Bremgarten and Wildegg (2/13/1982)

Saturday, February 13, 1982

At 8:30 I went to the travel agency in the old town that sold tickets on Icelandair. But only Luxembourg to New York, not Paris to New York. They also would not deal with the cheap Inter Chart’Air Lines. I continued through the pea-soup thick fog to the train station and ordered a ticket for München/Munich. Went to the post office and tried to call Capitol Airways, but no answer.

Train day pass

Caught the 9:13 train to Zürich and watched the fog roll by. I saw, Roslyn, the Kindergarten teacher get off the same train in Zürich. Went to the telephone exchange and tried calling Capitol Airways again. Found an address for Icelandair offices and took a walk there, but they do not open on Saturdays. Returned to the station, bought some Sprüngli chocolates and caught the 11:46 local train to Brugg. Got off at Dietikon and went to the street in front of the station to catch the 12:05 narrow gauge Bremgarten-Dietikon (BD) train to Bremgarten, arriving at 12:25.

Bremgarten-Dietikon train

Walked towards the Reuss River, passing the Spittelturm/tower, on cobblestoned streets to the medieval wooden covered bridge.

Obertor/Upper Gate

Old town

Reussbrücke

The bridge had a pair of chapels midway across. Crossed the bridge to look back at the hazy Bremgarten skyline including the fancy spire of Stadtkirche St. Nikolaus /St Nicholas City Church (1427) and the Hexenturm/Witches Tower.

Hexenturm/Witches Tower

Also the tower of the Muri-Amthof/offices of the former Muri monastery (1546-48).

Muri-Amthof

General view

Old town buildings

Wandered a bit more through the old town, then caught the 13:09 train towards Wohlen.
This was a one-man train, so everyone had to board at the front so that the driver could punch the tickets. This railroad pretty much followed the road (or vice versa!) as it wound up and down hills through quiet farmland.

Bremgarten-Dietikon train in Wohlen

Only a few minutes wait at Wohlen for the 13:28 train to Aarau through Lenzburg and Rupperswil. At Aarau I immediately boarded a train heading back through Rupperswil to Wildegg, arriving at 14:00. I began hiking out to the Wildegg Castle that I could see on the hill overlooking town.

Gate in Wildegg

I rounded the left side of the hill, looking up through the woods (full of trash) at the castle walls.

Schloss Wildegg/Wildegg Castle

Men were pruning trees in a residential area where I disturbed a dog, and was greeted by a group of little girls with their Barbie dolls. Decided to try a path I saw heading up into the woods. The sun was out and it was fairly clear and definitely warm. I took off my jacket and wished I could take off more! The path did lead me straight to the castle. Around one building I saw a line of bird cages with colorful parrots and pheasant-type birds. After a tower, there was a wrought-iron gate with a neat sign in calligraphy telling me the castle was closed until February 15th (in two days!). On the other side of the hill I walked down following signs to the train station.

Schloss Wildegg/Wildegg Castle

Stopped in a bakery/confiserie to buy chocolate fish and four big round Schlossbergkugeln/Castle mountain balls. Took the 15:50 local to Aarau. There while waiting for the 16:44 train to Biel, I tried one of the Schlossbergkugeln, which was a dark chocolate cream center surrounded by a malted-milk like meringue, covered by a layer of marzipan, all dipped in milk chocolate!

Arrived in Biel at 17:45 and walked home to find a note on my door inviting me to dinner at Jan & Kirby’s. We had veal schnitzel and Spätzli/soft egg noodles or tiny dumplings with salad. I brought the Schlossbergkugeln for dessert. We played UNO until I finally won a hand at 22:00!

Jan & Kirby sure are taking good care of me!

Sunday, February 14, 1982

Up at 7:00 and my head felt like lead. On the train to Biel yesterday I noticed the start of a headache. So I went back to sleep and it felt like I slept all morning. But it was 9:30 when I woke up. Walked downtown to Progin’s to get some truffles in order to do a side-by-side taste test with Sprünglis. Back at the Personalhaus/staff residence I met Jan who was bringing me a Valentine’s Day gift (today is Valentine’s Day?!), a box of Progin’s Truffes Maison! (Truffes is French for truffles.) So we planned a tasting session after lunch. Turned out Progin’s are as good as Sprünglis, so I won’t have to go all the way to Zürich for these treats!

Tuesday, February 16, 1982

I thought we were going out for raclette, but then Jan asked if I could bring a salad! I took the salad to Jan & Kirby’s room where Kirby made the dressing and Jan had boiled the potatoes. Had the salad with a Fendant wine that came in a tiny bottle, produced in the Valais region of Switzerland. Kirby went down the hall to the kitchen to prepare the raclette cheese (heating it and scraping off the melted part) which is eaten with bites of boiled potato, pickled gherkins, and tiny pickled white onions. Two servings and I was full. The accompanying drink was tea. Another typical Swiss meal.