Andermatt, Göschenen, Altdorf, and Bürglen (3/20/1982)

Saturday, March 20, 1982

Train day pass

Up early today to catch the 6:31 train to Olten, arriving at about 7:20, changing to the 7:32 train to Chiasso. It was still very cloudy when we arrived in Arth-Goldau, so I skipped the idea of going to the Rigi mountain. I stayed on the train, which did not stop in Altdorf, so I ended up in Göschenen at about 9:40. Decided to take the 10:00 narrow gauge Furka-Oberalp (FO) train to Andermatt. My day pass was not valid, so I bought a half-price round-trip ticket for 4 CHF/$2. I tried to photograph the train which was difficult because it was in a narrow alley of sorts.

Furka-Oberalp train in Göschenen

The train followed a winding mountain stream. The snow was deep and you didn’t always have a view because the snow banks were higher than the train! We traveled through a lot of avalanche tunnels with occasional ice stalactites. After 10 minutes we were in Andermatt, where I carefully made my way over packed snow and ice to the main street of shops and hotels. Straight ahead was a hill covered with anti-avalanche barriers.

Andermatt

There were skiers coming and going everywhere. The streets were supposed to be the “typical Italian binario structure with granite sets,” which I think actually means structure of the railroad tracks… Andermatt is considered the true crossroads of the Alps (including the Gotthard tunnel passing beneath it) and it certainly was busy with skier traffic. The skiers had passes that opened the turnstiles to the train to Disentis, a ski resort in the Romansh area of Switzerland.

Caught the 10:24 FO train back to Göschenen, arriving at 10:35 to hike over to the bridge for a view of the ice field of Upper Dammastock mountain through the Göschenental gap. I could barely see the gap in the clouds, but I could see the town below me and the chemical-green colored Reuss River.

Reuss River in Göschenen

Furka-Oberalp train

Took the 10:48 local train towards Luzern and got off at Altdorf at 11:30, for the 15-minute walk into the old town along Bahnhofstrasse. I reached a t-intersection and looked right to see the Telldenkmal/Wilhelm Tell Monument.

Telldenkmal/Tell Monument

The statue (that created the physical type of how Wilhelm Tell was to be remembered) was of a big burly man with a crossbow over his shoulder and his son at his side.

Telldenkmal/Tell Monument

The town square had buildings with painted façades and wrought-iron signs. I crossed the street to wait with a small crowd for the bus to Bürglen. The bus driver carefully examined my half-fare pass and then declared it invalid, so I paid full fare for the 1.20 CHF/60 cent ticket.

Bus ticket

We left at 11:52 and a couple stops later we were in Bürglen, the bus having climbed the hill for me to let me off in the center of town. The Wilhelm Tell Museum was right in front of me, but a typewritten notice said the museum was officially closed.

Tell Museum

I wandered in the town of Wilhelm Tell’s birth, seeing buildings with painted façades and old farmhouses, one dated 1609. The only thing that may have been present in Tell’s time was a restaurant built in 1135. Followed a sign pointing to the Tell-Kapelle/Tell Chapel, a little stone chapel, supposedly built on the site of his home.

Tell-Kapelle/Tell Chapel

Inn and another Telldenkmal/Tell Monument

Next door was Kirche von Bürglen/local church and cemetery. Wandered in the cemetery, but everyone seems to have died in the 1970s. I decided to walk back to Altdorf, and went down the hill. In the tiny valley was an old house with letters painted on it declaring it to be Tell’s home (it isn't the home of the old Wilhelm Tell; maybe descendants?).

Tells Heim/Tell's Home

The setting reminded me of the stage for the Wilhelm Tell play in Interlaken!

A thunderstorm began before I reached Altdorf, and the wind turned my umbrella inside out. I sat in the station to dry out while waiting for the 13:32 train to Luzern. By then it was snowing. Arrived in Luzern at 14:50 and went to a souvenir shop, deciding to get two wooden figures; one of a dairy farmer with a wooden milk carrier on his back, and one of a cheese-maker with a round of cheese on his back, for a total of 116 CHF/$58. The girl took her time to wrap them sloppily. It was raining again, but turned to snow as I waited for the 15:42 train to Olten. On this train a baldheaded man picked up a magazine that he thought was the train magazine, but realized his mistake when he read an article critical of the railway system, and apologetically handed the magazine back to its owner. Arrived in Olten about 16:20 and changed to the 16:59 train to Biel. There were several 30-ish year olds on this train and they shuffled a lot of papers to appear to be studying. The clouds were so low it was like looking at them from an airplane! Arrived in Biel at 17:45.

I stopped by Jan & Kirby’s Personalhaus/staff residence room to give them a house-warming gift, two rolls of Charmin toilet paper that had come from the Ls in Czechoslovakia! I was invited to dinner of salad with Kirby’s special homemade Swiss dressing and a fondue from a recipe they got from a family in Olten whose daughter is an occupational therapist (O.T.) on the U.S. West Coast! This was the best fondue they had ever tasted and probably the best I will ever taste! It was tastier with the herbs and spices, and was somehow lighter, although not thinner. Excellent! I could never compete with Kirby, the gourmet chef!

The meal was accompanied by Jan’s tea and my sugar cubes! We left at 20:30 to stop at their new apartment. Although it was dark, the walk up to the door seemed to be between manicured plots of lawn and plants. The apartment was really nice with a big fairly new kitchen. There was a table with a plastic covering of a red-daisy design and red chairs with cane seats they got from Heidi V, the former Kinderspital/Children's Hospital O.T. They also are “keeping” other furniture for Heidi and her husband who are finally on their way to England, as well as some really nice big plants. In the bedrooms and living room there was wood parquet flooring. They had a pair of twin beds (there are no full size beds, yet, in Europe, they just push together two twins), a wardrobe, a desk, a day bed/sofa, a pair of tall shelving, and lots of cube shelving, some with drawers. The front hall was curtained off and had a telephone. Behind curtains were a sink and a shower. And a lavatory with toilet and a cold-water sink. We were there to pick up an extra kitchen table to return to the S family, which we strapped to the car roof. While Kirby drove, I held one end of the rope and Jan held the other. Kirby hurried in case this was illegal. In Büren an der Aare we stopped at the last house in a modern development where all the houses looked the same. Brigitte S opened the garage as we delivered the table. We went through the garage into the basement to see dozens of pipes of the heating system that heats the floors of the house. Upstairs, you could see the house wasn’t quite finished, as the S family is doing the interior themselves. I met Hans-Rüdi. The Ss have become personal friends of Jan and Kirby who both work with their son who is in the CP Kindergarten. We had been invited for dessert of lemon sorbet with fresh berries and whipped cream. I couldn’t identify the berries (yellow currants and red blackberries?). The conversation went on and on. The reason I was invited was because Brigitte wanted someone to improve her English with and she could teach me French, as she was from the French-speaking part of Belgium. Plus she played volleyball and might be able to get me into practices.

Sunday, March 21, 1982

It was 00.30 when we left the S family, this time with two chairs in the back seat and the three of us had to share the front seats of the VW Golf that had a manual shift! We drove through the lighted medieval square of Büren an der Aare and crossed the covered wooden bridge.

Monday, March 22, 1982

Hans-Rüdi picked me up at 20:20 to go to their home in Büren an der Aare. While he read bedtime stories to the kids, Brigitte and I started with a review of the Migros French lessons. I really learned how to pronounce, even though my tongue hasn’t. Then we got into English with both Brigitte and Hans-Rüdi. I was driven back home by 22:40.

Wednesday, March 24, 1982

Because I was searching for my lost Piepser/beeper, I forgot about my last French lesson at Migros! I never did find the Piepser. Jong-Soon, the new nurse from South Korea, came to visit in my room.