Fastnacht/Mardi Gras in Biel (2/28/1982)

Sunday, February 28, 1982

Slept in until 9:30. At 14:30 I took my camera and went downtown to see Fastnacht/Mardi Gras activity. Ash Wednesday was on February 24th, but reportedly Biel celebrated Fastnacht later because of convenience. I have heard that Basel celebrates Fastnacht after Ash Wednesday as a defiant “protest(ant)”! However, they might have done that during the Reformation in order to continue celebrating it without it being obviously “Catholic.” The carnivals here will stay open for two weeks. Walked through two carnival areas, one in the parking lot off Georg F Heilmann Strasse and the other by Migros.

Fastnacht carnival

I found the parade route going down Nidaugasse, and stood behind the crowd where the parade turned down Unionsgasse.

Fastnacht parade and spectators

There were a variety of weird floats with persons on them throwing confetti, or occasionally oranges or chocolate bars. One float handed out bottles of a soft drink. But mostly confetti. One float shot the confetti out of cannons. The bands didn’t march in time, but one outdid the other in outlandish costumes. There were odd heads on traditional costumes, many baby faces, but mostly weird faces, like Martians or something. There were also octopi and sheiks, all in bigger-than-life masks. The parade started at 14:30 and was over by 15:30. The streets were full of confetti.

Confetti in the street

A confetti (confetto?)

Not many of the bystanders were in costume, just some of the kids.
I saw a trolley bus turn around in General-Dufour-Strasse, where there was no loop of wiring. The driver stopped the bus and got out to pull down the two trolley poles and hooked them on the roof. He got back in the bus and started up an engine (diesel?) and turned the bus around. He turned off the engine and got out to put up the trolley poles, and drove off.
I bought a portion of French fries at one of the carnivals on my way home.

That evening I went to see the movie “Altered States” at the Lido cinema with Kirby. Weird is the word of the day and the movie topped it.

Movie ticket

Shopping in München/Munich (2/27/1982)

Friday, February 26, 1982

After a morning exchange of phone calls between Jan and Christian, it was decided that I would meet Christian’s girlfriend, Elisabeth, under the “red” of the Inselspital/Island Hospital in Bern, to give me the key to his room for the night. He is a physical therapy student and goes home on weekends. I would use the room to get a head start on my shopping trip to München/Munich. After work I took the 18:52 train to Bern, arriving at 19:20. I was going to run to McDonald’s for something to eat, when someone grabbed my arm and said, “Come on, this way!” W-what? My jumbled thoughts in an instant were that I was being mistaken for someone else, or that it was one of these aggressive men. But because of the English I turned to look, and it was Christian. Apparently he forgot to give the key to his girlfriend and came to the station to intercept me. We went to the elevator to the parking garage, and it had problems to get going. We walked up a couple flights of stairs, but were on the wrong floor. We checked the next two levels down, but no car. Finally one more level down, on the ground floor, we found his orange Deux Chevaux/2-horsepower Citroën. He took me up to the Inselspital where under the red-painted steel beam structure that connected the children’s hospital to the main hospital, he showed me the route to follow to get to the train station, and then took me to the apartment building where his aunt has an apartment. On the top floor are several single rooms, and Christian and his friend, Daniel, share one. He showed me where I was on the map, just off Könizstrasse, gave me the key and left. Then he came back to tell me the toilet was at the end of the hall. The room was big enough for a bed, desk, and wardrobe, and had a small dormer window. The room was warm enough with a heating duct in the wall next to the bed. I set out a package of chocolates with a thank-you note for use of the room, repacked my backpack, and used the bathroom. The toilet didn’t have a flusher, but a valve to let in fresh water. Even though it was only 20:00, I went to bed after setting my alarm for 3:00.

Saturday, February 27, 1982

Up at 3:00, ate my tangerine breakfast, straightened the bedding, and left. The floor was carpeted, but real creaky, so I hope I didn’t disturb anybody. Walked the empty streets to the train station. Closer to downtown, a couple taxis and a moped were out. Followed Könizstrasse, then Effingerstrasse. Tried to take a left at one street but there were no sidewalks, so took the next left on Seilerstrasse to a right on Laupenstrasse, anf finally a left on Schwanzenstrasse to the train station. After 4:00, the train was already in the station with the heat turned on full blast. At 4:30 the heat turned off, but the lights came on. I read the “Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera, Svizra, Switzerland” magazine that comes out monthly and is found on the trains like the airline magazines on planes. Only saw the postal carts zipping around the station and a few cleaning people. The train left at 4:44 for Zürich, arriving at 6:30. I boarded the 7:07 train for München/Munich.

Train ticket cover

Biel to München/Munich train ticket

The car was regular coach, and I had a pair of seats to myself the whole way. There were several very young men carrying satchels, probably students, who were speaking Italian, The pair across from me were retelling ancient Greek history in Italian, They got off at St Gallen. After St Margarethen, we crossed into Austria and passports were checked. Our only stop in Austria was Bregenz. In Lindau, Germany, a group of Japanese tourists boarded the train, as well as a young Asian man with hair as long as mine and a mustache. An older lady started talking to him and he responded in slow quiet German. She spoke in slow LOUD German. He was Vietnamese.

The landscape was picturesque with snow-covered evergreen forests. We arrived in Munich at 11:35 and I started my shopping trip. Went down Schützenstrasse to the underground shopping area of Stachus. Couldn’t find the steins I wanted. Came up in Karlsplatz among crowds and crowds of people. Went down pedestrian Neuhauser Strasse, checking out all the department stores, porcelain ware shops, looking for an Oktoberfest-like beer stein. I saw lottery stands, fruit stands, demonstrations of irons and pots, and stands selling burnt almonds and peanuts. Found a Woolworths that sold glass steins with Bayern metal lids; a pair for 15 DM/$6.50. In Kaufhall, a giant department store, I found a huge selection of steins. The large liter-mugs had the decals of all the major breweries, but none had the lids. I bought two coffee-mug size steins with Löwenbräu and Hofbräu emblems for 15 DM. Returning back up the pedestrian street, I stopped to listen to some street musicians. Saw a souvenir jewelry shop that had the Löwenbräu liter-stein with a lid! But since I had the others, I decided not to bother and went to McDonald’s for a fish sandwich, fries, and chocolate shake. But then I thought I’d buy that liter-stein anyway and returned to the gift shop. They didn’t have any of those steins inside the shop, and the girl went to check upstairs. She ended up opening the display in the window to sell me that one, for 41 DM/$18. The girl wrapped it as a gift. I had time to wander, and noticed that the stores closed at 14:00. I had done my shopping just in time! I never did see another liter-stein with a lid. I did see a lot of U.S. servicemen, tourists with cameras, and the evangelists were at their usual corner. Even found another McDonald’s beyond Marienplatz. Back at the underground Stachus shopping area, I saw a sign to the S-Bahn/tram and train station pointing down an escalator. Took the escalator to find myself in a filthy area with bums lying against the walls and drunks bumbling around. I figured that it was the S-Bahn that took you to the train station, not this passage. Went back up to the store level. Since the shops were closed, kids had taken over the area to rollerskate. Walked on street level to the train station, getting some roasted chestnuts along the way.

München/Munich to Biel train ticket

Boarded the 16:39 train to Zürich, where we arrived at 21:01. Changed to the 21:18 train to Biel, arriving at 23:00. To my surprise, Jan was there to pick me up, not wanting to be outdone by Christian! We drove around looking for people in costumes for Fastnacht/Mardi Gras, but there were only a couple of ghosts. A carnival was set up in the parking lot next to Migros. I stopped at Jan & Kirby’s place to show them my purchases. Didn’t go to bed until after midnight; it was a long day!

Ice Hockey Match (2/23/1982)

Tuesday, February 23, 1982

At 16:00, Jan and I went to the town of Port to a foam rubber shop to order some supplies for work, then went to the huge Carrefour store, which seemed like a K-Mart with half the space devoted to groceries. They even had the big shopping carts like in U.S. grocery stores, instead of the baskets we usually have to carry here. On the way home we saw a strange sun through a dusky fog.

This evening I was going to an ice hockey game, leaving at 19:10 to make my way carefully down the icy short-cut stairs. I had to hold onto whatever was available to keep from falling down. I got to the Bulova bus stop and the trolley-bus soon came at 19:25. I used my 12-ticket pass and rode to the end of the line. A crowd of people got off with me, and we walked down Länggasse to the Eisstadion/Ice Arena. Most everyone was wearing hats and scarves in yellow and red, the Biel team colors. Jan treats the daughter of the team captain, and he has a day job, so I believe the team is semi-professional. He “works” evenings for the Eis Hockey Club (EHC) Biel-Bienne. I bought a 20 CHF/$10 seat ticket instead of the 8 CHF/$4 standing ticket. I was given an entry ticket and a seat number card.

Seat card front

Seat card back

I entered section K where my ticket was taken and the card punched. Ushers helped me find my seat in the ninth row, six seats from the wall. I was at a good height, but way down at the end by the goal. There were no more than 20-25 rows of seats. The standees had one end of the arena to themselves. They were the rowdiest shouting “Heja, Heja!” and “Hopp Biel!” while waving banners, flags, and their scarves. I sat with a group of Fribourg fans who smoked despite the “No Smoking” sign. They had lots to drink and say. The sign at the door stated no glass bottles were allowed, but the outdoor concessions sold beverages in glass bottles and people openly brought them into the stands. The fellow next to me often leaned forward blocking my view and he did lots of jumping up and down so that I was fearful for my very cold feet! I was glad I wore two pairs of socks and my sweatshirt as well as my ski jacket. I could see my breath and at first didn’t realize people were smoking!

The opponent tonight was HC Fribourg dressed in blue with “Jumbo” printed across the back of their shirts and a blue elephant with a red trunk on the front. Biel had their home white uniform with red and yellow trim, and the crossed axes of Biel on the front and “Bieler Tagblatt/Biel Daily Paper” on the back. The free program stated that Biel has been a national champion and they are known to have the perfect components of a perfect team. However, this year they are in a big slump.

Program

Team rosters

This is the 9th of 10 rounds in the "finals," and it looks like they play 5 teams twice. So far Biel is 2-5-1!
After the teams warmed up, a pair of Zambonis came out to clear the ice, followed by the man with a hand drill to make the holes for the nets. The match began at 20:00 with Fribourg making a mad dash towards the Biel goal, but our goalie made a save! Then Biel dashed towards the Fribourg goal and scored 30 seconds into the game! Several times in the first period the Fribourg team pulled their goalie to have six attackers. There were no penalties in the first period, but several in the next two. Players were poking their sticks everywhere. Fribourg scored in a power play situation, and once when they were a man short. When Fribourg started dominating, the fans began throwing paper confetti, and even a roll of toilet paper onto the ice. The best Biel players appeared to be the captain Jakob Kölliker, Serge Martel, and Richmond Gosselin. Once Gosselin took a shot that broke his stick and he had to chase down the puck, trying to stop a shot by throwing his body on the puck. It scored… The fans loved it when one of the referees (who wore helmets) fell on the ice and ended up with a white rear end.

Between periods people went outside to the concession stands, getting blue cards to allow them back in. They came back with tea or coffee in plastic cups, or beer in tiny glass bottles, and with sausages on a roll and even thick juicy hamburgers! All during the second and third periods people kept coming in with their hamburgers. It was as if they were here for the hamburgers instead of the game!

Also between periods they played “oldies, but goodies” over the Public Address system, including “Tu sei l’unica donna per me”! The announcements were in French and German. Some people in wheelchairs sat in the front row below me and one fellow was reclined in his chair. When he got excited, I thought he would shoot back out of his chair because he went into more extension!

I couldn’t see the scoreboard which was on the end wall near me. But I knew Biel was losing, and they ended the game losing 6-9. They looked tired when the game ended at 22:20. The crowds rushed to exit; actually it wasn’t a huge crowd as the arena was perhaps at half capacity.

Outside, I figured out the use of the trolley-bus wires that go down Länggasse. After games, the trolley buses come right to the Eisstadion/Ice Arena to take the fans home. Once a trolley bus and its trailer filled up, it left and then proceeded to follow the usual Line 1 route. There were also regular buses that were going to the Bahnhof/train station.

I got off at the Bulova station and proceeded up the short-cut stairs, hauling myself up with the handrails at icy spots. It was crisp and cold. With low temperatures and a few days of snow, it looks like winter has finally arrived!

Stein-am-Rhein and Schaffhausen (2/21/1982)

Sunday, February 21, 1982

Train day pass

I could see all the way to the second hill today! I hoped for the best, and took the 8:20 train to Zürich, arriving at 10:05, then boarded the 10:28 train to Schaffhausen. I was in a Swiss compartment, and it was filthy; a non-smoking section full of cigarette butts and beer cans. When we went through Neuhausen, you could see a clear view of the Rheinfall/Rhine Falls (150 m/450’ wide and 23 m/75’ high). Water tumbled over huge rocks, but they were not as high as the mist I had seen before indicated.

Arrived about 10:55 and switched to the local train going to Stein-am-Rhein. This train left the Rhein River to head into rolling hills and farmland. Like yesterday, I saw hawks sitting in the bare branches of trees. When riding the local trains, you note the activity at the local stations. You can hear the bell they ring to signal an approaching train. The station master often comes out to turn a key in the middle car of the train (to tell the engineer it’s okay to go?). At other stations they might wave the giant lollipop, a 6’ diameter white circle on a stick, with a green diagonal stripe.

Arrived in Stein-am-Rhein at 11:25, where I had to hike down hill and across a modern bridge before entering the old town.

Approaching Stein-am-Rhein

Entering the old town

Quickly reached the Rathausplatz/Town Hall Square with the clock tower of the Rathaus/Town Hall (1539-42). Around the square were tall buildings with painted façades and in the center was the typical fountain.

Rathausplatz buildings with painted façades

More painted façades

The square was full of Americans snapping photos. Turned left up the main street to go through the Untertor/Lower Gate, where I saw the tour bus that belonged to the Americans.

Untertor/Lower Gate

Crossed the parking lot to see the Burg/Castle Hohenklingen on the hilltop.

Hohenklingen Castle

Walked behind the old town towards a church steeple that belonged to the Katholische Kirche Herz Jesu/Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart. Returned through the Obertor/upper gate (1723) to the Town Hall then headed east to the 12C Stadtkirche/City Church and the Kloster Sankt Georgen/St George’s Abbey.

Side street

Rathaus/Town Hall to the right

Painted façade detail

The Rhein River here is wide enough to be called a river, and although slow-flowing, it doesn’t freeze. I arrived at the train station in time to watch the kiosk lady open up. She had to bring out a rack of magazines, two racks of newspapers, and a rack of postcards. She raised the shutter over the main counter full of magazines, newspapers, paperback and hardcover books, candies, chips, small toys, and cigarettes.

Took the 12:46 train to Schaffhausen, arriving at 13:15, and headed right out to Fronwagplatz with its two fountains, the Landsknectbrunnen/Farmhand Fountain or Metzgerbrunnen/Butcher Fountain and Mohrenbrunnen/Moor Fountain (1535 representing Kaspar).

Fronwagplatz with Moor Fountain

The old town is mostly cobblestoned streets for pedestrians only. Went down Vordergasse to see the old buildings with oriel windows, often with the name of the house painted on it.

Vordergasse

Oriel window

The Haus zum Ritter/House of the Knight at No. 65 had a detailed painted façade.

Haus zum Ritter

Timbered government building

Turned down Münstergasse to see the step-gabled Regierungsgebäude/government buildings, then the Kloster Allerheiligen/All Saints Abbey. The museum here was still closed for the winter. A peek in the window showed prehistoric pottery shards and books. I found myself in the cloister which was dark with shade trees and had various-sized stones lying here and there, covered with ice.

Münster/Cathedral cloister

After I figured out that the modern square doorknob did turn, I entered the Münster/Cathedral, very simple in a dark mustard yellow color with plain wooden benches and a wood ceiling. Back in the cloister, I saw several bells, but wasn’t sure which was the Schillerglocke/bell (1486).

A bell

Schillerglocke/Schiller's bell

Weighing 4.5 tons, it was the largest bell used at the Münster until 1895. Friedrich Schiller used its inscription as the motto for his famous poem "Das Lied von der Glocke/Song of the Bell." The bell now sits on a pedestal with a large chunk missing. An old man was singing “Alouette,” perhaps for the echo effect?
The cloister also had an herb garden.

Another oriel

Next headed to the 16C Munot Keep, using a long stairway leading up and up to it through vineyards. Entered the round fortress lit by sunlight coming through slit windows and a lamp near a tunnel.

View West through slit window

View South through slit window

Inside, people were testing the acoustics with a few “La, Las.” Through the tunnel, and I was on a bridge over the moat, now a deer park. The deer appeared to be grazing on bare dirt.

Deer park in Munot moat

I climbed the spiral ramp in the tower to the roof of the keep for views. It looked like they held concerts up here with a stage and tables and chairs. Next down the ramp, down the stairs, and back to the train station.

Munot Keep

Wrought-iron gate

Caught the 14:30 train to Winterthur (saw the Rhein Falls again), arriving at 15:10 and switching to the 15:20 train to Bern. A girl in her twenties was with a boy about 8 years old, and they were playing the squares game, where you alternately mark line segments on graph paper and try to enclose a greater number of squares. The boy was conceding lots of squares to the girl, so once I pointed out where he could mark where the girl would get no more than two squares. The boy marked a line perpendicular to what I indicated, and the girl got zero squares! I didn’t “help” anymore! Arrived in Bern at 17:50, and this time got a hold of Rosie on the phone. She wouldn’t be able to put me up next Friday night, but she did tell me about an interesting course. Took the 18:43 train to Biel.

Schwyz and Zug (2/20/1982)

Saturday, February 20, 1982

Train day pass

Left at 7:30 to go to the post office before catching the 8:20 train to Olten, arriving shortly after 9:00. Went to the information office to see if the Luzern-Milano train stopped in Schwyz, which it did. Took the 9:28 train to Milano, getting off at Schwyz at about 10:50. On the map in the guidebook I misread Bahnhofstrasse as the Bahnhof, and marched off to the left where I expected to find the Bundesbriefarchiv/Federal Charter Archive.

I knew someone was following and they seemed awfully close on my heels, but were not passing me. Then I heard a guy say, “Links...links…links/Left…left…left.” I turned around to find a single-file line of military troops marching behind me!

When I reached the end of the town, I returned to the Bahnhof/train station to get my bearings, and learned that the Schwyz Bahnhof is actually in the town of Seewen! I started to walk right along Bahnhofstrasse the mile uphill to Schwyz! Partway along, I saw a man fumbling around in his red VW, but all the while his eyes were on me. I kept my eyes straight ahead as I passed the car, even when he knocked on his window. A minute later he drove past me, and in another minute I saw he was parked on my side of the street. I walked past the car admiring the big old apartment buildings behind wrought-iron fences. A minute later he drove past me again! I was trying to figure out how to hide or disappear so that this guy would give up trying to get my attention, when I came to a large modern building with a mural painted on the façade. The building was not identified, but the bus stop was marked “for Archive visitors only.” So I ran up the steps where a plaque next to the door indicated it was the Bundesbriefarchiv. There was even a sign telling how to open the door! I went to the desk and rang a bell to bring out the curator who was followed by a toddler. He unlocked the ticket machine to sell me a 1 CHF/50 cent ticket, then had to unhook the rope draped across the stairs.

Bundesbriefarchiv ticket

I climbed the stairs past some old white cross flags to the metal gate opening into a large modern room. The lights then came on in that room so I could peruse the historical documents of Swiss independence and confederation.

Bundesbriefarchiv guide pages 1 & 4

Bundesbriefarchiv guide pages 2 & 3

The paper documents appeared in better shape than the flags hanging all around the room. The documents were in old German writing and had “seals” tied on with colorful braided string. The oldest original was dated August 1, 1291, the day the Swiss now celebrate as National Day. Other documents were for when other cantons joined the confederation. Still others were letters or declarations of freedom. I left at 11:30 when they were closing, and no red VW was in sight.

Continued into Schwyz to see the Rathaus/Town Hall (1642-45) with paintings (1891) on two sides.

Rathaus/Town Hall

Rathaus/Town Hall

Someone had draped a purple dress over the statue of the fountain in the square. There was a modern sculpture built into a tree.

Sculpture, fountain, St Martin's Church

On the other side of the square was the Baroque Martinskirche/St Martin’s Church (1774 by Jakob and Johann Singer). At the bus depot, I caught a bus for .40 CHF/20 cents half fare, to the train station in Seewen.

Schwyz bus ticket

The Schwyz station is under construction and is now housed in temporary sheds. One shed was placed on a steel girder frame over another to make a 2-story shed. Took the 12:18 train to Arth-Goldau, arriving at 12:30, then taking the 12:42 train towards Zürich. I got off in Zug at about 13:00. According to the guidebook, I should go out the front of the station to the lake. It was too hazy to see where the lake was, so I went out of the station and walked perpendicular to the tracks, only to find myself in an industrial area. Returned to the station and went out the other side and ahead of me there was a hill! Returned to the station once again and realized it was triangular, so I went out the third side, which was the front that faced the lake! A few blocks later I was at the lakefront of Zugersee/Lake Zug. Although cold and gray, it was still pleasant to walk along the Quai. A couple was feeding the multitudes of duck and swans. At the so-called Fasanen Garten/Pheasant Garden, there was a small building surrounded by wire cages with parrots and peacocks, including a white peacock.
Followed Fischmarkt into the old town.

Fischmarkt

There were oriel windows and shutters galore, and the shops below were now exclusive boutiques. The Zytturm/Clock Tower (1557) had a roof tiled in blue and white.

Zytturm/Clock Tower

Walked up Ober Altstadtgasse and down Unter Altstadtgasse, before going under the clock tower to Kolinplatz.

Ober Altstadtgasse

Unter Altstadtgasse fountain

Kolin fountain and Stadthaus/City Council

Here was a fountain with a statue of Peter Kolin, a local hero renowned for dying to save his standard/flag in 1422. The Stadthaus/City Council (1505) had a painted façade. Made my way to the Kirche St Oswald/St Oswald’s Church (1478 Gothic). Across from the church was a walled-in building that looked newly redone, with dolphins on the corners of the roof, like the town hall in Schwyz. I thought these dolphins/fish waterspouts were Japanese!

Burg Museum

This building was the Burg Museum/Castle Museum (part of which is the oldest building in Zug). Followed the curving Kirchenstrasse to the massive Pulverturm/ Powder Tower (1522-32) next to the Zeughaus/Arsenal (1896-97 by Dagobert Keiser).

Pulverturm

Backtracked a bit on Kirchenstrasse and beared right to Huwilerturm (16C), another tower and then followed the walls to the Kapuzinerturm (1526).

Kapuzinerturm

As I returned to the station, I noticed a lot of people, especially children, were dressed in costumes and/or had their faces made up for Fastnacht or Mardi Gras celebrations. Stopped at a confiserie for a slice of Kirschtorte/cherry cake. Zug is known for their cherries, and this layer cake of nut-meringue, sponge cake, and butter cream that is flavored with Kirschwasser/cherry brandy, as well as for the Zuger Kirsch/cherry liqueur.

Caught the 14:38 train to Bern. Since it was snowing and getting dark, I decided to head home, Arrived in Bern at 16:35, tried calling Rosie, ate at McDonald’s, and used the restrooms at the train station. I had a choice of .50 or .20 CHF toilets! Wonder what the difference was? Took the 17:41 train to Biel, arriving at 18:45. Found the Kirschtorte had leaked all over my prints camera. Uh-oh!