March 14, 2009
"Rösti mit Gschnätzeltes"
After a long night's sleep I woke suddenly with a little bit of panic as I glanced at my cell phone and saw the time was 12:00 noon, oh Mensch, I can't believe I slept 10 hours straight, and what about Urs, my boss, he was coming to meet me at 11:00am to go into town. I quickly showered and dressed, then I urgently unpacked my suitcases, got a bit organized, and finally made a cup of instant NesCafe that Urs and his wife Sandra had provided, along with the fully stocked refrigerator. I took the coffee out on the balcony, and sat in the warm morning sunshine, with a tiny view of the Swiss Alps on the horizon. I noticed the sun wasn't as high in the sky as I would expect for just past noon, but didn't think too hard, I wasn't really awake just yet. After I finished my coffee and made my way toward the kitchen for breakfast, I caught a glimpse of a small clock on the nightstand that I hadn't noticed the night before, and the time said 8:40am. What??!! I looked at my phone again, and it was 12:40, but then I noticed it said A.M., oh man! I thought I had changed it, but realized I had only changed the time zone on my laptop...oh well, I was up now, fully dressed, showered, and caffienated, AND on the right time zone so I would be less likely to oversleep two days later on my first morning to the office.
With the ample provisions I found from Urs & Sandra, I made a nice hearty breakfast, eggs, bacon, and fresh Swiss bread, kissed with some incredible black cherry marmalade. Wow, that hit the spot after two days of travelling and eating a bit wierd along the way.
After breakfast Urs arrived as promised, we visited our offices at Swisscom and began the process of assimilating me into life in the Schweiz! The office is very modern, with specialized automatic shutters that open and close to create natural radiant heat from the sun in the cooler months and create a shading effect in the summer. When closed, the shutters gave the effect that the buildings were a series of big shiny silver cubes. We had travelled by bus from my flat to the office, also for orientation purposes, and so we headed back the same way so I wouldn't get lost. It turned out to be a very straight shot. We stopped at a grocery store across the street from my flat called Migros and did some shopping for some more essentials. The store was very intersesting of course, but I'll spare you the details. We proceeded into downtown, less than 5 minutes by car easily, and found a parking space in the crowded garage below the bustling streets of the common European style Saturday market. Emerging from the underground, we found everything from cheese stands of course, to fresh crepes being made, a life size chess match taking place, and lot's and lot's and lot's of Swiss eating, drinking, talking, laughing and shopping. A great sight to see. Our lunch consisted of chocolate truffels and chocolate crepes. A nice start, this IS Switzerland afterall.
We walked through the heart of ancient downtown Bern, dating back to the 12th century, taking in the sights, watching the Zytglogge chime at 4:00 pm, marvelling at the Münster, Christoffelturm, and Heiliggeistkirche then looking out over the River Aare winding around the Matte district as the sun began to lower in the sky, lighting up the Alps with Eiger, Mönch und Jungfrau on the horizon. Spring is just emerging, but the mountains, and even nearby hills are still draped in white.
After purchasing my monthly train & bus pass downtown, Urs and I headed toward out of Bern and toward his village of Worb, where his wife & daughters were preparing dinner and wonderful welcome to Switzerland. We drove through the forelands of the Alps enroute, passing by a trio of mountain peaks known as Eiger (a Swiss man's name), Monk, and the Young Lady, auf Deutsch einfach Eiger, Mönch und Jungfrau. Jungrau is the most well known and famous peak in Switzerland. The panorama from the villages enroute to Worb, in Belp und Münsingen was quite spectacular!
We arrived in Worb and I was greeted by two wonderful little Mädlis named Charlene and Chiara, with hugs and kisses that reminded me of my daughters back home when they were that age. There sweet little voices sang through the house as they took me by the hand on a delightful grand tour of every room in SchlossWehrli (except the bomb shelter/wine cellar which Urs himself would show me later, telling me that every home in Switzerland, and even my apartment building, has one in case of war or some emergency situation).
I could smell dinner cooking in the kitchen as Sandra greeted me with a Swiss embrace that really felt like family, it was so nice to be with family so many miles from my own, and to hear the laughter and play of their little girls, 4 and 5. A big beer was there to greet me as well, as we made einen Prosit (toast) to our reunion in Switzerland. The girls enjoyed some presents from our family in Alaska, giggling, playing, drawing, laughing and dancing the whole while. The sun was setting behind the alps with a great view from their balcony as the dinner bell rang.
We all came together at the Wehrli table as the delicious smelling dinner of Rösti mit Gschnätzeltes was served. Sandra had been working hard for sure. For starters, cream cheese stuffed mushrooms wrapped in bacon and oven roasted and a Nüsslisalat mit Ei, made from greens that I have never known, and which are perhaps never available in Alaska...though I will now be on a mission to grow them in my own garden. It seems they are a cold weather climate green, sweet and tender, making a delightful salad. By the way Nüsslisalat translates into English as "lamb's lettuce" or "corn salad", but I don't know if it exists in the states. If you ever hear of it, dig in!
Next the hot dishes of Rösti (a very tasty fried potato dish that is well known throughout Switzerland and can be found in many variations with a variety of toppings and ingredients). Ours was the classic, perfect, delcious and matching the main course of Gschnätzeltes beautifully. Gschnätzeltes, a great first Swiss dialect word and introduction to Swiss Cuisine regional food, is a a saute of meat and mushrooms, onion, and garlic with a cream sauce and is tzpically prepared with pork, veal, or beef. Tonight was pork and absolutely plate-licking delicious! After dinner I played guitar and sang with the girls, while they danced until it was time for bett. Vielen, vielen dank Familie Werhli für die Herzliche Wilkommen in der Schweiz! Thank you for the warm, tasty welcome to Worb and die Schweiz Familie Wehrli!!!
