WADENSWIL AND TAUFS, SWITZERLAND• Another lovely, well-paced day in Switzerland. I sleep solidly here, and the mornings are slow and happy. A nice breakfast or yogurt and fruit, croissants and coffee again (yes please!) followed by a nice countryside walk. Lolli, (pronounced Lo-lee) joined us and she happily pranced underfoot, occasionally chasing a ball and catching it with precise aim, often without even a bounce! We saw cows and hills, of course, and beautiful gardens. As a couple walked towards us in the distance, Reeli told me that he once told her in a rather unfriendly way that his wife is afraid of dogs and she should put Lolli on a leash. So, as good all dog-owners do, she preemptively put Lolli on a leash well before they got close. As we passed them, he gave us a curt “Grüezi mitenand” (hello, everyone) while making a grave, stone sculpture expression. I would not care to be friends with him.
I do love wandering foreign grocery stores, and was happy to get to do it here in Switzerland that afternoon. I stocked-up on gifts for my family; favorite treats we cannot get at home like certain chocolates, Rosti (sort of like a hash brown), Aromat, which is a seasoning that’s great on salads. We wandered the neighborhood from there for a little bit and headed back to the house for lunch on the sunny patio.
Reeli joked as she made her salad “It’s just a salad and somehow it takes forever!” She said as she added more goodness to the bowl.
But, I tell you, I would eat a salad every day if it was like this one! I will have to recreate it when I’m home. It won’t be the same of course, sitting at my desk at work, but I can try.
Billy and Reeli’s garden is truly out of this world. I visited Billy in his greenhouse and asked him to show me around. He was very proud of the special shutter windows, and he should be! There is a device measuring the tempereature outside and the shuttered windows open and close as needed to keep the temperature in the greenhouse just right. Mostly he makes flower seedlings in there, though there are also come vegetables too, and it’s neat to see what a huge collection of seeds he has accumulated in his little cabinet.
I’m not sure the photos will do it justice but maybe they’ll give you a sense of this paradise they have grown here!
A relaxing afternoon followed lunch and in the early evening, we took a picturesque drive to the mountains to my cousin Anne’s cabin in Taufts, Switzerland. It is her family’s skiing cabin but in truth, you can go at any time. Apparently, with the steep and narrow road leading to their cabin, it can be treacherous in winter!
This place is something from a dream!
BEAN'S BABBLETORIUM 