It had been 12 active days, from Appenzell in northeastern Switzerland, to Glarus and Elm, then across northern Switzerland to the French wine country in the west, to the tony destinations of Montreux, Grueyere and Gstaad, to the iconic Matterhorn, through the scenic Rhone Valley, across the spine of the Alps to Interlaken, and to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald. Thanks to our guide, Hans Bernet, we had experiences that typical tourists never have.
It was only fitting that our last full day would be through the Emmental in the heart of Switzerland, a region less influenced by tourism than much of the country. The "tal," translated as "valley" of the Emme River, is among rolling hills, lush meadows, and patches of forests. It is not surprising that so many Swiss Americans in our area of southern Wisconsin are of ancestors that came from this agricultural area of Switzerland. After all, this is the region from which what we call "Swiss cheese" originated.
Emmentaler, or Swiss cheese, is the unofficial symbol of Wisconsin, its fame enhanced by the cheese wedges proudly worn by Green Bay Packer fans throughout the world. When people think of cheese in general, it's that wedge of Swiss, or Emmentaler, that automatically comes to mind.
Even the style of architecture in the Emmental is familiar to people in Green County. The architecture of Monroe's Turner Hall is distinctly of the Emmental. It is only logical that preparations are underway to make Langnau, a municipality in the Emmental, Monroe's friendship city. Monroe's mayor, Bill Ross, has accompanied Hans and Bobbie Bernet on an earlier visit to Langnau to bring this about.
We stop in Langnau and visit the museum, housed in a building dating back to 1526. The museum features furniture and artifacts of the region dating back hundreds of years.
We board the bus and roll through vistas of hay fields, pastures with grazing cows, cattle barns and neatly kept chalets. Near the town of Malters, we pass within sight of the farm from where the father of one of our tour group, Mary Zimmerman, was raised. He emigrated to Wisconsin in 1926.
We reach the city of Lucerne and stop briefly to view the famous bridge across the Reuss. Our next stop is Altdorf where we view a statue of Wilhelm Tell and his son, another connection to Monroe's Turner Hall.
In the Ratskeller of Turner Hall hangs a painting by Monroe's late cheese baron, Carl Marty, patterned after that statue in Altdorf. My high school classmate, Wally Marty, Carl's grandson, points out to observers the grim look of Tell's son on that painting. Wally explains this his older brother, Rob, a child at the time, was the reluctant model for his grandfather when he did the painting. Of course the kid had other priorities than his role in perpetuating Swiss culture, hence his grim look that is evident on that painting.
We reach Fluelen in Canton Uri, on the east bank of Lake Lucerne where we spend our final evening in Switzerland. Fluelen has been an important trans-shipment point for many centuries. Until the construction of the railroad, the lake provided the best link to cities in northern Switzerland.
As always, dinner at the hotel is superb and on this final evening everyone takes photos to capture memories of this tour.
Next morning, we head north toward Zurich and the airport. We pass the Tellkappele where, according to legend, Wilhelm Tell escaped from his Austrian captors back in the 13th century.
Legend? Maybe - and maybe not. Legend has it that Tell was a peasant from Burglen in what is now Canton Uri in the early 13th century. Tell had defied Austrian authority. The tyrant, Gessler, forced Tell to prove his marksmanship with crossbow by shooting an apple from his son's head.
Tell withdrew two arrows from his quiver. With the first arrow, he successfully shot the apple from his son's head. When asked what the second arrow was for, Tell replied that if he had failed on his first shot, the second arrow was for Gessler himself. With that, Tell was captured, bound, and taken on a boat to be imprisoned.
As the party set out in the boat, a vicious storm came up. Because of Tell's superior strength and skill at seamanship, he was released in order to save the boat. Upon Tell's release, he escaped and eventually killed the tyrant, Gessler. Through Tell's leadership, the cantons of Uri, Unterwalden, and Schwyz, the latter from which Switzerland derived its name, united to form the nucleus of what was to become the Old Swiss Confederacy.
The saga of Wilhelm Tell became well known through the stirring play by the German dramatist, Friedrich von Schiller. This drama is annually re-enacted in New Glarus at the Labor Day Wilhelm Tell Festival.
Critics doubt the actual existence of Wilhelm Tell, dismissing it all as embellished legend. To these critics, I suggest they take a look at the embellishment by Hollywood, television, and the rest of it on the embellished legends of settling the American West. Any real or alleged embellishment of the Tell legend pales in comparison.
Our excursion had to come to an end but the memories remain. We all leave Switzerland with a greater understanding and appreciation, and increased sense of pride in the land of our ancestors.
It is up to us to preserve Swiss heritage and culture through our area's many Swiss festivals and performing groups, and through institutions such as Turner Hall. After all, it was the Swiss Heritage Series of Turner Hall that made this excursion possible.
For this, all are grateful and will cherish the memories.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
It was only fitting that our last full day would be through the Emmental in the heart of Switzerland, a region less influenced by tourism than much of the country. The "tal," translated as "valley" of the Emme River, is among rolling hills, lush meadows, and patches of forests. It is not surprising that so many Swiss Americans in our area of southern Wisconsin are of ancestors that came from this agricultural area of Switzerland. After all, this is the region from which what we call "Swiss cheese" originated.
Emmentaler, or Swiss cheese, is the unofficial symbol of Wisconsin, its fame enhanced by the cheese wedges proudly worn by Green Bay Packer fans throughout the world. When people think of cheese in general, it's that wedge of Swiss, or Emmentaler, that automatically comes to mind.
Even the style of architecture in the Emmental is familiar to people in Green County. The architecture of Monroe's Turner Hall is distinctly of the Emmental. It is only logical that preparations are underway to make Langnau, a municipality in the Emmental, Monroe's friendship city. Monroe's mayor, Bill Ross, has accompanied Hans and Bobbie Bernet on an earlier visit to Langnau to bring this about.
We stop in Langnau and visit the museum, housed in a building dating back to 1526. The museum features furniture and artifacts of the region dating back hundreds of years.
We board the bus and roll through vistas of hay fields, pastures with grazing cows, cattle barns and neatly kept chalets. Near the town of Malters, we pass within sight of the farm from where the father of one of our tour group, Mary Zimmerman, was raised. He emigrated to Wisconsin in 1926.
We reach the city of Lucerne and stop briefly to view the famous bridge across the Reuss. Our next stop is Altdorf where we view a statue of Wilhelm Tell and his son, another connection to Monroe's Turner Hall.
In the Ratskeller of Turner Hall hangs a painting by Monroe's late cheese baron, Carl Marty, patterned after that statue in Altdorf. My high school classmate, Wally Marty, Carl's grandson, points out to observers the grim look of Tell's son on that painting. Wally explains this his older brother, Rob, a child at the time, was the reluctant model for his grandfather when he did the painting. Of course the kid had other priorities than his role in perpetuating Swiss culture, hence his grim look that is evident on that painting.
We reach Fluelen in Canton Uri, on the east bank of Lake Lucerne where we spend our final evening in Switzerland. Fluelen has been an important trans-shipment point for many centuries. Until the construction of the railroad, the lake provided the best link to cities in northern Switzerland.
As always, dinner at the hotel is superb and on this final evening everyone takes photos to capture memories of this tour.
Next morning, we head north toward Zurich and the airport. We pass the Tellkappele where, according to legend, Wilhelm Tell escaped from his Austrian captors back in the 13th century.
Legend? Maybe - and maybe not. Legend has it that Tell was a peasant from Burglen in what is now Canton Uri in the early 13th century. Tell had defied Austrian authority. The tyrant, Gessler, forced Tell to prove his marksmanship with crossbow by shooting an apple from his son's head.
Tell withdrew two arrows from his quiver. With the first arrow, he successfully shot the apple from his son's head. When asked what the second arrow was for, Tell replied that if he had failed on his first shot, the second arrow was for Gessler himself. With that, Tell was captured, bound, and taken on a boat to be imprisoned.
As the party set out in the boat, a vicious storm came up. Because of Tell's superior strength and skill at seamanship, he was released in order to save the boat. Upon Tell's release, he escaped and eventually killed the tyrant, Gessler. Through Tell's leadership, the cantons of Uri, Unterwalden, and Schwyz, the latter from which Switzerland derived its name, united to form the nucleus of what was to become the Old Swiss Confederacy.
The saga of Wilhelm Tell became well known through the stirring play by the German dramatist, Friedrich von Schiller. This drama is annually re-enacted in New Glarus at the Labor Day Wilhelm Tell Festival.
Critics doubt the actual existence of Wilhelm Tell, dismissing it all as embellished legend. To these critics, I suggest they take a look at the embellishment by Hollywood, television, and the rest of it on the embellished legends of settling the American West. Any real or alleged embellishment of the Tell legend pales in comparison.
Our excursion had to come to an end but the memories remain. We all leave Switzerland with a greater understanding and appreciation, and increased sense of pride in the land of our ancestors.
It is up to us to preserve Swiss heritage and culture through our area's many Swiss festivals and performing groups, and through institutions such as Turner Hall. After all, it was the Swiss Heritage Series of Turner Hall that made this excursion possible.
For this, all are grateful and will cherish the memories.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
