An Unexpected Sight

 In 1974-75 our family spent our Sabbatical Year in Switzerland.  We stayed in a small chalet on the outskirts of Wengen, a picturesque resort town, clinging to the side of a mountain.  There was one street, lined with shops, at the end of which loomed the famous, snow-capped Jungfrau mountain.  There were no cars in Wengen.  We had a simple life there.  Our children attended school, where they had to learn German and the local dialect.  It was much stricter than our schools.  We learned downhill skiing. (At the age of 50!)  Our very nice neighbors were our teachers.  I shopped in the local coop, and made good meals for the family.  We all gained weight, due to the freshly baked rolls, rich cream, etc.  I especially liked to bake fruit pies, served with whipped cream.  We picked the blackberries on our Sunday walks in the mountains which surrounded Wengen.

After we had been there for awhile, I started making Saturday excursions to Interlaken, a very pretty touristy town.  I didn’t speak German, though I understood quite a lot and most people spoke English.  I took the train down the mountain to Lauterbrunen, then another train to Interlaken.  The shops there were more interesting than those in Wengen.  And I liked the lively atmosphere.

I always had lunch at Schuh’s restaurant on the main street.  I liked to sit on the terrace, under an umbrella.  I ate fresh trout with lemon butter and other delicacies. I drank beer or a sweet, white wine.   After lunch I always bought pastries for my family in the adjoining pastry shop.  Then I browsed around, shopping here and there, on those narrow, winding streets.  Interlaken was known for its music festivals, but I never managed to attend them, living in Wengen.

One day as I was having lunch at Schuh’s restaurant, I heard the tinkling of bells.  I knew that sound from living in Wengen where the cows plodded up the mountain in the early summer, to feed on the grass up there, and down the mountain in the fall. Sure enough, there was a parade of big cows moving with dignity down the main street of that festive town.  The leading cow had an enormous decoration attached to her head.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  That was indeed an unexpected sight.  When I visited Interlaken three years ago (in 2017), I was happy to see that Schuh’s restaurant was still there.  But no cows on the main street.