Solothurn to Trin
Monday 4/2/01 to Saturday 4/7/01
Charlie Acker
Our continued family travels in Europe have taken us through two areas of Switzerland this past week where we have been visiting two families that are long time friends. Our first stop was in Solothurn to stay with Kurt and Mona Andreatta and their two teenage children. Solothurn is an old city dating back to pre-Roman times. The walled portion of the city center was started in the thirteenth century and remains largely intact. Narrow cobble stone streets are lined with little shops with up stairs living quarters. Nearly every block has a fountain, usually with ornate statues. The clock tower and the Cathedral are the highest structures. Thick stone walls and the remains of a moat surround the inner city. Solothurn has a robust cultural life. Music and theater groups are active and the political and philosophical discussions are typical in the small restaurants and taverns. The young folks congregate on the Cathedral steps and seem to prefer American "Hip-Hop" music. I thought I might find myself a job as a Hip-Hop translator.
We also visited the historic city of Luzern on the Vierwaldstaetter See, one of many Swiss lakes in the region. High snow capped mountains surround the clear blue waters. The historic buildings dominate the skyline and the modern architecture of the cultural center and train station complement the historic center.
After a two-day visit, we drove over a pass where we found the Einsiedeln Cloister. Light snow showers did not stick to the ground and the air was clear, cold and fresh. The church at Einsiedeln contains an impressive display of high-arched, painted and gilded ceilings with ornate statues and a profound solemnity. Einsiedeln is home to an important religious icon called the "Black Madonna". After a short visit there we drove to Chur, then up another pass into the Alps in the Graubuenden Canton which is where the Heidi story comes from. Our friends Juerg and Muecke Tschuemperlin have two young children, Josh and Hannah. They live in a picturesque historic village called Trin, perched on a mountain-side overlooking productive farm lands. Juerg and Muecke work together as Naturopaths for animals. Rosi met Juerg in South America while traveling there nearly 25 years ago. Their home dates back to the 1700's and is of traditional log, plank and stone construction. Graubuenden Canton's native language is Romanish, spoken in three dialects. The language, akin to Latin, is almost dead, but is the primary language in the local schools.
After some morning sledding in fresh fallen snow, we were given a tour of the local water and power works by the Swiss operator named Felix. A cavern had been dug by hand into the mountainside where a spring of nearly 800 gallons per minute was discovered. While hollowing out the dolomite mountainside formation to create over a half-million gallon storage vessel, another spring of over 1900 gallons per minute was found. The spring water is used for the village of some 1000 homes. The excess water is combined with abundant surface water flow to run a hydroelectric turbine generating 1600 kilowatts-hours, almost enough power for the entire village.
I asked Felix about water testing and regulation by the government. "The water is clean, it needs no tests, no filtration and no chemicals," I was told. The government might send somebody around to look every ten years or so!
The Swiss people have voted not to participate in the European Union, which they feel is important to their independence. Their laws are quite liberal with legislation actually put to a vote of the people.
Logging continues in the mountain areas, but is not considered destructive. They select trees carefully for high quality "mountain wood", which is close grained and strong. Trees are cut according to the season and by the phase of the moon (no kidding) when there is the least amount of water in the tree.
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