Frank's Forward : Warning this is a long letter! Those without time skip to the last line and come back later. I included this because it is one of the few pieces of writing I have from dad. The trip made him very reflective and a lot of emotion (for Hans) shows through. It is probably only of interest of family and friends.
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April 10-18, 2000 - Trip to Switzerland and Germany (and Austria too!)
Note: At risk of boring some of you, I give details and describe family relationships and history so that my children can use this as a reference. I also document names and places before I forget.
1. The Homecoming (after 48 years abroad).
When I was 8 years old my parents left southern Germany to immigrate to Australia. We took a train to Bremer Hafen (the port of Bremen) and boarded the MS Nelly; a diesel powered ex-WW-II "Liberty" ship. (I heard it broke in two and sank off India 10 years later.) We stopped for fuel at Tenerife and again at Cape Town where we had shore leave for a day. (That was the first time in my life that I saw black-skinned people.) The trip from Africa to Melbourne, Australia took us far south into the "roaring forties" latitudes: a region of constant gales and huge waves. Most people never came on deck and many were sea sick constantly but my brother Peter, (age 5), and I had our sea legs and had a good time watching whales and watching the ship twist and squirm against the huge waves that crashed over the bow. We carved wooden propellers, secured to a stick with a nail, and held them out to spin madly in the howling winds on deck. We almost lost Peter there, when he crawled under the railing around a lifeboat davit to retrieve a toy and was almost swept overboard.
A new life in Australia meant speaking English, learning new ways and looking after my 10 year younger sister Ann, who was born in Adelaide. I lived there for 16 years and met Meng there while we were both attending Adelaide Technical High School. We married while I was attending the University of Adelaide and Meng went back to Malaysia to give birth to Frank. Su Ling was born in Adelaide two years later. We were rather poor then but with my summer earnings, my scholarship, Meng's resourcefulness and the kindness of some Australian friends, we made it. (At that time you could buy a side of lamb for the equivalent of $1.50 if you went to the market at noon on Saturday, just before closing hour.) We lived on $20/week.
After getting my engineering degree Boeing hired me and moved us to the USA where again we had to adapt to new ways and had our first taste of a real income and freedom from parental influence. Lea was born to celebrate our new independence after a little more than a year in Seattle. With parents in Australia and Malaysia, the initially infrequent and expensive trips home left neither time nor budget for trips to Europe.
Now, I was completing the final leg of a 48 year long trip around the world to visit my original homeland. Meng and I climbed aboard a plane on Monday morning in PHX at 8:00 A.M., and flew to Newark, NJ. There, after a 4-hour wait, we were finally on our way to Zurich at 7:00 PM. We winged across the Atlantic for a short night. I noticed how the position of the constellation Cassiopeia was much higher than I was used to seeing it in PHX because we were so much further north. As we approached Ireland, it was already daytime and a little later I saw Paris below us through a break in the clouds.
My Aunt Gisela (pronounced "ghee-seh-lah"), my mother's younger sister, was to have her 75th birthday on the 13th of April, therefore, we chose this time of unsettled weather for this visit so that we could meet the relatives gathered for the occasion. Her birthday is only a day after Meng's and my Father's who share the 12th of April.
We arrived, true to prediction, in miserable weather and the captain of our DC-10 managed to make a silky smooth landing despite poor visibility in rain and low clouds. Everyone on board applauded. It was 8:00 AM Zurich time on Tuesday.
After claiming our baggage we were met by Uschi, Gisela's daughter. She is about my age; very chic, talented and well educated. Ushi is short for Ursula. (The Swiss love to transform things they love into the diminutive form by shortening or modifying the word and adding an "I" at the end. The Bavarians do similarly and I am "Hansi" to my friends.)
Uschi recognized me from photos taken 20 years ago when my Mum visited us in PHX. (Anyway, how many fifty-ish guys with oriental wives get off the plane from Newark?) Ushi helped us get our rental car and guided us to her house in Altnau, north of Zurich on the south shore of the lake that separates Switzerland and Germany. The English call it Lake Constance but locally it is called Der Bodensee. The river Rhine flows in one end and out the other end of this beautiful lake.
Uschi speaks perfect English and her E-mail messages allowed us to coordinate this trip. She and her husband Hans run the Altnau branch of the Raiffeisen bank, which also has branches in Germany. At her home we had a nice lunch of wonderful Swiss breads, cheeses and cut meats and salad. The bread in that part of the world is so good you can eat it without anything on it!
That afternoon Gisela arrived by train and we walked down to the railway station in light rain to meet her. She gave Meng and me a bear hug that amazed me considering that she is a 75-year-old, 5-foot tall, great-grand mother with a weak heart. She was so-o-o happy to see us and she jumped up and down with excitement! We all walked a few blocks in the rain to meet Sandra and Melanie, Uschi's daughters. (They picked up a lot of their father's looks, with pleasant cheery faces. Uschi spent 2 years in England, hence the English names.) Sandra has three cute kids, Rahel, Leanne and Lucas, all blonde as she is. Lucas is the same age, to the day, as Lea's Zoe. He is so cute, happy and chubby that I secretly nicknamed him the Manatee baby. Melanie is still single and has a boy friend but we did not meet him.
That evening Gisela guided us to her 3rd floor apartment in a wonderfully restored old house in St. Gallen. Of course we stayed up late to chat some more and pick up fragments of the past. She had 2 unused bedrooms with beds for Meng and me.
Our plans to get up early the next day were foiled by the fatigue that hit us after being up for over 24 hours and we slept in till 10:00! Of course we had a wonderful breakfast before setting out for Germany.
We drove north through a small piece of Austria, including Bregenz, the city on the eastern most shore of the Bodensee, where I was born. Just across the border in Germany, at the Esso gasoline station, we met Marianne and Julian Veit. Marianne ("Mah-ry-ahnn-eh" or "Nanni") is my mother's youngest sister. She is about 69. The weather was still lousy (pissing rain), so we convoyed north towards the village where I lived as a boy. On the way we detoured past the house where my Grandfather had lived. (He, Hans #name-edited-out# was my mother's dad. His second wife Trudy was about the same age as my mother and their daughter Waltraut is close to my age. More about Waltraut later.)
As we came close to my former village of Schwatzen, we stopped at Rot Kreutz (Red Cross). The old Gast Haus "Schanz" (= guesthouse, or country inn, named Schanz"), which I still recognized, has been beautifully restored. The farmhouse where I lived as a boy no longer exists because a freeway runs over the spot. However I recognized the surrounding hills, the small sawmill, the pond (where I tried to learn to swim) and the small clumps of forest (where we used to pick blueberries). The little clear creek that ran past the farmhouse, at the bottom of a little meadow, was still there gurgling away unchanged! It was there that I remember marveling at the first little snow bell flowers that appeared as soon as the winter snow had melted. I also remember a very prophetic dream I had as a little boy. I dreamt I stood on top of the fence, on the slope overlooking the creek. I spread my arms, jumped and flew like a bird across the creek! (In later years, in Arizona, I would indeed perform such a magical act, aided by a glider wing strapped to my back.)
The road into the village of Schwatzen is very narrow and seems to go right through farmyards and back yards. I asked Julian to stop so I could hike up the hill to be sure I could spot where the farm had been. Meng and I grabbed an umbrella and hiked up the hill in the rain, through the soggy, lush grass. Yes, I had spotted the location of the former farmhouse correctly. The old apple orchard to the north, before the sawmill, was still there and the freeway passed right over where the house had been.
The next stop was the bigger town of Weissensberg. (White hill) The church steeple on top of the hill beckoned, as it was also the location of my school. Fortunately we had a car so the rain was not a bother. It had been quite a hike from the farm to school, which we did 48 years ago come rain or shine. No school buses back then. "We" means Manfred and I. Manfred Schupp, the farmer's youngest son, is a year older than I am. The school has since been rebuilt but it is still in the same location right next door to the church. As we arrived, the rain stopped.
In the churchyard I saw a gravestone that read Xaver (1964) and Phillipine Schupp, (1989). They were Manfred's parents! I HAD to try and locate Manfred if at all possible! He, his sister Helene, ("Heh-leh-neh"), and I used to play together especially in the summer when we ran around with bare feet. We hated having to wear shoes! Sometimes we accidentally stepped into the fresh green cow pies that were all over the place. The green goo would squish up between our toes and we would have to go into the creek to rinse off.
We would always look forward to the potato harvest in the fall because then there would be a big bonfire in which we could roast some potatoes gleaned from the harvested fields.
In the winter our route to school took us across a frozen lake. When I saw the lake now, I was amazed at how small it was. To a child everything seems much bigger than to an adult. I remember waiting for the ice to form in late fall. (One local boy got too eager and fell through thin ice. Luckily he was within my reach at the end of a small pier and I managed to pull him to safety.)
That evening, Nanni managed to locate Manfred. He was not listed in the phone book but Nanni knew his older sister's married name. The sister (Saferia) told her that Manfred lived in Opfenbach, a small town north east of Lindau. (More about beautiful Lindau later). Julian, Meng and I made the trip after supper and we had a hard time finding the right street in Opfenbach. We asked some Bavarian fellows, exiting a pub, for directions but they were pretty drunk and gave conflicting advice. (I could barely manage to understand them; their dialect was so thick.) The loudest one insisted he knew but when we went where he said it was obviously not right.
Back we went to the Gast Haus to talk to the proprietor. He knew the street was in a new development and we found Manfred's house. He had been pacing his yard, eagerly awaiting us.
What a joyful reunion! I can still hear him say in his Bavarian dialect "Hansi, is it really you?") What 's more, just as we arrived, his sister Helene drove up. The little blond girl I remembered was now a matronly woman. We enjoyed a good local beer and talked until it was time to go home to Nanni's house. (There is no such thing as bad beer there!) I must brush up my German writing skills and send them a note too. Unlike most city folk, few of the country people speak English. Manfred is a Kaesemeister. (Cheese maker) He has one daughter Andrea. ("Ahn-dreh-ah") He could not stop grinning all evening. Helene has 3 children.
I was now truly in my homeland again! (A very special, warm feeling even though my home and allegiance are now elsewhere.)
2. Lindau, the island Town on the Bodensee
After the rainy afternoon in my home village we went back to Nanni's apartment in Kressbronn, about 20 km west of Lindau. While she was preparing a wonderful Bavarian supper for us, the sky cleared, so Julian took Meng and me to Lindau. Lindau is an old town dating back to ancient times. It was originally fortified and ideally situated on a tiny island, close to the Austrian border. Parts of the ancient town wall still exist. Julian dropped us off at the west end and we walked along the sea wall to the harbor. It is still as I remember it. A circular basin with a break in the sea wall for boats to enter. A lighthouse marks one side of the opening; a lion on a pedestal defines the other. Looking south cross the Bodensee, the Swiss Alps sparkled majestically in the late afternoon sun. That too is a view that stuck from my boyhood. Perhaps that is why I love snow-capped mountains so much: this wonderful view!
Across the harbor was an old medieval tower dating from 1250. Nearby, the Rathaus (town council chamber) was beautifully restored with wonderful murals. It too was almost 800 years old! We worked out way through quaint cobblestone streets and exclusive shops and stumbled across a toy store on a corner. This was the very same store that Oma Meiners took me to as a boy. (My dad grew up without his mother who died when he was 6. He did not get along with his step-mum and ran away at age 16. The Meiners family in Oldenburg, (northern Germany), took dad in and served as his foster parents. They had one biological son who was killed in the war. Before we left for Australia, Opa and Oma (= grandpa and grandma) Meiners came for a visit and Oma bought me a toy tank at this very same store. Fortunately it was past closing time or I would have been sorely tempted to buy a model Stirling engine displayed in the window. ($400 DM; ouch! You can tell the age of the boys by the price of their toys!)
In short, Lindau is just as wonderful as I remember it. We need to go back for a longer visit in better weather!
Julian took us past the public swimming beach next to the island. My Dad and Mum used to ride there on bicycles with Peter perched on the back of Mum's bike and I on Dad's. It was about 10Km one way from our farm. Dad had a motorbike but that could not carry us all. Once we had an accident. Peter's got one heel stuck into the bicycle spokes and we had to stop at a local doctor to get it sewed up. Peter cried in pain and my dad yelled unreasonably at Mum. At the Doctor's office, the nurse gave Peter cherries to comfort him and I was jealous because I was not given any! (I was always hungry back then.)
We capped off the evening with Nanni's Bavarian dumplings and goulash, Salvator beer, followed by a fabulous apple torte, then went to see Manfred as described above. After returning, it was too late to drive back to Gisela's so we stayed next door at the inn "Zur Capelle" (= to the Chapel). Julian had rented a beautiful room for us. The next morning (Thursday) we all had breakfast at the inn and prepared to drive into Austria to meet Waltraut and Trudy. The fast route on the freeway took us through the Pfander tunnel to their house in Lustenau for lunch after which we all assembled at Gisela's place for a birthday dinner in St. Gallen, Switzerland. (Three countries within one hour driving time!) Here we also met Rolf, Gisela's Son, his wife Brigit, their son Patrick, and Gisela's friend Emmi. It was a lovely evening and most of the family was together including Nanni and Julian. The wonderful apple champagne bottles were put to good use.
3. Waltraut
As mentioned earlier, Waltraut is my step-aunt. She and her mother Trudy (my step-grandmother) prepared a traditional lunch consisting of clear broth soup with "Knoedel" (dumplings) "Pflaedele" (thin omelet cut into strips) and "Schnittlauch" (Chopped chives) along with bread and a little salad. For desert we had fresh "Erdbeeren" strawberries (from Spain) with ice cream and whipped cream.
Waltraut is about my age and a very pleasant personality. I vaguely remember her as a little girl. Like Nanni and Meng she is a Jehovah's witness. It is a tribute to the witnesses that these half-members of the #name-edited-out# family get along so well with the others. I remember from my boyhood, hearing my dad's gossip, that Grandpa's remarriage created some tension in the family. It is wonderful that all family members have eliminated this tension of old.
While I am not a witness, I admire their faith and their brotherhood. All around the world they assist each other. Their adherence to Christ's teachings is exemplary. During the war Hitler sent them all to concentration camps because they refused to swear allegiance to him or to the flag. Many died but many endured and survived. Their strength of character was an example few can match.
Waltraut's husband Ernst, is a real live wire. He is about 60, looks tanned, boyish and mischievous with a huge handle bar mustache. (Julian called him "the Turkish man" in fun.) He runs his own roofing business and his huge garage/workshop was tidy and well equipped. Their house is situated on a large lot and the cherry tree was in full bloom. The yard was covered in daffodils and other early spring flowers. On a clear day they can see the Alps. In the living area, a large picture window, prominent from the comfort of the traditional wood-fired "Kachelofen" (Tiled brick heating stove), gave a nice open, airy feeling. They must be doing well. Few people in Europe have their own house like in America.
4. Jungfrau Joch (Top of Europe)
On Thursday night at Gisela's place, as we were sipping the wonderful locally made apple cider champagne, she had a great suggestion. The Raifeisen bank had given her a half-price coupon for two people on the train to the Jungfrau (Virgin woman) mountain. The next day was predicted to be Foehn winds from the south. These are dry winds originating at the Sahara and they bring clear skies. (Similar to Santa-Anna winds in California!) Her health did not allow her to go to high altitudes so she gave us the coupon. This was a great opportunity, so we took it.
Thus, next morning we took the freeway toward Bern and Interlaken. At the little town of Wilderswil, we arrived just 5 minutes after the train left. We had 55 minutes to kill so we explored the beautiful traditional Swiss, mountain chalet homes in the town. We had such a good time enjoying the wonderful sights and pleasant atmosphere that we almost missed the train again!
The electric train on conventional track took us to Lauterbrunnen (Loud Spring) where we changed to a different train on a 3-rail cogged track. A massive cliff next to the town was at least two thousand feet tall and a misty waterfall plunged over the precipice. Just like in a picture postcard: absolutely beautiful! As we climbed a steep ravine we looked across the valley and saw another alpine train going up to a ski area. Dozens of cog trains, aerial trams and higher up, ski lifts, served this whole area. Further up we changed trains again at Kleines Scheidegg. (Little Scheidegg mountain) This final stage headed straight for the famous Eiger north wall, a sheer vertical cliff. (See the movie "The Eiger Sanction"!) There, the train entered the mountain and climbed up inside the mountain until the final stop at 11,300-ft (3400-m). Lifts and stairways provide access to a lookout tower at 11,800 ft.
What is totally amazing is that this facility was constructed 100 years ago, as the dates on some of the cog tracks testify. (1896 and still in use!) Originally steam engines provided power. Now, clean electric trains cover all of Switzerland.
En route we stopped twice at lookout ports carved into the cliff face where large windows allowed a safe view into the valley below. The upper one called "Eismeer" (Ice Ocean) was in the rotor cloud generated by strong winds flowing over the Jungfrau peak. (109 km/h)
At the top, we again could not enjoy the view because of the cloud cap. However, we had a pleasant lunch in the cafeteria and then explored the ice caves that had been carved into the ice cap on the mountaintop. In good weather, a path is available to walk out on top of the glacier but because of the howling wind, it was closed. Anyone foolish enough to venture out in that wind would have been blown right off the mountain into the abyss! Gusts to 190 km/h were recorded there. The jet stream was brushing the mountaintop!
The Ice Palace consisted of carved-out rooms of polished ice. Artistic sculptures decorated these man-made caves. The tunnel walls were light turquoise in color and showed striations from the seasonal variations in snowfall that had created this ice cap on the mountain. One day I must go back and walk on the glacier where fabulous views are offered on a clear sunny day. The whole area is a climate research station and they still use sled dogs to move supplies and equipment to remote parts of the glacier. It reminds me somewhat of the Columbia Ice Field in Canada which is another one of my favorite places. Cool!
By the time we explored the Jungfrau station it was nearing 5:00 and we returned to Kleines Scheidegg. There we had to wait 15 minutes for our train to Grindelwald. Down here, at the base of the Eiger North Wall, we had brilliant sunshine. We snapped some great photos of the majestic scenery and Swiss chalets. Their building style blends perfectly with the landscape, enhancing the snow scene photos with color and geometric lines. (They turned out great!)
Some skiers were active on the wide-open slopes above the tree line but in all the slopes were almost empty. The ski areas are open here through May. (I wished for more time so I could go skiing too. Next time bring the boots and skis!)
As we headed down towards Grindelwald we had the Eiger face on our right and spotted the windows cut into the cliff where the train had stopped on our way up inside the mountain earlier in the day. As we descended we came into trees again; the snow thinned out and was gone at Grindelwald. The entire valley there was covered with beautiful alpine homes and resorts. This is the Switzerland you see on postcards, very green, very pretty harmonious and peaceful looking. At one with the mountains!
We changed trains again and were back at Wilderswil by about 7:00 and started our long drive back to St. Gallen. At about 9:30 south of Zurich my eyes started to get really heavy and I had to pull into a rest stop and take a quick catnap. (Blame it on jetlag! Surely I am not getting old!) I called Gisela so she would not worry about our late return.
5. Schloss Neuschwanstein (The fairy tale castle in Bavaria)
Neuschwanstein (New Swan Stone) castle (= Schloss) was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria. He built 3 fabulous, romantic castles in the foothills of the Alps. This one is the most photogenic and inspired the Disney Land castle. It is built mostly of white marble and granite and is perched on a rocky hilltop outside of Fussen, about 2 hours by car from Lindau.
We left Gisela's place on Saturday morning to drive to Lindau and then through Bavaria to Fussen via Isny and Kempten. We took the back roads through the rolling hillside country. The Alpine road would have been more spectacular but the snowy peaks were again hidden within a low cloud-base and strong winds. However, we had no rain on our route and the scenery was wonderfully green, tidy and very peaceful.
Around Lindau there are many small mixed farms with dairy cows and orchards. The orchards are mostly apples and pears with some hops and some grapes for wine. (Roasted hops give beer its bitter flavor and serve as a natural preservative. An ancient German purity law specifies that no artificial preservatives may be added to beer. It is a wonderful brew but does not ship nor store well, hence each locality has its own special brand of beer and different types are brewed depending upon the season and climate.)
Not far out of Lindau we stopped at a woodcarver's shop but it was closed. Nearby I took a photo of a traditional farmhouse, just like the Schupp farm I remembered. The two storied living quarters for humans are at one end of the building. At the other end, the upper floor is a hayloft and the lower floor is the stable for the cows. (In the winter the cows cannot go outside when it is too cold. A trapdoor in the hayloft allows the cows to be fed with minimal effort. And they did not even have Six Sigma or Kaizan back then!) A bulkhead type wall separates the animal stable from the living quarters to isolate the natural aromas. The liquid animal waste is collected in a big pit and, in the spring, it is pumped out to fertilize the fields using portable pipes with quick connect fittings. This allows fields to stay fertile without chemicals.
What is surprising is that, despite population increases, there is still a lot of farmland. Housing developments are not allowed to develop unchecked into farm country. Houses must stay within town limits. Farms stay as farms thus, the countryside still looks very much as it did when I was a boy.
Another surprise: people still build houses in the traditional, regional style. In an hour's drive we saw changes in style. Further, there is no junk lying around. Everywhere we saw firewood stacked in neat, millimeter-precise piles with corrugated iron sheeting to keep off the rain. People there still value a nice wood stove for winter comfort. All the farms are neat and the worst we saw were piles of cow dung from cleared-out stables. It all adds up to very pleasant surroundings and I am glad we took the country roads.
Further on we passed through Isny, another old, old town with beautiful kept houses and shops in the traditional style. Intricate wrought iron standards hung in front of shops to announce their trade. The old clock tower had a freshly painted face and the little town-square was a riot of spring flower colors. Meng just loved it! Unfortunately we only had time to stop for a couple of quick photos.
Fussen had similar places that needed exploring but we had to press on to the castle parking lot. A horse-drawn cart took us up to the entrance where we bought tickets for a guided tour. We chose the English speaking tour for Meng's benefit and the guide gave us a lot of historical information about this and other castles built by Ludwig: (He officially died in a drowning accident but some think it was no accident. His castle building spree was using too much of Bavaria's limited budget and he never saw this one finished in his lifetime. He was a very non-practical, romantic loner. His interior decorations were all based on Wagner's opera themes. He admired Wagner and dedicated this castle to the composer. Sadly, he shunned other people's company and often arranged for elaborate stage performances where he was the only guest.)
The castle has surprisingly modern features and amenities for the 1860s. (Hot and cold running water and central heating. The kitchen was well arranged, spacious and very functional. It could serve for any large restaurant even today. Just substitute gas fires for wood and you have it.) The artwork inside was just wonderful! No photography was allowed but we bought a video in American NTSC format for viewing at home. We did not have time to visit the other nearby castles like Hohenschwangau or Herrenkimsee. Several overnight stays in Fussen are needed to fully explore this beautiful region and one should also see Garmisch, Oberammergau and the Tirol Alps themselves, in good weather.
As we exited the castle it was raining and therefore, we decided to drive back to Kressbronn in time spend another evening with Nanni and Julian who had been so wonderful to us. They were very happy we stopped by and we treated them to supper at a local Gast Haus so we could try some other local specialties. I had the local fish from the Bodensee, (Felchen). Of course Julian wanted us to stay overnight again but we needed an early start next day so we drove back to Gisela's that night.
6. Der Zimmerman (The Carpenter)
Outside of Fussen we picked up a very interesting hitchhiker. His name was Dominik. I usually ignore hitchhikers but this one was special: He was dressed in black pants, a white shirt with black suspenders, a vest-like jacket and a top hat. Very distinctive style and very traditional. He was a journeyman carpenter, following a very old, very wonderful tradition. Few people still follow this, as it is no longer required by the trade guilds.
The tradition is that when a young man finishes his apprenticeship in his trade, he goes wandering far and wide. Once started, his wandering may not return him to his hometown for 3 years. During that time he travels to different places, works with local masters to learn their tricks of the trade and to pass on to them what he has learned. In return they provide him room and board. In days when news traveled slowly, this was a wonderful away for a young man to learn all the best that various craftsmen could offer. It kept the trade up to date, vital and disseminated useful information. In addition, it gave the young man an adventure and an opportunity to evaluate other places before settling down in one place. Perhaps he would even find a nice Fraulein somewhere?
Dominik was lucky. One of his temporary employers had given him a plane ticket to Brazil, from which he had just returned, and he had become quite fluent in Portuguese to the detriment of his English. We dropped him off at the Autobahn (freeway) entrance outside of Lindau as he was headed east, for Switzerland and we were going west, to Kressbronn. We were lucky to meet him. (My dad had followed this tradition as a printer but had to abandon his trade when the Nazis placed restrictions on the free press.) However, nowadays according to Dominik, only a few hundred people still follow it.
7. Appenzeler Land (Home of the little people)
Sunday was our last day with Gisela in St. Gallen. She had planned an all-family gathering at a small local castle (Schlossli in Swiss German), which had been converted into an eating establishment.
That was planned for early afternoon, so Meng and I took a quick trip south to Appenzell, land of little people, masters of wood craft and carving, set against the backdrop of the snow capped Santis Mountain range. These are the mountains one sees from Lindau when looking across the Bodensee.
We drove through the town center and just followed my nose towards the mountains until the road got narrower and narrower and finally turned into a little cow path. Some photos later we turned around and had just enough time to explore the town a bit. A wonderful furniture/antique shop was open despite it being Sunday morning. (All good people belong in church on Sunday morning!) Inside we admired lots of stuff and bought a few trinkets for the kids and an antique ceramic vase for Meng. I was really enthralled by all the antique woodworking and carving tools in the basement of the museum section. (I have done some furniture building myself, as a hobby, and admired the craftsmanship on display.) Fine furniture on sale included very well made, very expensive articles in cherry, walnut and pine wood. ($5000 for a nice cabinet!)
Outside, I took a few more photos and was surprised by an older gentleman who addressed me in French, commenting about the mountain in the background. I surprised myself by formulating an intelligible response. My high school French, long forgotten, had just popped out of my brain when it was needed. Amazing, when you must perform, you can. Of course this area is also served by a train connection to St. Gallen. Our road back followed the tracks.
8. Sunday Dinner With All the Family
Our last occasion in St. Gallen was a big dinner, which Gisela arranged for all the Swiss/German/Austrian relatives at a local Schloss. Actually it was more like a large farm Chateau, rearranged as a nice restaurant. We had a lazy mid afternoon dinner and got some nice photos of the entire bunch including the American and Malaysian imports of the last week.
We had a room all to ourselves while the food and wine flowed for a long time. Spring flowers decorated the window ledge, which gave a view to the Santis mountains we had visited that morning, (near Appenzell.) The opposite side of the house gave us a view of the Bodensee. Upstairs a little display room showed off antique toys from the turn of the century.
En route to the Schloss we had stopped by Rolf's house on the outskirts of St. Gallen. Brigit's mother Emmi also joined us. She and Gisela often go for walks in the local patch of forest together. We also met Thomas, Sandra's husband. (She is very proud of his tall, lean good looks.)
We departed for Zurich after dropping Gisela off at Rolf's place. We made a fast departure before anyone had time to shed tears.
9. The Schnellman Family and Zurich
Our drive to the outskirts of Zurich took us to Niederwenningen, (How's that for a tongue twister?) We were guided by instructions, which the Schnellmann's had sent us. It is a pretty little town in the countryside connected to Zurich by a very modern, double-deck, electric commuter train. We spent the evening reminiscing about our Seattle days when Klaus and I both worked at Boeing. They have two children of similar age to ours. The older, Christoff, worked with Frank for a couple of years in PHX before moving back to Zurich with his wife Sandra. Their little girl, Jasmin, is about 3 and looks absolutely precious and as beautiful as a porcelain doll, with blond hair and a pink, perfect complexion. (15 years from now the boys will be falling all over themselves when they see her! What a little doll!). Sandra is expecting another child in about 3 months.
The next day, our last, Klaus had to work, of course, as it was Monday. Susi took us by train to Zurich and we had a great time walking about in the old part of town. Very historical and pleasant! (Another toyshop almost had me fork out considerable bucks for a working model steam engine. I always wanted one of those as a boy! One day I'll build one myself.)
We spent the last evening enjoying good company and admiring Klaus's fabulous model train layout in his attic. It takes over the entire attic and he built everything, except the rolling stock. It includes draw bridges, logging camps, trestles, mine camps, machine shops, etc., all built to scale from photographs of the real thing. (Mostly USA locations.) Klaus is one of those engineers who can do and create with his hands as well as with theory. (My kind of guy!) You have to see it to believe it. It is the 8th layout he has built. Every move requires building a new layout, each better than the previous. For him it is therapeutic to spend time there.
Our next morning saw us headed for the Airport, with Susi as our guide. She took the train back home.
10. Special Memories
The Coach Driver:
When we took the horse drawn coach from the parking lot to the Castle entrance at Fussen, the driver had a few humorous remarks. He looked like a typical Bavarian farmer with the complexion of one who spends much time outdoors. Most of the passengers were older people and women. He remarked a typical Bavarian sentiment: "May God grant me good health and the capacity of my wife to work!"
Julian the Entertainer:
One evening Julian, (Nanni's husband), surprised us by producing a hand puppet and commencing a ventriloquist routine (in German/English mixture) that had us rolling on the floor. Even Meng could understand it. Next he took out his squeezebox (harmonica) and played a lovely rendition of La Paloma.
Julian does not have a formal, higher education but he is a clever fellow and showed me an invention that he is producing. It is a device that when installed under the hood of a car makes a mechanical noise at intervals, thus scaring away small rodents, which chew through wires and hoses, causing considerable damage to cars in rural areas. He developed it in his garage and built the first 500 units himself. He now has backing and turned over the production to a company that will pay him a royalty fee for each unit sold. It will go on line soon. Good for him!
(My dad had patents on a rotary engine but never commercialized it. He was disappointed when I went to the USA because he hoped my engineering skills would iron out its bugs and get it sold. A prototype was partially built as U of Adelaide project after my departure, but when the sponsoring guy left, so did the funding for the project. Dad was also without formal education and often talked to Felix Wankel in Lindau about engines. Wankel too, was without formal engineering training, but his engine saw a small measure of success, particularly in Japan with Mazda. Strange how many types of combustion engines Germans invented: Otto, Diesel and Wankel!)
We are Americans:
I found it strange that people instantly recognized us as Americans. When asking for directions people said," you do not have to tell us you are from America; that is obvious!" They expressed surprise when I answered in German.
In General the shopkeepers and sales people were very friendly and courteous to us. Most spoke reasonable English. Perhaps they were not as fast as in large US cities, but they were very accommodating.
In Lindau I was taking a photo of Meng in front of some magnolia blooms when a little old stooped-over lady in her 80's came by and offered, in halting English, to take a picture of both of us. She walks the town every day and, like many people, she loves to practice her English, which she learnt as a student oh so many years ago! Sweet!
Dialects:
I could not understand the Swiss speaking Schweitzer Deutsch amongst themselves. Their dialect is so much different from Hoch Deutsch (High German which my parents spoke at home), that I could only catch an occasional word. If they spoke slowly to me, I could get the drift. The Bavarians I understood better. Perhaps my boyhood knowledge, long forgotten, is still in my subconscious mind.
I love their little sayings and regional slang expressions. It is comparable to the difference between a Scottish person and a Southerner. In the USA you never have such large difference yet the country is 100 times bigger than any one European country!
Pastries, Bread & Diet:
Excellent! Unfortunately we had too little time to visit Café's and Conditerei (Pastry) shops to sample all the delicacies. My Mum used to be good at those!
Generally I found their food to be very tasty but short on fresh vegetables and salads. Meng has treated me well as evidenced by my health.
Public Services:
The railroads play a very big part in commuting and travel. Stations are modern, multi-level, busy affairs, serving city centers, suburbs and airports. Trains run on time and are clean and modern. Inside the stations many conveniences such as food shops, bakeries etc. allow commuters to pick up necessities on their way home.
Gliders:
My hobby deserves a mention: On the Saturday trip to Fussen I saw many gliders in trailers, on the highway and saw two flying in what we would call marginal conditions. They take it seriously!
Summary:
A long overdue and needed trip to my roots was accomplished. I am now neither Aussie nor German but an "Americaner". However, I still love the old homeland and was enriched by this trip! (In fact, I love all my homelands that I have inhabited.) I should have done this while my Mum was still alive and my dad had all his faculties.
Take heed, my children. Do not delay things too late in life. Sometimes life's opportunities slip by us before we realize it is too late.
Hans Heydrich (April 2000)