The final Gruezi Miternand (greetings all) from Switzerland!
Once again, we hope this finds you all happy, healthy and that life is good for you.
Our last week in Switzerland arrived and was a bit of a mixed bag, but it certainly did not go out with a whimper despite the whole week being pretty soggy. It rained heavily for most of the time. A couple of days were spent cleaning the house ready for the owners return and packing our gear in readiness for our departure on Friday.
One morning we headed off for lunch to Germany and the plan was that Phil was going to head off to Lucerne afterwards, to catch up with a mate from days gone by and Volker was going back to Wald to play with the cats. So off we go to Konstanz on the Bodensee which is one helluva big lake with Switzerland on one side and Germany on the other. It seemed strange sitting on a very full train of Swiss people heading across the border to do a bit of cheap shopping as the Swiss Franc against the Euro makes for happy girls in clothes and shoe shops and happy chappies get to try some cheap German beer while waiting. Win Win!
Only problem was that it was a miserably wet day, so sight seeing and wandering about was off the agenda and put a bit of a dampener on the proceedings. But we did find a cosy pub which had opened it's doors in 1436 to patrons and it was great. The very old style with low wooden ceilings gave it a genuine olde worlde feel which was a great setting for lunch. Wiener Schnitzel was the preferred course - as one must in Germany. Not the pretentious deep fried thing that has the consistency of boot leather that one gets in some of the pubs back home, but the real veal deal. Very nice!
It would have been great to stay longer as this looked like a very interesting place. It dates back to Roman times and has a medieval history that is very evident in the old buildings. Also, it is a water gateway to Austria and the exit to the Rhine River. Boat trips can take one back up to Schaffhausen where the waterfalls previously mentioned are, as well as other ancient cities both in Germany and Switzerland.
But - all too soon we were back on the train with Phil heading to Luzern and Volker back to the cats, but no sooner the train had pulled out, Phil's phone advised her that the mate was pretty crook and the visit was off. We didn't really want to head back to Wald so early, so we decided to head to Zurich for one last look. And this is where fortuitous things happened.
Stepping off the train we noticed many more people about than previously. Stepping outside the station we were instantly immersed into a bustling crowd of thousands upon thousands of people. Not only people, but horses, camels, carriages, carts, people dressed in period costumes, kids dressed in national costumes all in this amazing throng of thousands lining the streets cheering, throwing flowers and in general having the most wonderful time. We found out later that it was Sechelauten or the Spring Festival.
Watching 500 horses, absolutely resplendent in their polished livery decorated with much polished brass and silver, horse drawn carriages and carts, camels, people walking along dressed in traditional costumes, period military costumes, complete with fluttering standards, fire arms and sabres from the 1700's as dragoons or mounted European cavalry as well as Arabic cavalry and the guilds in period costume all interspersed with 30 marching bands to keep the pace up, was just the most amazing colourful sight as they meandered along the main streets in a procession that was over 2 kms long.
Young guys were walking along side this procession pouring wine from wooden casks and steins into peoples glasses in the crowd. One group carried the old brass fire fighting knapsacks filled with wine and dispensed it liberally to themselves as well as the crowd. Women stepped out from the crowd and walked amongst this mass of colour giving bunches of roses and kisses to marchers, the mounted troops, stuck them in the bands instruments while kids threw sweets back into the crowd. It was just the most amazing and as said - fortuitous opportunity to watch and be immersed into the most important event on the Swiss calendar. We had no idea it was on!
This was serious Philomena territory. She got very excited and wanted to be a part of it all and had to be physically restrained as she wanted to elbow her way to the front of the crowd to get to the free drinks, pinch someones roses and kiss Napoleonic dressed soldiers as well as their horses.
The whole thing culminated down at the Opera Platz on the shores of Lake Zurich with the burning of the Boogg. This is a caricature of a snowman and is also the equivalent of our Bogey Man. Boogg (who, by the way is stuffed with fire works / explosives) is perched on top of a huge pile of wood which I estimated to be about 15 metres high, that is set alight. The idea is that when the flames get high enough, Boogg starts to burn, then off he goes. Big time!
While the fire is burning, each troop of horses gallops around the pyre three times, heads off and the next troop takes over and then the next, over and over till Boogg goes off with an almighty explosion signifying winter is officially over. We could not believe it as Boogg blew to bits and the fireworks whizzed off in all directions. How the horses didn't bolt and trample the crowd was beyond us and how no one got splattered and burnt by firey bits of Boogg raining down on them was also surprising. The noise reverberated across the Zurichsee (lake), off the buildings and along the streets. Everyone was hooting and cheering and drinking and just having a marvellous time of it.
Unfortunately we were a fair distance from it as many thousands had accumulated at the Platz for the Boogg burning long before we got there. However, from our vantage point we could see the horses going around the burning pyre and were able to watch Boogg disappear in a bright and very noisy ending. In the attached pics, we have included a couple taken in 2012 of Boogg burning & exploding which we got off the internet. When the Swiss put on a show - they really put on a show.
If anyone is interested in more pics of this incredibly colourful event, we suggest you google up "Images of Sechelauten" as well as Wikipedia and type in the same word for the history and the facts behind the event.
Heading back to the railway station was an interesting glimpse into how the Swiss physci works. The usual Germanic Swiss way of order, cleanliness and staidness which admittedly is a bit of a stereo type, was dispensed with in abundance. The streets were full of very happily pissed people, piles of empties, other assorted rubbish and ankle deep in horse shit which is such a contrast to the usual spotlessly clean streets encountered. But being Swiss they were onto it. While the revellers were still revelling away at the Platz, the workers were already out starting the cleanup. A convoy of street sweepers were already at work cleaning up the afore mentioned rubbish and horse shit and removing all traces of the festivities. By the time we got to the Bahnhoff (railway station) you could not see any trace of what had occurred shortly before. Quite amazing!
It was back into Zurich again late one afternoon for Phil to catch up with a mate whom she worked with once upon a time back in the day. Heather had just flown in from India where she had been working and was a bit lagged, but it was great to catch up with this fascinating lady whom one must admire. She certainly has a tale to tell. Coming to Switzerland from Yorkshire as a 17 year old, working as a chambermaid in a hotel, to the lady who now runs her own computer software development company servicing major banking institutions in Switzerland and across the world is an amazing story.
And so this wrapped up our 1st house sit and our time in beautiful Switzerland. What can be said that hasn't been already done in this and the previous blogs. We both agreed that for our 1st overseas house sit, it has been a wonderful success and experience. It has not been without it's trials, but all it all it has been a great form of travel that has enabled us to have an extended time in a country with so much to offer which we could not have afforded a lengthy stay as tourists otherwise.
It's the little things that will stick in our minds as well as the awesome scenery that is Switzerland and we realise that has been written about to the point of boredom for most of you.
Things that make up every day life.
Like the people who recognise us on the street or in the shops and give a cheery wave or smile now that we have been around long enough not to be your average two night, three day tourists. The Iranian guy at the market who talks to us in English 1st up as he knows we are novices at Swiss Deutsch. The other tenants in the flats around us and their kids giving us a cheery Gruezi and a wave. Things like knowing which bus or train takes you where and when without having to look it up. The familiarity of the streets in Wald, the CBD in Zurich and Rapperswill. No big deal to anyone, but to us it is a sense of having been part of it all in so much more than the fleeting tourist visit. Loved it!
Our little charges - Sunny, Siri, Sancho & Baby knew something was up as they were very clingy and kept trying to climb into our bags when packing. They really haven't been too much of a hassle or have curbed our lifestyle much at all. We accepted that looking after the cats was a responsibility and we took it seriously as they were the reason we were able to come to visit Switzerland and experience all that we have been fortunate to have done.
Our last day in Switzerland was spent travelling to Lugano which is just on the Swiss / Italian border. What a spectacular trip it was as we wound our way through the Swiss / Italian Alps up to over 2,000 metres, amongst towering snow covered peaks and huge valleys that swirled with wreaths of low cloud, into the Ticino area. The wet weather had produced many rushing waterfalls, some hundreds of metres high crashing down from the mountains that added to the incredibly powerful scenery.
Sitting back in the luxury of the dining car on the train with a wonderful lunch, a glass of wine and immersed into all of this amazing scenery was certainly a fantastic way to experience our last day. Phil was doing her best to practice her Italian on the waiter, which had lapsed considerably by the sound of it. So much so that when she was trying to thank the waiter for the wonderful fare we had just eaten he looked at her as if she had said something like "you have the facial features of a constipated pig". What ever it was, he looked very insulted, quickly whisked away our plates and kept looking over his shoulder as he scuttled back off to the galley - or what ever it is they call the kitchen on a train. This made us crack up laughing like juvenile school kids not knowing what it was that was actually said.
Lugano itself is breathtaking. Set on the shores of Lake Lugano, Mont Bre with it's associated abbey and Mont Sant Salvatore prominently rise up from the silky smooth lake to create a breathtaking back drop to the lake and this beautiful town complete with palm trees which are such a novelty for Switzerland. Low cloud drifted amongst the peaks like a soft ethereal wreath, breaking occasionally to offer tantalising glimpses of the snow covered peaks of the alps in the distance. The superlatives one could heap on this place could go on and on.
Once we finally found our hotel and dumped our gear, we hit the streets, found a lovely lake side tea house and just sat, sipped tea and revelled in this unbelievably beautiful place. Later in the evening, we sat at a lakeside restaurant watching the day disappear and the night lights coming on across the waters reflecting off the glassy lake and we toasted our success in completing this first stage of our journey. We took the time to savour the wine and to savour all the incredible emotions, the awesome sights and the wonderful things that this first part of our travelling adventure had led us too.
We now begin a couple of weeks as displaced grey nomads / gypsies now, heading into northern Italy then off to France before we begin our next house sit in Northumbria England.Thanks to you all for being a part of our little adventure.
Best wishes and lots of love
And as the Swiss say - depending on which part your in - auf weidersien, aurevoir or arrivederci
Philomena & Volker xxx
