chicken eggs and packaged them for the local market, and I have watched the sunrise over the mountains, reflecting off the sea like glitter on my niece's art projects. I have been humbled by such wondrous creations that remind me of what is important in life, and I'm excited to see what tomorrow has in store.
Tschüss von der Schweiz!
P.S. A big celebratory shout-out to my dear friend Sarah who very recently welcomed her baby girl into this world!! I've been fortunate enough to be kept in the baby loop by friends and am very much excited to get to meet baby Leila when I get back.
One train ride to Italy. We barely made the train after getting confused with the signs in Italy. Apparently, the train headed directly to Munich was tagging along other trains. It tagged along behind one going back to Venice and we couldn't find the number for our train...it was a mess but we finally made it.
Here we are excited and relieved to finally be on the train!
Switzerland is so green...and clean!
Three natives and some tourists walking down a street while soft sprinkles of rain came down. Can you spot the outsiders? ;)
The cows of the Scheuber family! Here they are in their usual home right outside the family home.
The baby calf!
Packaging eggs, it only took about three tries to finally become pros at it. Anne and I are building a very diverse repertoire of skills here in Europe.
Here are the eggs at one of the markets where they are sold.
Cherries from the tree by the garden!
Their lovely garden!
Our dinner the first night. Will I ever grow tired if bread, salami, and cheese?
Gerber in Switzerland is not advertised with a cute baby face. It's not even baby food here.
The chickens in their coop. Once I got close to them they started clucking at me. Thankfully, they didn't have a Swiss accent so I understood them just fine.
Doing laundry the good ol' fashioned way. Actually, I do a lot of my own laundry back home like this....
And hang it up like this! Right after I took this picture, Paul's parents drove up. This elderly couple lives in the downstairs flat. Their Swiss accent was very heavy, but I still managed to inform them that I was going to help carry their groceries into their home. We left our clothes to dry while going up the mountain, and by the time we got back, they were all folded nicely in the blue bucket. I don't know who the benevolent culprit was, but I suspect Paul's mama...maybe I will never know.
Swiss beer at the restaurant on the mountain top!
Leek soup with Swiss bread. It was so good and the warm liquid was what I needed after the brisk walk up.
Having some post-lunch coffee while discussing very important matters: the World Cup matches and predictions on who makes the second round.
This is the lift that takes you up the mountain. It goes all the way to the top!
The gondola that came down as we rode up.
Our view from our lunch table. Isn't it breathtaking?
In addition to my "Ledges of Europe" collection, I am thinking of starting a "Flowers of Europe" set. Was denken sie darein?
Not a ledge, but it was the best I could do. Ledges are difficult to come by while hiking the Alps, I'll have you know!
This is a photo Anne captured of me arguing with a particular goat. She/he and I had a heated argument about she/he ignoring my calls to come closer. Maybe it spoke French? I should have tried it rather than stick to my very un-native Swiss German.
Jam that we also helped out with. We wrote down the name and the year it's made in. Johannisbeergelee!
Our outside dinner. These smiles make me smile! From left to right: Paul, Brigitte, Benno, Sandra, Anne, and Flavia.
Mountainside sunset.
The cows in their new home. They walked out right as we left them, but at least they know now where they should go if rain or thunder starts to scare them.
Back at the house, spitting cherry seeds like pros.
Anne in action while Flavia watches and learns from the master.
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