Rambling Around Switzerland, Schweiz, Suisse, or Suizza, depending on your choice of language...
One of the pleasures accompanying any hike in Switzerland in the Spring (or early summer) is abundant wildflowers. It is difficult to keep track of the variety of blooms one sees springing up from the hills. The flowers change with the altitude. The bright blue flowers next to Mrs. H's hand were new to us when we made the long ascent up to Kleine Scheidegg (see below). They are almost as popular as the elusive edelweiss flower for advertising in Switzerland. We did not see any edelweiss, as it grows up very high and is usually hidden, but we saw many representations of it, as well as pressed edelweiss in many tourist knick knacks.
Demise of the Beard!
The goatee
Shaving action.
Fu Man Chu
Hitler mustache
The famous wooden bridge over Lake Lucerne was recently burned by vandals, but the Swiss rebuilt the burnt sections. Above the walkway there were paintings but after the burning these were replaced with mere facsimiles of the old paintings. However, they are still quite ornate and very interesting.
Early in her marriage, my 98 year old great aunt, Dorothy Hanan, stayed in this hotel- the Hotel Des Balances. We were impressed with the ornate walls and ceilings, as well as the furniture, but we did not stay there on this particular visit. It has a lovely view of the lake.
Church in Lucerne
These mechanisms under plastic powered the boat we rode across the lake in. We were passengers of the William Tell Express. Apparently, William Tell was a local boy to this area and the captain played portions of the Overture as we crossed the lake to Feulen.
Renovated steam ships shuttles passengers back and forth long the length of Lake Lucerne.
Dwelling in the Alps, the Swiss are accustomed to going to great pains to builds their roads. The road pictured here is a good example. You can see how they were able to carve it from the side of the cliff.
A major pro-life campaign is going on in Switzerland at this time. It is larger than any we have seen in the States. The first picture on the left is of a 12 week fetus, the second of a five year old child and the last is of a garbage sack with the words "terminal solution" over it. The large letters along the top read, "I would like to live, please."
Kleine Scheidegg is one of the most attractive points in Switzerland. We had the privilege of seeing in it in both cloudy and clear weather. Seeing the clouds dance in among the peaks was breath-taking.
From Kleine Scheidegg, three main peaks can be seen- the Eiger, the Monk and the Jungfrau (l. to r.) The Monk and the Jungfrau (Nun) are so named because of a monastery that was in the area for many years. The Eiger is best known for the imposing face shown in the picture- this face is called the "North Face" and numerous books and movies have been made about climbers who have attempted to climb its treacherous heights. One of the greaquiz dangers hikers have faced is the numerous rocks that begin to fall each day when the sun hits the face. The sun causes the rocks in the face to warm and crack, thus releasing lethal missiles at climbers below. In order to avoid the rocks, climbers have resorted to climbing at night.
This panorama shows the three peaks.
In the center of this picture is the Jungfrau Joch. For a small price of $90 a piece, travelers can take a tram ride up to this building and enjoy the view. The ride lasts about 15 minutes and goes almost entirely through a rock tunnel in the mountain itself. We decided that we had a million dollar view from where we stood and opted out of going all the way up.
When going up or down steep mountains, conventional train wheels cannot produce enough friction to propel the train up the mountain or restrain it properly when descending. The solution to this problem is a rack and pinion drive for the train. If you enlarge this picture, you can see the arrangement between the wheels.
We spent the night in a "Touristen Lager" just above Kleine Scheidegg. During the winter these huts are used by skiers, but during the summer hikers can use them for a very reasonable price. They have a unique arrangement- long mattresses are provided where numerous guests all sleep side-by-side in their own sleep-sacks. If you happen to be in the same room with some snoring hiker, you can have a rather sleepless night. During the Summer, few people stay in them, so you can usually have a room to yourself. We had six bunk beds to ourselves, as well as the lovely view you see on the right. We awoke to a great breakfast (included in the price) of bread with jam, butter, Nutella, and hot cocoa. We were particularly delighted by the kitty napkins that came with it. As cute as the kitty was, it was difficult to keep our eyes off of the pristinely white Eiger and the way it looked on a clear day.
This chalet was roofed with large slates of stone. Notice how they are attractively arranged on the top of the roof.
After spending the night in Kleine Scheidegg, we walked down to Lauterbrunnen. By the end of the hike, our legs were quite sore, but we had been able to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in Switzerland. The Lauterbrunnen Valley is the Swiss equivalent of Yosemite.
The large waterfall coming into the valley turns to mist entirely before falling on the rocks below.
Trummelbach Falls
One of the great wonders of the Lauterbrunnen Valley is the Trummelbach Falls. The many glaciers on the Monk, Eiger and Jungfrau all feed their waters into the Lauterbrunnen Valley. The stream that carries these waters has carved itself through the rock near the valley floor.
These falls can only been seen by using the tunnels dug through the rock to each fall.
The interior of St. Martin's is decorated in a Medieval fashion. Notice the exquisite and copious decoration about the edges. The painting is all done by hand so you can notice slight variations between each ornament.
This house next to the cathedral is also graced with abundant decoration.
The Geneva floral clock
At the persuasion of Guilliame Farel, Calvin came to preach in Geneva's St. Pierre Cathedral. During Calvin's time, the church had no organ, but since then a modern organ has been installed. During and prior to the time of the Reformation, many Christians felt that the use of instruments in church was not appropriate. Before the 13th century, organs were almost non-existent in churches as well as polyphonic singing (singing in harmony). During the 13th century there were huge debates regarding the church music. Some argued that if God meant for us to sing in harmony, he would have given us two voice boxes.
This is the chair that Calvin used while at St. Pierre.
This ornate pulpit is the one that Calvin and Farel would have preached from. Imagine the great reformation doctrines they taught from here.
After a nice long climb, we arrived at the top of the church, where we were rewarded with a great view of Geneva. Notice the Geneva fountain in the lake.
Interior structure of the Cathedral- large scale timberframing!
We met a very kind brother in the Lord in St. Pierre's named Theodore Lachat. He was a pastor in Geneva and Africa as a young man and is now a theology and Hebrew teacher in a Bible college in Denmark. He gave us a personal tour of Calvin's school, which now houses three separate congregations: a Scottish, Italian and a Dutch church. The building has been named after Knox, the great Scottish Reformer. Mr. Lachat accepted our invitation to lunch and we enjoyed some lovely crepes together.
Calvin used to live at this location, though a new building stands where his home once was.
The Reformation wall- this wall is a monument to the reformation influences arising from the city of Geneva. The four central figures are John Knox, Jean Calvin, Théodore de Bèze, and Guillaume Farel (Left to Right). There are also six Calvinistic political reformers shown, including Oliver Clomwell and the write of the Mayflower compact. Each political reformer is accompanied with a quote from a political document that shows their Calvinistic influence. The thrust of the moment commemorates the fact that the Calvinistic reformation tended to produce democratic political structures. Though it did produce democracy, it is lamentable that this monument does not mention the theological doctrines that were the source of the reformation's strength.
Lutherans and Zwinglians have often objected to the fact that there was no mention of their founding fathers on the reformation wall. The Genevans allowed these two non-Genevans a place in the monument with these two large stones inscribed with the names of the neglected reformers.
The first Calvin College.
11th century manuscript of the Iliad. When compared to the quality of the Biblical manuscripts, those for most ancient Pagan texts are quite scanty. We have manuscripts from the Bible that date to within a hundred years of the original writing, however, for Pagan texts such as this one from the Iliad, they rarely come within a thousand years.
Before the mass production of books through the printing press, great care was taken in their production. Not only was the text itself carefully copied, but it was also ornately decorated, sometimes even with gold gilding. Illustrations helpful to understanding the text were also included. Such decorated books are called "illuminated manuscripts". It is interesting to note that some of the earliest book printed on the printing press were still decorated by hand after the text was printed.
Early Bible
hmmmm- forgot what this was. :-(
First edition of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion- see the year four GBT reading list!
A letter penned by John Calvin to his friend and fellow reformer in Geneva, Farel.
Early English Bible printed in Geneva because they were banned in England at the time.
First edition of one of John Knox's works- printed in Geneva.
Work of John Knox
Rouseau's death mask- a death mask is made immediately after someone dies in order to preserve their physical appearance.
Though no great friend of Reformation theology, Rousseau gladly lived in Geneva and found its political liberty very helpful when putting forth his skeptical philosophy.
A page from the Social Contract in Rousseau's own hand! - Once again see the GBT IV reading list!
First edition printing for the Social Contract.
Rousseau's working copy of his infamous book on education - L'Emile.
Rousseau's mathematical correspondence.
Rousseau's musical dictionary- a very widely studied man!
Rousseau's watch and timepiece for those interested in his personal tastes.
The Ile de Rousseau- a small island decorated in his memory.