A Casino will feed you in the landscape of the angels

A room with a view

Hallo! Bon Jour!

This is the French portion of my visit.

I made some of my trademark potato salad and bought a tightly lidded "tupperware-like" dish from the local grocery store for conveying it across the country to Neuchatel (French for new house).  I arrived in the early afternoon and was greeted by my hostess and her husband--Angela and Jacob--in the train station.

Upon arriving at the chateau, I discovered that I had my own balcony, had a beautiful view, and didn't have three Siamese kittens who mostly scampered whenever I approached.  I offered nothing but love and adoration, but they were not having it.  Phhhttt.  Temperamental French Swiss (formerly German Swiss) Siamese cats.  No wonder they are mixed up--international smorgasboard cats! 

The evening event was to drive to France and purchase the meat (steak, chicken, and drumsticks) for the housewarming BBQ and all of the ingredients needed for the dishes that the hostess planned to serve. (My potato salad was one of them.) There were 35 items on the list.  

The first stop was at the butcher's place and she bought a huge amount of meat.  She was only allowed to bring a certain amount back over the border without having to pay a tariff on it.  Naturally, she factored in my person and the driver (her buddy) as part of her kilos, but she purchased waaaayy more than that, figuring that she would just pay the fee (about $60) at the border.

From there, we went to a casino

Yep.  You heard me right.  A Casino.

That is what they call a giant grocery store there--a casino.  It was a giant Hyper U, larger and nicer than any Walmart.  And it had food of every kind you can imagine.  But first you need a cart.

Hyper U (Casino)

The shopping carts in CH and France are connected in a row by a chain link.  You cannot use one unless you have a Swiss Franc coin (in CH) or a Euro (in France).  You put the coin in the slot and it unhooks from the rest in the line.  You shop, you take your groceries to the car, you take the cart back to the line, hooking it back in the chain, then, your coin pops out and you put it back in your pocket.  

The locking shopping carts

Yep.  No carts sitting around in the parking lot for the baggage help to go collect.  Er...uh...no baggage help either. No courtesy clerks to walk you to your car and unload your groceries. AND, btw, YOU bring the grocery bags with you OR you purchase one there to use (30 cents).  Really irresponsible types use a small  thin plastic bag which is there, if needed.

We were rushing around trying to get the 35 items. When I say "rushing," I mean rushing. We only had an hour to get all the things on the list for the store was closing at 8 p.m.  It was 7 p.m.  We filled two shopping carts.  My hostess was quite agitated as it got closer and closer to 8 because she said they will close down and not ring you up.  It's true.

When we were at the cashier in line, my hostess dared to send me back (after I volunteered) to the vegetable area for more items.  The produce clerk was putting the produce away in boxes.  He started waving his hands and saying, "Finis!  Finis!"  I grabbed a couple of items she wanted which were still out.  They are serious about closing time.   I made the mistake of not weighing some grapes and punching out the price tag for them while I was back in the produce area. They did not let her have them. (They were for the chocolate fondue! Oh no!)

The aisle of chocolate bars.  Crazy!

 
Now, with our car stuffed with purchases, we headed back to the border.  My hostess calculated that she would need to pay a $60 tariff at the border.  When we got there, we parked and walked over to the agent....and he just waved us back to the car and told us to go.  OK!  The housewarming party was a HUGE success and the meat we purchased was grilled to perfection by Jacob.  YUM!

I know how to catch a cat

While I was at the Casino (grocery store) called Hyper U, I made a purchase that was going to be used to catch me some kittens.  See...kittens are kittens.  They might be skittish and scared, but they are still kittens.  Knowing that, i brought home a wand-like cat fishing pole with some bright metallic ribbons on the end.  When we got home, I went fishing.  

Mr. David Hasselhoff himself

Caught me a cat or two or three.  This little guy was the bravest and most forward.  His name is David Hasselhoff.  We became good buddies because I know how to catch a cat.

There were a couple of neighbors who let their opinions be known loudly every now and then

House in Neuchatel

The neighbor had two donkeys on his property, located right next to the place where I was staying.  Every now and then they brayed very loudly.  Hee--Haw!  Just like that.  



Only really ear-shattering.  I couldn't capture it on film, but I tried.  

 
I don't know what their names are, just pick two names (of individuals you know who are most like jackasses) and call them that.  lol  I think they are pretty animals and rather cute.  Poor things...probably unaware of the stigma they carry with themselves wherever they go.  Don't tell them.  

 Matterhorn, Part II

Yesterday was rainy and chilly and although I love that weather, it was interrupting a few things I had in mind to do.  I actually went to bed around midnight.  That meant that I was up earlier than my usual. When I rolled open my bedroom window, I saw that it was going to be a clear, beautiful blue sky day.  

 As the weather has been working on changing seasons and it was forecast for cloudy days all week, one could not take a clear sky day for granted.  What did my mind decide I needed to see while the sky was clear?  Answer:  The Matterhorn!

Only cloud in the sky was a puff right on the peak.

 My first trip to the Matterhorn was cut short due to a commitment I had made to help with makeup for the production in Basel.  I must admit that the thought to go to that odd-but-beloved-shaped peak just popped into my head and I found it to be a good one.  I jumped into the bath and started getting ready to head out on my adventure. (Maybe Annette Barbezat Webster had a little something to do with the sudden inspiration for my day, who can say? She and her family were coincidentally driving over to Disneyland and its Matterhorn while I determined to get on a  train and do the four-hour travel to the real Matterhorn in CH.)

The timing of my trip was really a good idea as well since the local schools were beginning a holiday break for a week at the end of today.  I would miss any masses of vacationers by going today.  And that’s exactly what happened.  

Riding solo in the train compartment

 Previously, on my first advent up the hill to the city of Zermatt--where you pick up the train to go up to the top of the area--I rode in a compartment that was every seat filled in first class while second class had people actually standing 2-deep throughout the aisle for the entire 1.25-hour trip. Today….I had the entire compartment to myself.  Not one other person was even around.  The conductors walked through several times and thought it was also odd that no one was there.  Tomorrow, first day of vacation and a Saturday…it will be PACKED.  All day long.  But I missed all that fun by being on the train TODAY.  J

I found the Matterhorn to be as awesome as you could imagine, but what was also cool was the surrounding areas of permanent ice and snow packed among the peaks.  And the glaciers….extremely cool.  Extremely inspiring to see and comprehend that you are looking at an actual river of ICE that has been formed and flowing for centuries.  Boggles the mind.

I went to Germany by accident 

I have begun to take it for granted that I know how to go where I want to go and how to google my Fahrplan so I know trains, buses, etc.  I was on my way to Bern...or so I thought.  

As I am riding on the train and chatting with the handsome young train driver who was off duty and catching a ride home for the day, I am expecting to get to my destination at 13:52 (1:52 p.m.). As Swiss trains are 100% on time and therefore completely predictable, It was 14:04 and my train hadn't made that stop.  I was confused.  I thought maybe I was supposed to get off at the last stop and missed it.

I asked the gentleman across the aisle if the last stop was Bern.  He laughed a great belly laugh and said, "Bern?!?  You are nowhere near Bern. You are going in the opposite direction."  And he let me know that I was IN GERMANY.  How that happened, I have no idea.  I got off on the next stop and went to the station agent to find my way back home.  My Swiss Pass is a SWISS travel pass and I was now in Germany.  Naturally, I had to pay the fare to get back to the Swiss border.  Thank heaven Singen, Germany is very close to the border and it only cost me 8.50 SFr. (less than $10).  Whew!

The LDS portion of my trip

Given my background and the way I was raised, you could expect that there was going to be a visit to the LDS Swiss Temple in Bern.  What better timing for it than right before Conference weekend?  I could ask the local Swiss how they viewed the Conference sessions as well as take in the sights at the temple. I googled the address, it was on Tempelstrasse, btw, and got  myself to the Bern bus stop located in the area of the temple.  One set of online instructions told me to catch a local bus, but it did not provide the name of the bus, and the number it did provide didn’t match any numbers of buses I was seeing. 

I stepped onto each bus and asked the driver if that was the bus to get to the “Mormon Temple.”  The first driver told me it was the “other” bus—the one just leaving.  Great.  When the next bus arrived, I repeated my question to that driver.  

Language was a barrier, for sure.  Then, after I said “LDS Temple,” he said, “Oh…Mormon Temple. It is right over there.” (In his broken English)  After a few more queries, I determined that I was supposed to walk across the street, go down the block, and then turn left. Vague instructions.  I could get lost.  My experience wandering around CH is that I ALWAYS get lost.  I always go this way when the correct guess was to choose the opposite direction.

I set off walking.  It was a busy neighborhood area with apartment buildings and corner strip malls of convenience stores and eateries. I didn't have any breadcrumbs to drop so I could find my way back, but I was memorizing buildings and landmarks as I went.  Then I rounded a bend.  What happened next did cause my feelings to overwhelm me and tears to flow.

As I turned the curve and looked to my left, high above the apartment buildings and neighborhood structures, I saw the golden Angel Gabriel standing there and blowing his trumpet to guide me in. I knew where to go.  I had found it.  This was the place.

I walked toward the golden beacon.  Arriving, I looked for the Visitor Center (VC).  I found a locked church building with the hours of the meetings listed.  I walked across the front of the temple thinking that the VC would be on the other side, of course.  Not so.

There was no VC.  There was no one there to ask any questions about Conference.  What was I going to do now?  I determined to walk around the grassy area and take a few pictures before leaving.

I really wanted to know how to catch the Conference broadcast.  As i made my way down to the sidewalk, I came upon two gardeners working on a flower bed.  I asked if anyone spoke English and Karl Kunzli spoke up.  I had a lovely conversation with Bro. Kunzli and he told me all about the Conference broadcast in Zurich--even giving me the address so I would be able to Google the instructions on how to get there.  What a sweet and kind man.  Thank You, Karl.

Karl Kunzli, temple tour guide and gardener

The following day, Saturday, I made preparations to go to the Saturday morning session of Conference.  Since we are nine (9) hours ahead, the meeting started at 6 p.m. for us. 

Here is an interesting tidbit.  I made my Farhplan and it was going to make me change 3-4 times between buses and trains.  It seemed like the easiest one to me.

For some reason.....I got on the wrong train....AGAIN.  I realized my mistake as the warning lights were flashing prior to the train pulling out.  I rushed to the doors....but to no avail.  I was stuck on that train.  Disappointment was heavy with me since I had calculated the time needed to get to the broadcast.

At the earliest stop, I got off the train and re-calculated.  That stop was the central Bahnhof in Zurich.  After another search for new instructions from this location, I found that all I had to do was get on one tram, Tram 7.  It took me right to the street and I found the church without any anxiety.  No 3-4 buses to change and try to find connecting bus stops.  

Makes me think someone was helping me.

In the church building, there were signs to direct you to the room which would be broadcasting the meeting in the language you would prefer.  English was in the Cultural Hall.  I was joined by about 25 other people to watch the session in English.  I was there to hear the Tucson temple announced and to hear the bombshell announcement of the ages to serve a mission being lowered for males AND females.  When they announced Tucson, AZ, those I had chatted with prior to the session beginning turned to exchange a smile with me, a visitor from Arizona.

Notice the mineral wasser, no gas

The other languages available were:  German, German (2 rooms), Portuguese, Italian, and French.


Afterward, I went down the block to a cozy family pizzeria and had the most interesting and yummy pizza.  It had ham, garlic, and Gorgonzola cheese.  Odd combination, but it was soooo tasty!




 Some final items of interest
On the shopping trip to France, I had to pick up some chips for the party and was surprised by the amazing flavors of potato chips over here.  At the stores in CH, you can mostly find Original, Sour Cream, and a third flavor, Paprika.  Don't shake your head, Paprika chips are actually quite yummy.

But even more unusual were these other flavors:  Braised Chicken, Smoked Ham, Kebab, Cheeseburger, and Bolognese (I have no idea what these taste like).

Another interesting thing is the door handles and the door locks to the room INSIDE the house.  In every room, in every apartment or house I've been in, they are all the same--maybe on a brown door, maybe on a white door--the handle is the pull lever type and the key is IN the door and you turn it to lock the door.  It is that old fashioned style of key.  It looks rather cool, if you ask me.

Another thing that some have asked me about is the price of gas.  My hosts Angela and Jacob drove to Basel and I rode with them to catch the train from there.  We stopped to fill up the tank.  It cost 101+ SFr which is approx $105.  The price per litre is 1.78 SFr and there are 4.5 litres in a gallon.  So gas here is 8.01 in SwF which translates to $8.25 a gallon.  Wow.  NO ONE drives SUVs here.  (Except ridiculous Americans who must bring their gas hogging vehicle with them.  AND stick out like a sore thumb wherever they drive.  The Swiss think those vehicles are out of place on their highways and would never own one. I agree 100%.)

And as a last item, this one takes me by surprise every time I see it--and that is often.  There is a lot of graffiti everywhere around the train stations and it seems out of place in this pristine and beautiful country.  

Additionally, the streets are immaculate. In a country where there are a lot of smokers, no one drops the butts on the ground.  (Tourists might, outsiders from other surrounding countries might, but not the Swiss.)  There are trash cans where the whole top of it is open circles and you toss your lit cigarette or your butt in it.  

Waiting for a bus or a train is ALWAYS time to light up and smoke.  Yet, there are very few, if any, butts on the ground.

However, there is a huge concern currently about the issue of second hand smoke.  The issue was put to the vote on Sep. 23, but the referendum was voted down.  

Lastly, from my window of the train coming home from the Matterhorn, I saw an interesting array that I wanted to share with you.  Notice the child sandbox in the foreground, and the tiny sheep grazing in the background.  I took the picture because every angle of the country is beautiful to me.  

The Swiss have made their country something to be proud of.  They build houses on sides of hills.  They farm UP the mountainsides.  Their livestock graze peacefully and happily all over mountainous terrain.  Miles and miles I have seen the homes perched up on the mountain or on rolling hills.  The Swiss have embraced their landscape.  They know they have mountains and the attitude is, so what?  We will build on and around them.  It is what we do. In a popular song, CH is called "the landscape of the angels."

 A visiting buddy from the UK said, "Sure, it's admirable that they can build up there on that sloping hillside.  But why would you want to???" 

All I can say is....ask a Swiss.