The Big Event

When I first wrote about my planned trip to Europe, I explained that my reason for going was to attend the 70th birthday party of my Swiss cousin Werner.  My cousin Brigitta, with whom I was staying, is Werner's sister.  So, of course, she and her husband Peter were attending the event.  Around noon on the Saturday of the party, they drove me from Uster, where they live, to Othmarsingen, the ancestral home of the family.  Othmarsingen is about 30 miles to the east, on the other side of Zurich, and the party was going to be at the house that belonged to their parents.

The event was planned to be held in the back yard, and we were all concerned about the weather.  As it turned out, the weather was perfect... warm and sunny.

There were perhaps fifty people at the party.  I did not know some of them, but there were many others, including numerous cousins, that I knew from previous trips.  Most everyone speaks English, so there were plenty of people with whom I could chat.  I did not have a chance to talk at length with Werner since, as the host, he had to mingle with all his guests.  I gave him his birthday gift, which was my original painting which I used to create this year's Christmas cards.

A bar had been set up in the back yard, and there was a food truck which was serving tacos.  I had my doubts as to how authentic the tacos would be, but, other than the fact that they were served on flour tortillas, they were quite good.  They even had cilantro and salsas for garnishing them and lime wedges.  (A squeeze of lime juice is obligatory for an authentic taco.)  I had to chuckle watching some of the guests attempt to eat a taco, and I showed a couple of them how to roll it up.

There was also a band performing throughout the afternoon.

  

Werner, the birthday boy, is to the left, and he is with his brother and sisters.

 

I had brought my luggage with me, because after the party, my cousin Walter and his wife Helen were taking me to their home in Aarau (just nine miles to the east) where I was to stay for the next three nights.

A Once in Every Six Years Holiday

Yesterday, October 1st, was a public holiday in Mexico.  However, the holiday occurs only once every six years.  It is the day of the inauguration of the new President.

This morning the front page of every newspaper in the city (and most likely the entire nation) bore the image of the first woman President in Mexico's history, Claudia Sheinbaum.  In fact, she is the first woman President in the history of the entire continent of North America.

(Even "Metro", a tabloid that is dedicated more to sports and crime reporting and outrageous stories, had a picture of Sheinbaum in the corner of its front page.)

"...promete hacer de México ´potencia científica´"

"She promises to make Mexico a scientific power."

Given the fact that she has a Ph.D. in energy engineering, one would hope that her Presidency will have a scientific slant.

"Gobernaré para todos, sin odios, por un país próspero."

"I will govern for everyone, without hatred, for a prosperous country."

Let's hope that those words are not just platitudes. 

Hopefully, within a few months, there will be another woman President on the North American continent.

A Delightful Town

I mentioned earlier that I had taken a train to Schaffhausen to visit the Rheinfall.  You perhaps have never heard of Schaffhausen before, but it was one of the highlights of my trip.  I told you that I would frequently use the German word "Altstadt" which means Old Town.  I saw many on this trip (and there are more to come), but my favorite "Altstadt" was that of Schaffhausen.  Its compact and largely pedestrianized Old Town is a delight, and it is not overrun with tourists.  After viewing the Rheinfall, I spent the afternoon wandering its picturesque streets.

The "Altstadt" is filled with lovely buildings, some dating from the Renaissance.  A number of them have elaborately painted facades.

The town is also noted for its oriel windows (a type of bay window).  There are 171 of them.

The history of the Church of St. Johann goes back to the 11th century, but the current structure was built in the 14th through 16th centuries.  Originally a Catholic Church, it became a Protestant church at the beginning of the Reformation.

On a hill overlooking Schaffhausen is a circular fortress called Munot.  It was built in the 1500s to protect the town.  The only time that it saw military action was in 1799 when Napoleon came through here on his way back from Austria.

This little staircase along a street in the "Altstadt" turned out to be the way to climb to the fortress.

The hillside is covered with vineyards.

Inside Munot there is a large dark chamber where troops would have gathered in case of attack.

A spiral ramp leads up to the roof.

From there you have a great view of the town.

After exploring Schaffhausen, it was time to have dinner before taking the train back to Zurich.  I went to a place called Restaurant Falken.

I started with a Swiss specialty that I had never seen before... "weissweinsuppe" (white wine soup).  It was very good and rich with cream.

For my main dish I had schnitzel again.  It seems that schnitzel is always served with French fries.  I wish that instead they would serve it with German potato salad or red cabbage.

Before I ordered my meal, I got a chuckle out of the saying on the placemat.  And I also felt proud that with my rudimentary knowledge of German I was able to understand it.

"Beer is made from hops.

Hops is a plant.

So, beer is practically a salad."

It's October

The year is flying by, and it is time to turn the page of the calendar to October.

The calendar that I made for 2024 features pieces of Mexican art.  October's photo is appropriate for this time of year.  Although the Day of the Dead is not until November 2nd, in a few weeks the events leading up to that day will begin.  The painting, entitled "La Ofrenda" (The Offering) is by Saturnino Herrán.

Herrán is not a well-known name, even in his native Mexico.  A few years ago, I wrote about him on this blog when I attended a special exhibit of his work at the National Museum of Art in Mexico City.  That is where I took this photo of his most famous painting.

Herrán was a member of an art movement called "indigenismo", which recognized the racial diversity of Mexico, and which captured the dignity and beauty of the people and their traditions.  "The Offering" is an allegory representing the journey of life.  A group of people, of all ages, are on one of the flat-bottomed boats that are typical of the canals of Xochimilco on Mexico City's south side.  The boat is filled with a cargo of marigolds, the flower that is used on the altars that are set up for the Day of the Dead in remembrance of departed loved ones.  Although each person on the boat represents a different stage of life, they are all on the same journey leading to the same ultimate destination.

Sadly. Herrán reached his final destination at a much too early age.  In 1918, he died at the age of only 31 from gastric problems.    

A Trip to the Falls

On Friday, September 20th, I took the train again from cousin Brigitta's house to the main station in Zurich.  However, instead of doing more sightseeing in Zurich, I decided to go a bit farther afield.  I went into the ticket office of the Swiss Federal Railways, and asked about going to the town of Schaffhausen and the nearby Rheinfall, a waterfall along the Rhine River.  The gentleman in the rail office sold me a package ticket for round trip train travel to the two locations.  The ticket was good for anytime during the day, so I was not stuck to a set schedule.

The next train to Schaffhausen was leaving in about 20 minutes.  I had plenty of time to get to the platform and hop on the train.  It was a quick train ride... less than an hour... to get to Schaffhausen, a picturesque town on the Rhine.  But more about Schaffhausen later.  I wanted to visit the falls first.  They are located a few miles downstream, and I had to transfer to a train going to the next town, Neuhausen.  However, I did not realize that Neuhausen had more than one train stop, and I should have continued farther.  At the stop where I got off, there was a nice walking path along the Rhine leading to the falls.  It was a 20 minute walk to get to the falls, but it was a warm and sunny... a perfect day for a short hike.

 

As I came nearer to the falls, the calm river became more turbulent.

On a hillside overlooking the falls is a castle called Schloss Laufen.  The earliest reference to the castle is from the year 858, although it has been much changed since then. You have to pay admission to see the falls from there.  It seemed to me that in spite of the fact that the castle is very close to the falls, the view would be better farther down on this side of the Rhine.  So, I continued down the path.

I reached the point where the Rhine plummets over the rocks.

From here I descended a flight of steps, and then a promenade extended along the curve of the river.  There was an excellent view directly opposite the falls.

With a height of only 75 feet, the Rheinfall is certainly not the most impressive waterfall in the world, but it is the most powerful in Europe, with a flow of 21,000 cubic feet of water per second. 

There are boat excursions which take visitors right up to the waterfall.

Passengers can get off the boat at a dock on the small island in the middle of the falls.  They can then climb a staircase to the top of the rock.

It would have been an interesting experience, but I decided that I did not want to be soaked from the mist of the falls.

I was not looking forward to the walk back with plenty of steps to climb.  But then I discovered where the nearby train station was located, and there was even an elevator to avoid part of the climb.  After a short wait, a train came to take me to my next stop, Schaffhausen. 

Am I Still in Europe?

Forgive me for jumping back and forth between the narrative of my trip to Europe and what is going on now in Mexico.  On Saturday evening, when I returned home, I really wasn't hungry since they had served two meals on the flight.  However, Alejandro had not eaten, so after we returned to the apartment, we went out to a nearby restaurant.  Where did we go?  To the "Fondue Haus".  So, having just returned from Switzerland, I had another Swiss meal.

 

Then yesterday, Alejandro wanted to go to City Market, an upscale supermarket with a branch not too far from the apartment.  The store had been advertising an "Oktoberfest" event featuring products from Germany.  So, we put on our raincoats and took our umbrellas and walked through the rain about twenty minutes to the store.

Throughout the store there were displays that had a German flag and a sign saying, "Guten Tag. Enjoy the best of Germany."

Some of the products were imported from Germany, others were German-style foods made in Mexico.  For example, this case featured imported German cheeses and German cold cuts made by a Mexican brand.

The in-store bakery made all sorts of German cakes, pastries and breads.

When Alejandro and I make an occasional visit to City Market, we usually indulge in some gelato at their café.  This time, they had a number of flavors inspired by German desserts, such as Sacher torte, Black Forest cake, and Stollen.

Needless to say, we had to try out some of the German flavors.

I purchased a number of items while we were at City Market... most of them imported from Germany.  I brought home two jars of sauerkraut, a loaf of bread made in their bakery, a bag of wide egg noodles (something I have never been able to find in Mexico), and a bag of spätzle.

(In case Helen, the wife of my Swiss cousin Walter, reads this...  "Yes, Helen, I do intend to use the spätzle maker that you gave me while I was visiting.  I bought the bag of spätzle for when I don't feel like making home-made.")