Grüezi us d'Schwiiz: May 1982

Sunday, May 30, 1982

Floriade in Amsterdam (5/29-30/1982)

Friday, May 28, 1982

This evening I left at 20:45 to go to the Biel train station, bought a one-way ticket to Basel for 8.40 CHF/$4.20 and settled on the train due to leave at 21:27, but it left 10 minutes late. Still working out the kinks of the new schedule?

It was 22:45 when we arrived in Basel and I was planning on catching the 23:56 train to Amsterdam. Oh, no! The schedule had changed and the train left at 22:40! Or did it? I ran to the train that was still sitting at the platform. It ended up sitting there until 23:00 and before it left a customs official checked my passport. Lately, my passport has received careful scrutiny with every paged flipped through.

Other passengers joined the compartment in Basel Bad, Germany, and then the conductor came to sell me a ticket for 111 DM/$48 to Emmerich. He could only sell me a ticket within Germany.

Basel to Emmerich train ticket

Saturday, May 29, 1982

Shortly after midnight we picked up more passengers in Freiburg. I thought it was a girl asking if she could sit at the window opposite me, but it was a teenaged boy. He offered to let me put my feet up on his seat, but I can sleep sitting straight up. But I let him put his feet on my seat, and he behaved. Except that when the conductor came at about 5:00, he said he originated in Mainz, so saved himself a bundle of money. You could see castle silhouettes as we traveled along the Rhein. A couple joined us in Köln. After 6:00 we passed the smoking industrial cities of Dusseldorf and Duisberg. In Oberhausen we spent a long time in the railroad yards being shuttled back and forth. A conductor came along and exclaimed the couple was on the wrong train, and he ushered them out while the station crew yelled to get them across the tracks to the right train.

At Emmerich, the Dutch customs officials came through and carefully examined the passport of the Asian girl (not me, another girl!). The German high school kids showed their identification cards and were asked simple questions. My passport was flipped through page by page and I was interviewed in English: where was I going, how long, where was I going afterwards, etc. When the conductor came, he said a ticket to Amsterdam would cost 22 Dutch Guilders (NLG)/$8.50. I gave him a 25 NLG bill and he said thank you and left! When I looked in my hand, I had the 22 NLG ticket and a 3 NLG supplement!

Emmerich to Amsterdam ticket

Emmerich to Amsterdam supplement

We arrived in Amsterdam at 9:40. Everything looked different with a new transit information booth, a new Metro stop, a new tram stop and new trams. Even the tourist bureau was new. Joined the lines at the tourist bureau to get a brochure about the Floriade and learned I could take the subway there. So I went to the transit booth to learn about fares and passes, and was sent to another booth to get a day pass. There the girl was being impatient with a man who spoke accented English. I asked for a one-day pass and she gave me a one-week pass. I had a 5 NLG bill to give her and she shook the ticket in my face to show it cost more. I said with a smile, “a one DAY card,” and she threw the proper card in the tray.

One-day transit pass

I had to go to another part of the station to purchase an international train ticket and had to take a number to wait my turn. Finally bought a one-way ticket to Basel for 157.80 NLG/$61. It was about 10:30 when I was done with all my business, so I validated my day pass and took the Metro to Gaasperplas. The tram was a simple aluminum car with red-orange doors you had to open yourself by pushing a button. There was no indication on the car about opening the doors, I learned that from the brochure. The Nieuwmarkt station had uneven “broken” walls with old photos behind them, and one section was a huge framed but broken window. The next station had Waterloo painted in bright colors across the wall; another had a jumble of different sized letters and numbers painted on the wall. Station art?

Suddenly we were outdoors in the outskirts of the city, passing factories, cow pastures, and unbelievably huge apartment complexes. Not especially tall, but long! Gaasperplas is a large artificial lake with a large park and nature reserve that is hosting the third International Horticulture Exhibition called Floriade, which is held every ten years in a different location in Holland/The Netherlands.

The entrance to the Floriade was right at the Metro exit and I bought a 10 NLG/$4 day ticket.

Floriade ticket

I seem to have come between seasons, as the event runs from April 8 to October 10. I passed a floral chessboard that was still growing in with the vines not yet covering the wire forms of the chess pieces. A battery-run train ran around the Floriade grounds making several stops, going right through the flower gardens, into woods, and through orchards. A row of trees were being trained into an overhead arch and flower boxes and pots were filled with blooming seasonals. Many of the gardens were still being cultivated, others, like the wisteria, were at the end of its season. I can’t possibly name all the flowers I saw, known or unknown!

There were restaurants located here and there, and I crossed a bridge onto an island to visit a conservatory. Around the island a canal barge was being pulled by a beautiful big horse with hairy hocks.

Conservatory on island with canal barge

A windmill from the 1700s overlooked shops selling wooden shoes and souvenirs.

Windmill

Ice cream vendors stood along the paths.

I went into the woods to see dune plants. Saw dunes, dikes, heather fields, peat bogs, forests, rock shore, and marshes, each with their typical plant life.

Allium

A motorized canal boat offered rides. Men in an old thatched roof hut were weaving baskets of straw and making switches. They were building a fence with branches woven between upright posts. One young boy was holding a post and wincing as a man pounded it into the ground.
Entered a greenhouse with iris, lilies, begonias, rhododendrons, etc.

Iris

Staghorn Fern

Thatched roof

A tall panorama tower, a Japanese garden with fish kites and a bamboo grove, and a bee exhibit with hundreds of bees buzzing around their wooden and woven straw homes. One beehive was in the shape of a bishop that must have some significance, but everything at the Floriade was in Dutch. (NB. Apparently a Belgian-Dutch writer and Protestant Reformist, Marnix of St. Aldegonde, wrote a treatise called the Roman Beehive, comparing the Catholic Church to a bee colony.)

There was modern sculpture, a nursery of trees, a hothouse of vegetables (mostly varieties of peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants), and a farmhouse restaurant. Exhibits on plant diseases, scientific growing of plants, etc. Kodak had a display of backlit photographs that were rich in detail for being so enlarged. The orchards were past blooming, as were the tulips. There were fields of beheaded tulips.

A playground let children climb over water, splash in the water on low rope bridges, and swing in a tire over water. People were sunning and picnicking. A large exhibition hall contained breathtaking flower arrangements by local florists, and flowers from around the world. One room was only orchids, another had bonsai.

Bonsai

I found tulips in another greenhouse, at every stage of its growth!

After several hours I was ready to leave.

Metro train

The Metro station at Gaasperplas had "brick" luggage all around.

"Brick" luggage

Took the Metro back to Centraal Station in Amsterdam, and bought a round-trip ticket for 14.75 NLG/$5.50 to Leiden. The 14:08 train passed the polders/reclaimed land within dikes, where ditches of water acted as fences to separate cows, sheep, and horses. I did see a horse nuzzling a cow over a ditch. We passed rowhouses with lace curtains in the windows.

Arrived in Leiden at 14:45 and headed to the windmill.

Molen de Valk/Mill of the Falcon

I paid 1.50 NLG/60 cents to go in the Molen de Valk/Mill of the Falcon windmill museum.

Molen de Valk/Mill of the Falcon ticket

The ground floor had a couple rooms furnished in the period of 1900 and a workshop. I climbed the ladder stairway up the various levels, of which there were seven. I didn’t keep count, but I saw a lot of windmill tools and equipment! Partway up there was an outdoor balcony, but you had to stay at the rear side, since the windmill sails were turning in the front.

Nederlandse Spoorwegen/Dutch Railways train

Returned to the train station and took the 15:36 train to Haarlem, arriving at 16:00. For some reason this town looked familiar to me; the narrow winding streets of shops and occasional canals. The Grote Markt/main square was surrounded by old buildings and there was a market for cheese, vegetables, flowers, clothing, record albums, toys, etc. The Grote Kerk/cathedral was covered with scaffolding.

Caught the 16:36 train back to Amsterdam, arriving at 17:00. Went down in the Metro station that had a wall with a row of peepholes labeled with the names of various cities around the world. When you peeked in the hole, you saw that city’s Metro!

Took the Metro to Waterlooplein and found myself in the giant flea market Kathy C and I had explored. Took a tram back to the Centraal Station, following along the canals, passing the Dam Square, and going down the busy Damrak. Our tram driver slammed on the brakes at every stop ( I guess, tram drivers jerk the handle of the brakes), and almost ran down a woman pushing a baby carriage!

Amsterdam trams

Returned to the train station to board the 17:49 train, finding a compartment in a car marked for Bern.

Amsterdam to Basel ticket cover

Amsterdam to Basel train ticket

When the conductor came, he told me to move, since the car to Bern was not going through Basel. I was able to find another compartment to myself, and was alone the whole trip! After the formalities at the border and the rearranging of the train at Oberhausen, I went to sleep.

Sunday, May 30, 1982

Arrived in Basel Bad at 5:30, then Basel at 6:00. Went to purchase a ticket for Biel and boarded the 6:18 train, arriving at 7:30. I ended up sleeping most of the day.

Today is Pfingstsonntag/Pentecost Sunday/Whit Sunday, which means we have a holiday tomorrow for Pfinstmontag.

Saturday, May 22, 1982

Reichenbach Falls, Aare Gorge, Meiringen, and Ballenberg (5/22/1982)

Saturday, May 22, 1982

Train day pass

Took the 8:52 train to Bern, changed to the 9:40 train to Interlaken Ost/East, arriving at 10:40 to get the 10:50 train to Meiringen, arriving at 11:15 and began Wandern/hiking. I could see and hear the Reichenbachfall/Reichenbach Falls. Found the Reichenbachfallbahn funicular station on some hospital grounds, but it was closed.

Reichenbachfallbahn funicular station

Started the climb, first up a road past the nurses’ residence, then a gravel path to a farm, then a path through the woods. Reached a fork, and chose the gravel road closer to the funicular. This path started off to the west, so I found a path next to a tumbling stream. A bridge took me over some impressive waterfalls, but the double track of the funicular told me I was only halfway. Followed a zig zag path upward, and had to stop at every zig to rest. Certain prints on the ground looked like a horse came down this way?

Slowly but surely I made my way to a building that was a power station. The last stretch of the path to that station was overgrown. I tried going around the building to the left, but my way was blocked. Tried following the path to the right hoping it would take me around the hillock, but it continued to the west. As I turned to go back to the power station, I heard a rustling and stopped. Saw a deer just below me, less than 20’ away! When it noticed me, it bounded away followed by a spotted fawn.

This time I crossed the funicular tracks and tried going up that way, but it wasn’t possible. So although a sign told me in three languages, including English, not to follow the tracks, I did anyway. There was a staircase alongside them. Partway up a waterfall came out of the rock below me and plummeted straight down. I was rather wobbly-kneed. from the climb and the height. Forged upward to the top funicular station and finally arrived for a clear view of the famous Reichenbach Falls.

Top half of Reichenbach Falls

Bottom half of Reichenbach Falls

This is where the fictional Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarity, plunged to their deaths. One could continue climbing to the top of the falls themselves to see from where they “fell,”, but I was satisfied with how far I had come. It took me an hour to make this climb.
Found a restroom with toilet paper and took advantage of it. Headed back down pretty much the way I came up, but it took only 20 minutes. I guess there are no official hiking trails to the falls?

Sherlock Homes Memorial

Followed the Aare River to the east. I wanted a photo of the falls with cows in the foreground, and stepped into a pasture, finding a 5-leaf clover.

5-leaf clover

Reichenbach Falls and cows

I hiked another 10-15 minutes to the Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge. Paid 3.50 CHF/$1.75 to enter the park and headed to the limestone escarpment through which the Aare River has carved a narrow chasm.

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge ticket

You first had to walk through a tunnel where you saw only an occasional light bulb until you popped out in the gorge onto catwalks with loose floorboards.

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge

The catwalks followed the length of the gorge, which at one point was only the width of the catwalk (less than 1 m/3’). The cliffs rose above us up to 50 m/165’ and there was evidence of potholing (eddying currents of water containing stones carve out a hole in the rock). Where the gorge widened, a waterfall cascaded from above.

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge

As you approached the other end of the gorge at Innertkirchen, there was a locked gate, so you had to turn around and exit the way you came in.

As I headed back to Meiringen, the Innertkirchenbahn tram passed by.

Meiringen-Innertkirchenbahn tram

I heard gunshots echoing in the valley and figured the cows were unperturbed because they were used to it. I finally found the source of the noise when I saw targets halfway up the mountain over Meiringen. Saw several men with rifles slung over their shoulders heading in that direction. In the main part of town there is the St Michael Kirche/Church (1684) which is plain, but had interesting wood columns.

St Michael's Church

Underneath you can see the remains of earlier churches The clock tower is built separate and there is a row of old wooden houses that were left after a fire destroyed most of Meiringen in the 1800s.

Caught the 14:20 train to Brienz, arriving at 14:45. I saw it would take an hour to walk to Ballenberg, but there was a bus at 15:15. Checked out the wood-carving souvenir shops before the bus took 5 minutes to reach the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum. The ticket office was situated in the oven-house from Oberwangen (BE).

Ballenberg ticket

Across from it was the Alter Bären Restaurant from Rapperswil (BE). The museum is a collection of old homes and buildings brought from throughout Switzerland, and many of the buildings held “working” exhibits.

Ballenberg general view

I followed the Rundgang/tour signs, first approaching an old farmhouse from Madiswil (BE). An old man was pulling weeds in the vegetable garden next to a field of cows. I didn’t want to peek in his windows, but on the other side of the house I saw a crowd of people come out. Okay, I get it! The rooms downstairs were set up for the period and the central fire stove was really smoking. It must be smoking the many hams and sausages hung above it. There was a Kornhaus/granary from Kiesen (BE) that also had beehives, and a white painted house from Villnachern (Aargau/AG). At last, a building not from the canton of Bern (BE)! Here and there were hay barns. I climbed a hill to the storehouse from Wasen im Emmental (BE) where I could get a view down on most of the museum area. The day laborer’s house from Detligen (BE) had a rabbit hutch and a man in front was weaving baskets of straw. Inside the restored rooms I could smell fresh bread. The couple in front of me were carrying a couple loaves of bread. Another storehouse from Ostermundigen (BE) next to a large house from the same area.

Ostermunidigen house

This contained the gift shop and upstairs in the restored rooms one woman was tatting and another making lace with about 50 bobbins of thread. She was flipping the bobbins here and there without seeming to pay any attention! There was a retired farmer’s house from Detligen (BE) with a woman weaving on a loom, and a man preparing bread. Fresh bread was promised at 16:50. headed past a barn from Faulensee (BE) into the woods to a tiny sawmill from Rafz (Zürich/ZH) and a linseed press from Medel (Graubünden/GR). One path led off through a Hansel & Gretel evergreen forest to another section, but I followed the path through the Wilhelm Tell woods. Found a house from Matten (BE) with a spinning wheel. Behind it were outbuildings from the Berner Oberland, a barn from Brienzwiler, a well from Wimmis, and a storehouse from Niederried, all from BE.

Berner Oberland group of buildings

Farther along was a building they were still restoring and people went to look at the hammers and boards inside. Downstairs was a pottery shop. I passed a barn with pigs and a large house from Adelboden (BE) next to a chicken coop and an open fireplace, to roast a pig?

A cheese-storage hut from Lütschental (BE) and a house from Brienz (BE) showing wood-carving and a wood-carver. Next to a “food-drying" hut was a house from Sachseln (Obwalden/OW) with a field of sheep. Through the woods again to the eastern Mittelland of Switzerland with a wine-press house from Schaffhausen (ZH) with a press from Fläsch (GR), a house from Richterswil (ZH), a washhouse from Rüschlikon (ZH), and a shed from Männedorf (ZH) for drying grape husks that looked like peat clumps. A huge house from Uesslingen (Thurgau/TG) with an apple press and upstairs was a museum of bread and pastries of Switzerland. Storehouse from Wellhausen (TG) and house from Wila (ZH). The staff were beginning to sweep and mop their abodes. Saw the smoky area of the charcoal works.

Charcoal works

I returned to the “bakery” house at 16:50 to get in line for my 3 CHF/$1.50 loaf of fresh baked bread. As I waited for the 17:40 bus, I nearly burned my fingers pulling pieces of bread from my loaf! So good!

We got to Brienz at 17:50, and I caught the 18:00 train to Interlaken where I saw big billows of dark gray smoke. I was concerned about what was on fire, but it turned out to be a steam locomotive pulling a train towards Jungfrau. I changed to the 18:44 train to Spiez, and there caught the 19:15 train to Biel. Even though this train was going all the way to Biel, I changed in Bern to the 20:05 express to Biel.

Sunday, May 23, 1982

Rainy day. Found a 4-leaf clover on my way to Jan & Kirby’s at 13:30.

Movie ticket

We went to Bern to see the movie “Reds,” which took nearly four hours with commercials and intermissions. It inspired a conversation as we went to a Mövenpick closest to the Bahnhof/train station so Jan could have the salad bar; Kirby had tortellini and a salad, and I had just the tortellini. It came with a half egg shell in which sat the yolk on a pile of salt and you mixed this with the cream sauce. It was super delicious! Ice cream for dessert before heading home. Saw the poster describing the witnesses in the “Reds” movie, all real people!

Monday, May 24, 1982

Found a 4-leaf clover and Kirby found one for me!

More 4-leaf clovers

Friday, May 21, 1982

Konstanz, Germany (5/20/1982)

Thursday, May 20, 1982

Today is Auffahrt/Ascension Day and we have a holiday! Everything is closed down tight in Biel.

Train day pass

Took the 8:20 train to Zürich, arriving at 10:02 to catch the 10:10 train to Schaffhausen, arriving there at 10:50. Crossed the platform to get the 10:59 local train to Kreuzlingen, which ambled along through apple orchards or were they apple tree nurseries since the trees were small and placed closer together. Some appeared to be trained to grow into hedges and they looked like they would yield a lot of apples. When we stopped in Mannenbach, I could see the Schloss Arenenberg/Arenenberg Palace with painted shutters sitting up on a hill. In Kreuzlingen, I walked the two blocks to the city of Konstanz! Kreuzlingen and Konstanz are really one big city but a border divides it. In the middle of a city street there were some booths, and I had to show my passport to cross into Germany. It was easier than crossing into Canada! There is a small German enclave on this side of the Rhein River and most of Konstanz is on the north side. It sits at the mouth of the Bodensee/Lake Constance. Walked through Schnetztor/Gate (14C) and down a winding pedestrian street, figuring I would run into the river or the lake at some point! Ended up at the Rhein at Pulverturm/Powder Tower (14C) and turned right along the river to Rheintorturm/Rhein Gate Tower (c. 1200).

Rheintorturm/Rhine Gate Tower

The buildings across the river disappeared into a haze. There were many sailboats and excursion boats on the lake, and they also disappeared into the haze. Followed the lakeshore past the city garden, then turned into the old town to the Münster Unserer Lieben Frau/Cathedral of Our Beloved Lady (1100-1854).

Münster/Cathedral

Just inside the door was a clear glass air-lock. Wrought-iron grills and a “Schnegg/snail” winding staircase turret.

Took the narrow pedestrian street to the Rathaus/City Hall with its façade painted with historical events. Continued to the Konzilgebäude/Council building (1388) on the lakefront.

Konzilgebäude/Council building

Originally a warehouse and now restaurants, this is where the Conclave of 1417 proclaimed Martin V as the real pope, putting an end to the three pope controversy and papal schism. The council also condemned Jan Hus as a heretic and he was burned at the stake. In front of the Konzil was a beautiful flower garden with the Zeppelindenkmal/Monument to Count Zeppelin, founder of the rigid airship. The Konstanz train station was next to the Konzil, and I went to catch the 13:18 train. A customs guard told me I had to go back around through the customs building, and that I could cross the tracks to get there, rather than use the stairs at the extreme end of the platform. I almost ran past the customs agent who was busy examining old books from someone’s suitcase. Did get the train to St Gallen, arriving at 14:00, and waited for the 14:51 train to Zürich, then to Bern, and finally the 18:41 train to Biel.

I used the restroom in Bern (where you have to insert a coin to open the stall door) and a girl asked if I could hold the door open to allow another woman to use it when I was done. Sure.

Friday, May 21, 1982

Kirby drove us and two kids, Markus and Sonia, to Hippotherapie/Horseback riding therapy. Hetty owns her own horse and uses it to provide hippotherapy to the CP Station kids. While Hetty worked with Markus, I pretended to work with Sonia. Sonia indicated she wanted to ride the horse, but changed her mind when she got closer!

I found another 4-leaf clover on my way to Jan & Kirby’s where we were having a Mexican dinner with Hetty; chicken tortillas after a great salad (great salad dressing!). I brought party favors; grasshopper tins with chewing gum, the 4-leaf clover, and an El Chapultepec fortune! (NB. Are these all symbols of good luck?)

Wednesday, May 19, 1982

Lucky clovers (5/17/1982)

Monday, May 17, 1982

I found a mutant clover patch on my way back from working at Stern am Ried, netting seven 5-leaf clovers, two mutant 3-leafers, two mutants that had become 4-leafers, and two regular 4-leafers!