The Cemetery, Feldbrunnen, Switzerland

This is part 2 of a five day challenge showing a photo and story

When you live in a small Swiss village nothing is far away. It is very compact, and we have everything you need: a restaurant, church and a cemetery. Shops - there are none; the last grocery closed 5-6 years ago and no-one bothered to re-open it. We all have refrigerators and the next town is a mere five minute drive or 30 minute walk, so what could possibly be better.

Cemeteries are an occurrence in all Swiss villages and towns. We have the larger local town cemetery along the road, but why go so far when the village has a cemetery, surrounding the local church. The church is on a small rise so if you poise with your camera you have an overall view of part of the cemetery. We have a few well known local residents, but they have the special places reserved around the church on the top of the hill. For those who live their lives almost unnoticed, there is a neat section below the church.

The stones are nicely arranged and are cared for. I often think in Switzerland that the cemetery is the calling card of the village. If you have a neat cemetery, then the village is also organised. Of course, many names on the graves are familiar, but it is perhaps a peculiarity of Switzerland that names become associated with places. If I mention my married name of “Gerber” the comment will immediately be made “from Langnau In Emmental?” and of course I can proudly nod and say yes. The name Gerber occupies about 99% of the names in the Langnau telephone book, so it is not surprising, although I would add there is a tribe of Gerbers originating in the Bernese Overland, but they are not our Gerbers. Some of use even decided to throw out their roots across the pond in a place called America. I don't even think they were United States at that time.

So back to the village of Feldbrunnen, where I live. The church would be Catholic, but we are all equal eventually and so we have a mixed bunch on the cemetery. I do not have family members here, as they were living in other surrounding villages, but I do have a few neighbours.

I quite appreciate the way the cemetery is designed, with fields and farmland. The white building you see on the right bordered by a tree is the local stables where I often take a photographic journey.

Now and again, when perhaps a new house or apartments are being built, it might be that a few skeletal remains are found of various departed that did not arrive at the cemetery. These originate from the days when the village was just a few farms and not really a village and was also a place for the so-called chopping block or gallows. As it seemed that the victims were criminals and in the eyes of the church at the time, did not really deserve a place in the cemetery, they were buried were they arrived, somewhere in the middle of a field, to be discovered and examined by the archeologists a couple of hundred years later. At least they get a column in the local newspaper. 

So the next time you take a walk in the local cemetery, remember, you are surrounded by history.

Whoa

What’s the most surreal experience you’ve ever had?

“Let’s take a walk to the village church” Mr. Swiss always has good ideas for our tours in the afternoon, although our churches, like most other things worth seeing in Switzerland, always seem to be situated in high places. Nevertheless we continued, Mr. Swiss leading and me following. I felt like one of the 7 dwarves known as “copycat”, although that would be dwarf No. 8. So onward I stumbled, climbed, holding on the iron bar with both hands as I climbed the stairs to the top. Yes those churches think of everything, they even build stairs to make sure you arrive.

I got there safe, but perhaps not so sound. It is a catholic church, our area being predominately roman catholic, but churches are not fussy who visits, and we had no intention of going inside. I stood for a while to gather my breath and ensure that all my limbs were in place.

“Do you mind”

“I beg your pardon.” No it was not Mr. Swiss, he had already turned the corner.

“I said do you mind, you are standing on my gravestone.”

I bent my head and discovered that I really was standing on a gravestone, with name and dates and everything that belonged.

“But you are dead.”

“I might be dead, but in my life time I was respected as one of the elders of the village, one of the people that had something to say and to prove it I had a pole position in the graves surrounding the church.”

I looked around and discovered that there were a row of graves on the floor and even on the walls of the church there were stones commenting various pillars of society, some of the names being from familiar established families in the area. I was a little perplex but mumbled an apology.

“I should think so, you graveyard tourists have really no respect. The next thing you will probably do is to produce one of those new fangled digital cameras to take a photo.”

“I was thinking of it.”

“Then take a few steps around the corner. One of our show offs, the painter Frank Buchser Frank Buchser who lived in the village has a monument. He thinks he is something special, although I believe he is well known, not only in this area. Take your picture there, I just want to have my peace and quiet.”

I decided to move on, being carful not to walk on the other stones and not wanting to wake more dead. Of course I took a photo of Frank Buchser’s monument, it was too good to be true.

“Who are you talking to?” called Mr. Swiss from somewhere in the distance.

“Just a dead person that is buried here” I answered truthfully.”

“Huh?”

“Forget it.” I decided I did not want to confirm the fact that I sometimes have illusions, he knows it after 46 years of getting used to me.

I continued with my walk, still avoiding the dead people and decided to take a few photos from the church. Three of my photos included the graveyard belonging to the church where the normal unimportant dead were laying. Who knows, one day I might ….. forget it. It’s too early I hope. 

I turned a corner where Mr. Swiss was standing, examining a stone engraving in gold letters on the wall. Another one of the dead that made it in life I suppose. I then saw a wonderful view, the photographer’s dream. I was patient for a few minutes, as Mr. Swiss was standing on the lefthand side of my photo viewing lens. Eventually he moved and I took the photo. When I uploaded the photo at home, I realised he was a figure on the lefthand side of this Pulitzer prize suspicious photo, so I cropped him out and here is the result.

The white building in the middle in the distance is our local stables of which I have blogged now and again on my marathon walks. 

We eventually walked down the hill to the top part of the village. The church is known as St. Niklaus and so it the top half of the village of Feldbrunnen. I could hear voices saying “Goodbye, come and see us some time, it gets quite lonely here now and again” as I left.

“Who is that calling?” said Mr. Swiss.

“Oh, no-one important, just a few happy spirits I met on the walk.”

He probably thought another Mrs. Angloswiss weak joke but what did he know.

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Life in the Swiss country

I am still discovering my little part of the world by walks. Spring is here, the weather is fine, so let’s go and see the surroundings.

This is how I look with almost five kilometres walking behind me. I had just climbed the stairs to the top of the river bank, where I have a nice view over the river and am taking a five minute rest before the last 5-10 minutes on the home stretch. Note, temperatures are now very pleasent, hence the sporty look. I also noticed that I should perhaps go on a diet, although I am sure when the end of Summer arrives and few kilo will have been shed on the way, at least I hope so.

We took a walk along the rive Aar and yes, I saw my first swans.

This one must be now a year old as he still has the remains of his first coat of brown feathers. We have quite a few swans on the river, they seem to live in colonies. Here might be mum and dad swan.

Apparently they are very faithful animals and stay together all the time. You can feed them, but they are not always in a good mood and can get a little iffy now and again, so I just took a couple of photos. Then I saw a duck, or whatever, that I had never seen before, so of course I took a photo. If anyone recognises this feathered creature, I would appreciate knowing his name.

The water looks quite choppy as it was swimming on the small stream leading into the river from the cemetery. Yes, all roads and rivers seem to lead to the cemetery in the area where I live. 

We live in the village of Feldbrunnen, Switzerland, population about 1,000 humans give or take a few according to deaths and births, not counting cats, dogs, ducks, crows, sparrows and  hedgehogs. I almost forgot the cows. I am not sure how many, but I would guess about 50-100. I have not seen any this year, but they will soon be out in the pasture munching grass and fertilising the ground. And we have horses, see yesterday’s daily prompt.

 Everyone seems to know everyone. We have no shops, so you cannot quickly buy something you have forgotten. The worst case scenery would be to borrow it from the neighbours. It is not a problem, but we Swiss tend not to borrow stuff from other people if you do not know them so well. We have a restaurant when it is open. It seems to change the owner once a year, so it is not such a certain thing. We have a church, denomination roman catholic, so if you are something else you have to go to the next town of Solothurn. However if you pass on, you will be buried in the local cemetery regardless of what religion you are. The funeral services are held in the chapel at the cemetery.

We have a gynacologist, and a vet, so if you are female or animal you are cared for. All other problems are looked after in Solothurn. The village was originally farmland but slowly it is growing. Our apartments were built about 20 years ago. There is a small problem when digging the foundations for new developments. Many years ago the gallows and chopping block were situated in our village, there was even a street called Gallows Street. It might be when the workers are digging with their bulldozers that a skeleton will appear, with or without head. The local archeologists then move in and we are in the local newspaper.

We also had a murderer who killed his wife and a local lady wrote a book about it. She held a talk in the local village museum on a Sunday morning all about the murder case and how the book developed. I decided I did not want to miss that one so exceptionally I was up early on a Sunday morning.

Otherwise we are generally peace loving people. It is a tax paradise, as luckily a few millionaires built there villas here and there in the village, saving us a lot of expense for building the infrastructure. We have a school in the village, but as there are not a lot of children, the teacher might have two or three age groups in one class. This is quite common in the smaller Swiss villages.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Idyllic

What does your ideal community look like? How is it organised, how is community life structured? What values does the community share?

I live in an ideal community. Farming land in Switzerland. A small village, population amounting to about one thousand, mostly owned houses and appartments. We even have a castle up on the hill. It was built as the Summer residence for the French Ambassador some time in the middle ages and is now used for wedding receptions, or other such occasions.

The people living in my village are a mixture as anywhere. Golden Oldies like myself that are glad to be able to relax in the quiet of the Swiss countryside, with no stress. The working population commuting to the larger towns during the day. Families with their offspring going to the local school and Kindergarten.  We have everything.

We do not have any shops in the village, but a half hour walk along the main road, or a five minute journey on the local train brings you to the market town of Solothurn where there are enough shops. If you want big town atmosphere, then you can get the train from Solothurn main station bringing you to Zürich, Bern or Neuchatel within an hour. So what more could you want?

I did not really understand the values that we all share, but I would say a view of the Swiss Alps on a clear day, many activities you can join if you want to. I belonged to the first aid society for many years, helping out at local football meetings, or other sports activities. We have a hall where dances and youth occasions are organised, with bands and modern music. We have a small fire department, employing the local men voluntarily. We do not have a police station, but within a few minutes they are there from the local town, so what more could you want.

We have a local village chief, known as Ammann, that looks after the logistics of the village. Everyone knows him, he lives in the village, his office is in the village. We are even online on the computer – not bad for only 1,000 population.

If you click around on this link you will see what we have to offer – sorry but German is our local language, so no english.

http://www.feldbrunnen.ch/

There is nothing really to change in our village. Enjoy your visit, we are so perfect that something must be wrong somewhere. Oh yes, they found a couple of skeletons when they built some new appartment blocks, but do not worry. They were from the middle ages, when the chopping block was situated in our village for executions of the criminals (nobody is perfect).

We are just people living in a village, going about our daily chores and enjoying life.

And here is a view of our main road connection to Solothurn in winter.

A Short Winter Walk

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I am still only working half days so yesterday afternoon I had to quickly go to the vets to collect something for a friend of mine. She lives on the other side of town and as we work together it is easier for me to pick up the stuff and bring it into the office for her (and her 9 Kilo Maine Coon cat of course). I would have taken the car, but it is always difficult to find a space to park it and the walk is supposed to be healthy - so my doctor says. I, of course, took my camera with me and at last managed to take a photo of our local castle, Waldegg, in all its size and shape. As we are now approaching Winter and the leaves have gone from the trees the view is much clearer. The castle was renovated about ten years ago and you can also have a look inside. It has become quite popular for wedding photos over the last few years.

Around the corner from the castle is our local church.

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It is a roman catholic church but the graveyard is for all village members. After all in the next world we are all equal. As can be seen there is still some snow left from last week. It has been so cold that it has not yet melted away; luckily the roads are clear and the pavements. From the church I turn the corner into the street where the vet is.

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These trees have always fascinated me. Being from London I only knew mistletoe at Christmas from what we bought from a market stall. I had never seen it growing. It seems to be quite common in Switzerland and the little bushes growing out of the bark of this tree are mistletoe. Mistletoe is a parasite and lives off the trees. It does not seem to do any harm as the trees are very old.

I arrived at the vets and picked the stuff up I needed. On the way back I managed to capture this photo over the top half of our village.

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It was starting to get dark and the sun was pushing through the clouds. It was also getting colder so I was glad to be almost home.

At the moment there seems to be a bit of a Christmas stress in the air. Mr. Swiss was out yesterday celebrating with his fellow musicians in the jazz group he plays for. I am out tomorrow evening with my first aid group celebrating and in the office the Christmas party is being organised, but I will probably not attend. Everyone means it well, but gradually I would just like to switch off a bit and take it easy. Even the cats seem to be sleeping more at the moment. During the day I just see them sleeking around looking for some different sleeping quarters. Even at night their walks are restricted to fifteen minutes at the most. Can't really blame them in the minus night temperatures we have at the moment.

The Swiss are getting ready for their annual voting of next years government. We are so completely democratic with our seven ministers, but they all have to be revoted each year from the parliament. One of the seven ministers is stepping down so we have a bit of excitement choosing who will take his place. Will it be someone from Zürich, from Valais or from the French part of Switzerland. The minister leaving is from Kanton Bern and many are sorry to see him go as he will not be replaced from someone in that Kanton. For someone not being Swiss this is all mumbo jumbo I know, but for the Swiss it is their annual excitement. I follow the happenings, but eventually it does not really bother me, income tax we have to pay all the same. Last week-end we had voting on a few referendums, which were all turned down, so that was a lot about nothing.

Mr. Swiss is out this evening on a rehearsal with the band, so I will make myself comfortable with a book (or perhaps the computer - who knows?)

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I went for a walk

Going for walks is not really something out of the ordinary. Basically it is supposed to be healthy, only to be quite honest health has not meant well with me over the last month or so. After having a sort of collapse, breakdown, burnout, whatever modern science calls it, I have really been only fit to sit at the computer and do some writing or other such things, but lively actions were put onto one side.

Of course the daily shopping was done, but mainly with Mr. Swiss. I just felt a bit overwhelmed in the shops with the people and the action. I also stopped taking the car as felt quite giddy now and again. Gradually I am getting back on my feet. Prompted by an appointment at the dentists which I had to keep yesterday and walking into town and back again, I seem to be gradually finding the ground under my feet once again.

So what did we do today. Well I sent Mr. Swiss into town this morning to get the daily survival rations whilst I cleaned the kitchen. It was raining all morning, but this afternoon cleared up a bit so out of boredom we decided to go for a walk, the three cats all being in cat nirvana.

The castle Waldegg is just around the corner from where we live on a hill so we walked in that direction. Naturally I was armed with my camera, but had to keep telling Mr. Swiss to move over as I did not want 20 photos of Mr. Swiss with the scenery in the background.

We took the path threw the country roads and made our way to the frog pond.

Looks a bit like a pea soup at the moment. The frogs have had their fun in Spring and have now moved out. There might be some spawn under the surface but as I was sinking slowly but surely into the surrounding mud I decided not to tempt fate and just made a couple of photos.

On the way back we crossed paths with the two riders. There is a riding school and stables near to where we live so is a common sight in this area.

When I had a look at the photos I realised that one of the horses was probably a stallion. Just don't look at those things when I take a photo. In the background is the building belonging to the riding school.

This is the side path leading to the castle. The trees must be at least one hundred years old.

We eventually got back to the village and passed this garden of hollyhocks which I just had to take a photo of. I have some as well in my garden, but not such a variety of colours as here.

Eventually we arrived home tired but happy (well I was tired and someone else was probably happy). I was just glad to get my shoes off, dress in something relaxing and take it easy. Mr. Swiss found it did me good to get out a bit so I suppose he is right. My cats were still in Nirvana when I got back home. Here is another view of the castle close-up.

Snow this morning

The last words my Mr. Swiss usually says to me in the morning before I leave for work is be careful - probably referring to my driving talents. We had been threatened with snow since the beginning of the week. Yesterday it was just a dusting, but today it layed on the fields, but luckily the roads were just a bit wet. We had temperatures of around 0°C but nothing was frozen. When I drive off I have to drive up a hilly bit where you get this view towards South - the Alps were in the clouds. I usually have my son with me as I drop him off on the way. It's a private road that only members of the village tribe are allowed on, so very little traffic. I took a quick look in the rear mirror, saw nothing was coming, so pulled up took this photo from the car.

Deutsch: Die letzter Wörte mein Mann sagt zu mir am morgen, bevor ich an die Arbeit gehe sind "Bist (bisch - schweizerisches) vorsichtig" - denkend an meine Fahrkunst warhrscheinlich. Bedroht waren wir schon mit Schnee seit anfangs Woche. Gestern war es nur ein feine Schneestaub, aber heute es lag auf die Felder, zum Glück war die Strassed nur etwas nass. Wir hätten 0°C Temperature, aber nichts war gefroren. Wenn ich fahre, ich muss aufwarts auf ein Landstrasse von wo man diese Blick nach Süden hat - die Alpen war in den Wolken. Mein Sohn ist immer bei mir, weil er arbeitet auf meine Arbeitsweg. Es ist ein Privatstrasse und nur Mitglieder von der Dorfstamm dürfen es befahren, deshalb sehr wenig Verkehr. Ich blickte schnell in die Spiegel, sah das nichts war in Anmarsch, haltet schnell an und nahm diese Foto von meinem Auto.

Afterwards I was in the top half of the village. Here a bit more snow, and colder. I took this photo through the car window - perhaps that is why it was so blue, or perhaps because it was seven in the morning.

Deutsch: Nachher war ich in die obere Hälfte von Dorf. Hier etwas mehr Schnee und kälter. I nahm diese Foto durch den Autofenster - vielleicht deshalb es ist ziemlich blau, or vielleicht, weil es um 7 Uhr morgens war.

The view towards the industrial area from the office window still shows a layer of snow but it was slowly disappearing. The Bise was also blowing. You don't know the Bise. Well I was surprised but found this explanation in Wikipedia:

"In Switzerland the bise blows from the north-east, above all during the winter months, and is due to a high-pressure cell north-west of Switzerland. The effects of the bise are strongest in Geneva, situated in a narrow passage between the Jura mountains in the West and the Alps in the South. Many foreign travellers to this Swiss city have commented upon it."

which more or less sums it up. It can reach speeds of 60 kilometers/hour and gusts of it can reach over 100 kilometers per hour. I can tell you it is not just cold wind but a bloody cold wind to use the right word for it., so it was one of those rare occasions when I was glad to arrive in the warmth of the office.

Deutsch: Die Ansicht gegen die Industrie von unsere Bürofenster zeigt immer noch ein Schicht Schnee, aber es war langsam am verschwinden. Die Bise bläst auch. Ihr kennt sicher die Bise. Ich fand diese Erklärung in Wikipedia

"Die Bise ist ein trockener, kalter Wind, der kalte Kontinentalluft aus dem Nordosten Europas nach Mitteleuropa befördert. Dieser erreicht wegen der Kanalisierung im Schweizer Mittelland durch die Alpen und den Jura seine größten Stärken im Genferseeraum, wo bei klassischer Bisenlage nicht selten mittlere Windgeschwindigkeiten von 60 km/h und Böenspitzen bis über 100 km/h registriert werden."

Es war einer von die rare Momente, wenn ich froh war in einem warme Büro zu sitzen.

However if you look towards North from the office window, the scenery is a bit more pleasant and you can see the first chain of the Jura mountains. On the right of the photo there is the highest point in the Kanton (county) of Solothurn known as Hasenmatt (loosely translated rabbit's field). Yes I have been up there in summer in my younger climbing days and you get a wonderful view over the flat plane down to the alps. It has now stopped snowing and it seems that we have had our share for the time being.

Deutsch: Jedoch, wenn man gegen Nord schaut durch die Bürofenster, der Landschaft ist angenehmer und man sieht die erste Kette der Jura. Auf der rechten Seite sieht man die höchste Punke in Kanton Solothurn, der Hasenmatt. Ja, ich war schon dort oben in Summer in meine jüngere Jahre und man bekommt eine schöne Aussicht über die flache Land bis zu den Alpen. Es hat jetzt aufgehört zu schneien und es scheint wir haben unsere Ration für jetzt.

Too many Cars spoil the Frog's chance of survival - Amphibienzugstelle

I was driving home one evening and noticed that this small road was being boarded off at 05.30 in the evening stopping any traffic going through. I don't need the road as I branch off towards the right. The road leads to our next village Riedholz which is very much connected to where I live. When I got home I asked Mr. Swiss what was actually going on and he showed me a pamphlet we had received.

Deutsch: Ich war auf dem Heimweg am Abend und merkte das diese kleine Strasse war gesperrt um 05.30 Abends, dass keine Verkehr durchfahren könnte. Ich brauche diese Strasse nicht, weil ich schon vorher rechts abbiegen. Die Strasse führt zu die nächster Dorf, Riedholz, was in engen Nachbarschaft liegt zu die Dorf wo ich wohne. Wenn ich zu Hause ankam, ich fragte mein Mann was eigentlich los war und er zeigte mich ein Blatt von die Gemeinde.

It was titled "Amphibia moving place - blockage Riedholz street"

And it went on - also this year the environment commission together with the Riedholz council will close the Riedholz street from time to time to enable the amphibia to cross the road in safety. During this time the traffic will be redirected through the Längweg. The usual ban on using this road will be removed during this time. It then went on to explain that in the area of this road there is a large movement of amphibia at this time of the year - especially toads, alpine newts, and some frogs. The move from the "Biedermanns pit" southwards to the forest pond "Inseli". According to the amount and year, a lot of amphibia are victims of the road. Efforts are being made to find a permanent solution keeping costs, animal welfare and usefulness in proportion. A road blockage is necessary to be able to compare the results with last year at the end of the spawning season. As the amphibien movements are very much dependent on the temperature and humidity the dates of the main moving nights cannot be exactly forecasted.

I would just add that I have permission to drive through the Langweg. It belongs to the castle park, but because I live in the village I have a special sticker on the front window showing my permission.

Deutsch: Die Titel war "Amphibienzugstelle 2008 (Sperrung Riedholzstrasse)
Auch dieses Jahr will die Umweltkommission in Zusammenarbeit mit den Riedhölzler Behörden die Riedholzstrasse periodisch sperren um den Amphibien den ungehinderten Übergang zu sichern. Wenn die riedholzstrasse ab Kreuzung Schloss Waldess gesperrt ist, wird der Verkehr über den Längweg umgeleitet. Das entsprechende Fahrverbot wird jeweils aufgehoben.

Nicht staunen an meine plötzlich superdeutsch - ich habe es abgeschrieben. Ich möchte nur sagen das für diese Langweg habe ich Fahrbewilligung, weil ich wohne in Dorf und darf durch die Schlosspark fahren.

Nachher geht es weiter. Im Bereich der Riedholzstrasse befindet sich eine grosse Amphibienzugstelle. Jährlich ziehen die Amphibien (vor allem Erdkröten, Bergmolche und teilweise Grasfrösche) in unterschiedlichen Intensitäten aus dem Bereich der "Biedermannsgrübe" in südlicher Richtung zum Waldweiher "Inseli (Laichgewässer). Je nach Intensität und Jahr werden teilweise sehr viele Amphibien Opfer des Strassenverkehrs. Wir streben eine dauerhafte Lösung an. Tierschutz, Nutzen, Kosten usw. müssen aber verhältnismässig sein. Als Massnahme wird auch dieses Jahr eine temporäre Strassensperre mit Erfolgskontrolle notwendig, damit am Ende der Laichsaison ein Vergleich mit den letztjährigen Resultaten gezogen werden kann. Um die Beobachtungen über die hauptzugstellen, das Tierverhalten usw. zu machen, muss die Riedholzstrasse temporär, wahrend der Hauptzugnächte, gesperrt werden. Da der Amphibienzug sehr stark von der Temperature und der Feuchtigkeit abhängig ist, können die Daten dieser Hauptzugnächte aber nicht genauer vorausgesagt werden.

No it is not a 1st April advanced joke, but this is actually happening. On one side of this road there is a pond, very green and slimy and the frogs love it. Seems to be an ideal maternity pond, but to get there the frogs have to cross the road to get to the other side and our local town council are being helpful. So if you are ever driving through the Swiss countryside at this time of the year, you don't only have to be careful for cats, but also frogs.

Deutsch: Nein, es ist nicht ein 1st April vorzeitige Witz, aber es findet tatsächlich statt. Auf die eine Seite der Strasse ist ein Weiher, sehr grün und mit ziemlich viel Schleim und die Frösche haben es sehr gern. Scheint ein idealer Entbindungsstation zu sein. So wenn sie irgendeinmal durch die Schweizer Landschaft fahren um diese Jahreszeit, muss man nicht nur auf die Katzen aufpassen, aber auch die Frösche.

A Winter Walk

Although we have not had any snow yet, it has been very cold lately. Even if the snow hasn't yet arrived, the trees get covered with a frosty layer when temperatures fall down to +2/-2° C, but they look very nice. I went for a short walk this afternoon with the camera to see what I could find. Just across the main road the open country starts. I decided to go direction castle and take a turn at the top to get to the hilly bit where you had a good view. On the way up the hill on the lefthand side there is a riding school. They have quite a few horses there in the stables, or outside in the paddock (or whatever it is called).

I saw that one of the horses seemed to have its Winter coat on so went a bit closer to have a look. I don't know whether she saw me or not, but did a nice little show for my camera, rolling on the ground and laying on her back. Eventually she stood up and walked over to me quite close. I cannot ride and can assure that the only horses I ever saw when I was younger was the ones that pulled the brewery carts, or those that a policeman sat on. At the mounted guards at Buckingham palace we also had a few. I did have a riding lesson once, but that was enough. I didn't realise that the horses breathed and were warm, I got a bit nervous sitting on its back and slowly dismounted (slowly because I got stuck up on its back and Mr. Swiss had to help me down). In any case I was glad that a fence separated me from the horse, especially as it sort of started breathing deeply through its nose. I wasn't sure if it wanted to be my friend or was getting ready for the attack.

I eventually arrived at the top of the hill where the castle was. This time everything seemed to have a white sugary coating in the grounds. I was glad that I was wrapped up in a nice long warm coat. I then took a turn to the right and had a walk down the side patch of the castle. I took quite a few photos, so have made a photostream to look at. I just thought they look better in a larger size, that the smaller version I have to put on the blogs.

A Winter Walk

There were not many people about, just one or two families taking a walk. I remember when our kids were smaller, we would often go for a walk on a Winter's afternoon to get out in the fresh air. Those days have gone. This afternoon my oldest son preferred to listen to his pop music at home, and the other had disappeared to one of the near bye towns visiting the billiard hall. Mr. Swiss was at home playing with his computer. I decided it was now also time for me to go home again. Gradually I was loosing the feeling in my hands and feet and my nose was turning red (a sure sign that I was feeling the cold). I walked back through the castle and noticed that the fountain had also decided to freeze, although it was still dripping slowly.

A Visit to Castle Waldegg, Feldbrunnen, Switzerland

I was driving home from work last week and saw that our local castle is now illuminated in the evenings. As it was my birthday today and in honour of the day I had taken the day off (and tomorrow as well) I decided to take a few photos. Not being very expert in night photos, I took about 10 photos, threw about 7 away and this is about the best. I risked being run over by cars which were driving passed now and again, but I think it was sort of worth it.

Castle Waldegg is on my way to work in the morning, which means I drive past twice a day during the week. To be able to drive up the avenue leading and surrounding the castle you have to have special permission. Being a member of the village I have this permission, although I dread the day when a policeman asks to see it. I know roughly where it is in the car, but I also know it will probably be a very embarrassing search process until I actually find it. I have visited the castle a couple of times since the renovation work, but this time I was armed with my camera. It has become a very popular place for excursions, and weddings, after all it is not everyone that can show a wedding photo in front of a castle. I cannot show any wedding photos, but that’s another story.

Here is a photo showing the visitor’s entrance to the castle.

So now I will bore everyone with a bit of a history lesson.

Castle Waldegg was built from 1682-1690 as the Summer house of Johann Viktor 1 of Besenval (1638-1713) and his wife Maria Margaritha von Sury (1649-1713). From all the various country houses of the Solothurn patronage Waldegg is the most beautiful and largest. An avenue lined with trees on each side lead to the baroque castle with its gardens, situated on a hill. French and Italian style elements mix with the strong architecture of the Solothurn towers.

Johann Viktor II of Besenval (1671-1736), diplomat and high officer in French service, made extensive structural changes to the building of the theatre hall and the building of the second St. Michael’s chapel, as well as bringing many works of art to Waldegg.

Although Baron Peter Viktor von Besenval (1721-1791), his son and the third owner of Waldegg was born in the castle, he lived practically all his life in France. He was responsible for the extension of the Orangerie.

In 1789 at the outbreak of the French Revolution, the decline of the family Besenval began. The family’s power achieved through commerce, mercenary services and statesmanship is today no-longer existent and the family is extinct. Waldegg was almost deserted until it was bought in 1865 by Joseph von Sury-von Besenval. The new owner made the castle once again habitable. He built two apartments in the castle and changed the baroque garden into an English garden.

In 1963 castle Waldegg came into the possession of Kanton Solothurn through a contract made with the Marguerite, Charles and Victor von Sury. Members of this family still live today in the East Wing of the castle. Some of the family also served as guards to the pope in the Vatican.

Although the meeting centre Waldegg could be used as such in 1974, extensive renovation and restoration work was necessary from 1985 until 1991 until the opening of the museum. In 1991 castle Waldegg was opened as contribution to the 700 year jubilee of the Swiss Confederation. The renovation and re-establishment of the baroque gardens received international recognition in 1995. In 2005 the adjoining buildings in the castle grounds were renovated.

The reason why I made my visit last Sunday was because they had a special open day. The visit to the castle was combined to the exhibition of handcraft Christmas gifts and a friend of mine, who does the accounts for the castle, told me that it might be interesting as they also had some very old books on show as well.

Part of the castle was also used to show various handcrafts which were sponsored by local businesses. It made a change and I quite enjoyed the visit. Mr. Swiss was occupied in seeing my son off as he arrived on the doorstep on Saturday for the week-end to attend a class reuniion after ten years. He made a quick visit from Brussels where he is at the moment working for the next two years. Here are some of the gifts on exhibit in the castle.

Part two of the Quest for a new identity card

It was a misty morning, as usual in my part of the country. We have a river nearby, the River Aare and on Autumn mornings it shows its presence. Today was the day of going to the local council office to apply for my identity card. I went to work at seven in the morning as usual and arranged to come home at nine so that me and hubby could go to the local town hall. We don't really live in a town but a small country village, and we don't have a hall but just borrow the school house if you need a big room. We walked from our place to the local offices - just five minutes. Our council office is now at the back of the local village restaurant, sort of a larger sized living room. I was very impressed, as there was even a toilet there.

Hubby and I were greeted by name as if we were old friends. The lady in charge is naturally also from the village. She had everything ready for us and just needed photos and my signature on the document. She was very friendly and it was more like a village get together than an official act. She even told us why they had such a modern toilet. When they fitted out the office, the toilet was supposed to have been somewhere on the first floor. This meant that the person in the office (there is very rarely more than one person on duty) would have to leave the office to accompany visitors if wanting to visit the toilet, so she said it should be in the same office as she worked. That is village logistic. Otherwise everything went well, I paid my seventy francs and my hubby and I were informed that we should receive our identity cards in about a week. She was almost apologetic that they might not arrive together. I mentioned that I thought it would take longer but she said when they developed the new card (which is fifty swiss francs dearer that the last one) it did take six weeks at the beginning, but now it goes much quicker. They probably had to practice a bit to get into the routine.

I walked back home with hubby and afterwards drove back to work. Oh, and here is a photo of our council office entrance. No long corridors, just a small room inside. Looks like the postman had left something outside the "office".

July 17, 2007 - 9 weekdays to go of the holiday

Today the weather had cooled down a bit, instead of 30°C we "only" had about 28°C. It was a bit cloudy and the sun was not beating down all the time. Hubby made himself comfortable in the cool of the indoors world this afternoon watching the Tour de Suisse on the TV, probably in his childhood memories of the great wins made by the Swiss teams in his childhood days. Never heard of Ferdy Kübler - for every Swiss patiot he was the hero of the cyling world at the end of the 40's beginning 50's. In any case for me the cycling races are an opportunity to take in the wonderful landscape of the places where they go. Today was somewhere in the French alps, but I decided to leave hubby in peace.

I was reading a book outside but had the idea of taking camera for a walk. Just around the corner from where I live, up the hill we have a castle (see photo). These days it is mainly used for weddings, business conferences, concerts and all sorts of cultural happenings. I have been inside and it is well worth a visit (doing some plugging for our village). In the 18th century Solothurn, our local town, was the seat of the French Ambassador in Switzerland. He had his town residence in Solothurn, but his country residence was Castle Waldegg. It is also said that Casanova spent a few days there on holiday. It was sort of fogotton for many years until it was renovated. It was painted up, and the buildings were restored to the glory they had in days gone by. The alley of trees was also renewed and I remember the trees being planted a few years back. They have now grown into stately trees, reminding me how old I now am. When they were planted my kids were still going to school.

The alley leading to the castle has fields on either side belonging to various farmers of the region, so it was no exception to meet a few cows on the way. One of them looked at me and mooed take my photo, so I obliged. He is a typical Swiss cow, known as Simmentaler.

I then made my way up the hill. I would have loved to have shown a photo of the many crows I saw on the nearbye fields, but I found crows are sly. They were all nicely placed within camera range with zoom, sitting in the mowed down cornfield and as soon as they realised they were going to be immortalised by me, they flew away to the other end of the field. As the fields are very big, I decided to continue on my way to the castle. When I eventually arrived I looked back on the view. Under special weather circumstances you have a fully clear view from right to left of the Swiss Alps including the famous three, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Today was just a normal day, so here is the view without the alps.

I then made my way homewards and passed by the local riding school. At the moment it seems to be holiday time and there were no lessons being given. However, I did find one horse on his own. He wasn't interested in me and he seemed to be hungry.

I was now finished with my excursion. Walking is supposed to be healthy, but I must admit I did feel a bit worn out and was not sorry be returning home. The last part of the walk was also surrounded by an alley, but this was much older than the road leading to the castle and the trees are naturally taller. When I got home hubby was still watching the Tour de France. I said I thought it was nearly finished, but had to learn that the race takes two weeks (lots of time for more photo safaris).

The Neighbours across the road

They are strange people really. The husband is always standing in the garden and looking for unidentified flying objects. Usually people look over the wall, but not this one. He just strains his neck and looks up towards the sky. Since he moved in he has been in this position. He does not even seem to notice people like me walking past and taking a photo. Actually his name is "L'Homme qui regarde le ciel" and he was created by Denis Perret-Gentil.

The house he belongs to is just behind him and actually it is an Art House called Galerie Vita. They have exhibitions of various modern Swiss artists. It is really just a short walk across the road from where we live. I must admit I have never paid a visit up to now, but hubby said you have a nice view of our garden from the upper floor. Before it actually became an art gallery, it was a rented for people to live in - those that could afford it, amongst them being a well-known Swiss writer and the chief of the local police.

Of course if you approach the village by car on the main road, you can see him looking out over the railway lines. Can be a bit disturbing if you drive past for the first time.