SWITZERLAND #1

 My first visit in Switzerland was in a small village called Thörishaus Dorf. Besides seeing beautiful farmland on the train ride, I noticed the Swiss landscape was dotted with many small villages all along the route. 

Another beautiful feature in the landscape was all the vineyards in this area along Lake Geneva. This area (Vaud) produces about 26% of Swiss wine.

We had met our friends, Edwin and Jacqueline, in Santa Barbara while Jon and Edwin were both in graduate school. We attended the same church and both our faith and Jon's interest in German language gave us an immediate connection. 

Jacqueline and I shared childcare (David, age 3, and Christophe, age 1,) while I taught art and Jacqueline took English classes. 

We have maintained our friendship across the years and across the miles. They visited us in Germany and in California, and now this is the first time for me to visit them in their country. We enjoyed several days of good fellowship, hiking, and typical food. 

The second day I was there, we rode the train into Bern. It's a really beautiful city, full of history and art. . 

The name comes from the German word for "bear." The story is that the city's founder was in a bear hunt and named the city after that animal. A more likely explanationis that the name comes from the Celtic word "berna," meaning "ravine," as it is situated by the ravine of the Aare River. River.

The Main 

The Main Street of Bern is picturesque with many shops and also the home of Albert Einstein.. 

The Gothic Münster Cathedral in the old city has the highest tower in Switzerland. The building also has the most valuable stained glass windows in Switzerland. 

Switzerland doesn’t technically have a capital city, but Bern is the de facto capital or Federal City and the location of the Parliament building  

Like most Europeans, the Swiss love walking and hiking, so Edwin and Jacqueline and I walked daily. One of our walks was in the rolling hills above their village to a farm that had lots of animals--horses, cows, and these goats that came running whenever Jacqueline came near. They knew she would feed them the sweet clover outside their pen. 

The last day I was with Edwin and Jacqueline, we took the chocolate train to the village of Broc, home of the famous Swiss chocolate factory, Maison Cailler. 

After a fascinating tour of the factory, highlighting both the history and methods of making Swiss chocolate, we were treated to an array of chocolates to sample. Too much temptation to resist!

After visiting chocolate heaven, I continued on my way to Swiss visit #2. It was a memorable visit!