Monday, January 11, 1982
Jan & Kirby drove me to the
post office after work. When we arrived, we heard a terrible buzzing of an
alarm. Jan and I went in the post office while Kirby talked to a friend he saw.
As I pushed through the door to exit the post office, I was startled to be met
by a young soldier holding a sub-machine gun aimed at me! Fortunately he didn’t
shoot and let us pass. We stood by the car and watched this soldier approach
each person exiting the post office in the same way. Then another soldier and a
police officer came out and the soldier on guard visibly relaxed. Hopefully a
false alarm.
We drove to pick up Helen who
lives down the stairs from Klinik Linde, then proceeded to Nidau. We went to
the Pizzeria da Carlo/Restaurant du Pont which was beautifully decorated and
had delicious food. It was kind of a communal meal. Helen had a large mixed salad,
and Jan and Kirby ordered green salad. I had a bowl of minestrone that I was
going to share with Kirby. However, Jan didn’t like the vinegary dressing on
her salad, so she had some of the soup and I had some of her salad. The waiter
did not do a good job pouring the white wine and Kirby ended up with half as
much as everyone else. So we all poured wine here and there to even things up.
Helen had the Pizza Margherita
(tomato sauce, cheese, ham and mushrooms, hmm…), I had the Pizza Calzone that
was basically the same except the crust was folded over! Kirby had the house
special, Maccheroni che piacciono noi/Macaroni
How We Like It, a dish of macaroni in a wonderful spicy sauce that was baked in
the oven within a pizza crust like a pie. The waiter cut off half the top and
placed it on a plate, spooning the macaroni over it before serving it.
Supposedly one does not eat the crust, but we did! Jan was also served from a
casserole dish, Spaghetti Carbonara. We all tried a little of everyone else’s
dish. Next was dessert. Kirby and I shared a Banana Split and Helen and Jan
shared a Coupe Dänemark/Danish Ice Cream Sundae. This was my treat and
my birthday gift to myself and cost only 75 CHF/$38.
It is the tradition in
Switzerland to throw your own birthday party.
Wednesday, January 13, 1982
But on my birthday, Helen
presented me with a small gift of a cute little candle holder made in
Jerusalem.
When I got home after French
class, Jan came to my door saying Kirby wanted to talk to me about taking French.
Likely story! But when I entered their room, I didn’t notice anything at first
and thought perhaps they were serious. Then they brought out the brownie cake
with candles on it and I was given a birthday card! What a pleasant surprise!
We partied on the fantastic brownies and coffee after I blew out three candles
and managed to get wax on myself. I hope my wish comes true!
Saturday, January 16, 1982
Caught the 7:48 train to
Geneva. Saw that some of the market vendors had coal or wood burners to keep
warm. There was hoar frost on everything and a thick fog. Changed trains in
Lausanne; still a thick fog. Arrived in Geneva about 9:40 and still a thick
fog. Decided not to go touring to see the castles around Lac Léman, instead I
had lunch at McDonald’s and scouted out the Japanese restaurant Jan & Kirby
and I planned to go to on the last Saturday
in January. It took some walking, phonebook checking, map referencing until I
found the restaurant on Rue Henri-Blanvalet, which turned out to be closed on
Saturdays and Sundays.
Caught the 13:14 train back to Biel, arriving about 15:10. Took the #1 trolleybus to the end of the line at Länggasse and Solothurnstrasse then walked the few blocks to the Eisstadion/Ice Arena. It was a simple building with doors that looked like emergency exits. Portable booths outside had notices of ticket prices, but no schedule. There was no indication that there was an ice hockey game today. I went to the back to see an open skating rink packed with people with a line waiting to get in. Took the trolleybus back into town, getting off at the Maria Immaculata Church. Walked straight up the stairs to the Kinderspital. Home about 16:30 and found a bag hanging on my door. Jan & Kirby had left a large hunk or loaf of homemade bread they had received. I went down to thank them and tell them about the Japanese restaurant.
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| Train day pass |
Caught the 13:14 train back to Biel, arriving about 15:10. Took the #1 trolleybus to the end of the line at Länggasse and Solothurnstrasse then walked the few blocks to the Eisstadion/Ice Arena. It was a simple building with doors that looked like emergency exits. Portable booths outside had notices of ticket prices, but no schedule. There was no indication that there was an ice hockey game today. I went to the back to see an open skating rink packed with people with a line waiting to get in. Took the trolleybus back into town, getting off at the Maria Immaculata Church. Walked straight up the stairs to the Kinderspital. Home about 16:30 and found a bag hanging on my door. Jan & Kirby had left a large hunk or loaf of homemade bread they had received. I went down to thank them and tell them about the Japanese restaurant.
Went to pick up my Piepser/beeper
from the hospital and received a call from Elisabeth to arrange to meet the
next morning at 9:00.
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