Today we joined Sue and Steve and went to the monastery at Einsiedein. It is a HUGE complex of connecting buildings.
It's a Benedictine Monastery so they believe in silence, worship and work. The goal was to create the perfect monastery where every part of life could be accomplished within the monastery. So they had gardens and wood working shops and stables and blacksmithing. They also have a secondary school and a college?
The cathedral was amazing! It was created in the baroque style with incredibly ornate plaster relief, detailed paintings all over the ceiling, mosaic on the floors and angels, nymphs and other figures adorning the walls, the speakers stand, the organ and any other possible surface.
The ceiling had pink scroll work, green and yellow hatch work, gold leaf and garlands, flowers, crests and shields, saints and angels and stories from the Bible in picture form. Then, each recessed area had its own mural, alter, and statuary.
We watched a video about life at the monastery. Very interesting. In order to get there, we took a series of trains to Bern, Zurich, Waldenfield? where we missed the train to Einsiedein. If we had known the short-cut, we might have made it. But alas... we did not. And while Sally tried to keep the train doors open and Steve raced Mom along in the Mama-stroller, it was all for naught.
So we spent the next half hour with a lovely view of the Zurich Lake and the boats on it-- until the next train came. Einsiedein is a lovely old town. I have to admit that I love the beauty of cobblestones. However, pushing Mama over them brings new meaning to vibrational therapy. It really isn't that hard to push on the cobblestones, but it does make for a bumpy ride.
Coming back from Einsiedein we had another few tight connections. Steve raced Mom down and up ramps! We giggled as we raced to the trains. The last one was especially close. Sally was holding one door open as we climbed on the car before it-- closer to the stairs. Mom had hiked down and up the stairs as the ramp was too far away. Steve hoisted the wheelchair down and up the steps. Sue, Mom and I got on the train and the door started to close. Sue stuck her foot in the door to prevent it from closing as Steve scrambled up the last few steps. Finally the door reluctantly opened and he hopped on the train.
On the way home, we went to dinner at the Kreuz Hotel in honor of Grandpa Howald. We met the grandson of Frau Gosteli who was friends with Grandpa. Dinned was DELICIOUS! I had fish from the Thun Sea. We had a wonderful view of the sea as we ate, and the fish was fresh caught that day. We had a sampling of about 8 different salads-- beet, corn/mix, cucumber, carrot, coleslaw, onion, greens. Each had a unique dressing-- mild-- that just accented the vegetable.
While we were at the Kreuz it started to rain. We walked back to get a bus in the rain. Steve pushed and Mom held the umbrella low enough he could see over it. She looked like a little mushroom. We took a bus to Spietz, then a train to Thun and another to Uetendorf. Sue and Steve waved goodbye from the train as they went on to Bern. We then walked home in the rain-- each of us snug under an umbrella.
We got home about 10pm. It was a good day. A long day, but very satisfying.
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