Summer just won't end in Germany this year. The days remain hot and dry. It's too dry for agriculture—and for various festivals as well. As a result, with a few exceptions, the August 1 celebrations in Switzerland will take place without fireworks. The sale of fireworks has been banned because the risk of wildfires is too high.
 |
| Amden, Switzerland |
We’re on our way from Germany to Switzerland to visit our former roommate Ivo, who has purchased a stately retirement home near Klosters. The saying, “There’s room in every cabin,” would do this property an injustice, so I won’t even try to put its dimensions into words. Our first day of vacation in Baden-Württemberg gives us a bad feeling about the traffic, so we set out early in the morning. We’re pleasantly surprised, though, to reach our destination without any major traffic jams. The brown meadows of Germany give way to the lush green mountain slopes of the Vorarlberg and Swiss Alps. Only upon closer inspection do you realize that the grass is actually quite dry. It’s no wonder that setting off fireworks has been banned in Switzerland. But it’s not just the slopes that are dry—our throats are parched too, with temperatures nearing 40°C. There’s only one thing that helps: quenching our thirst. Michael, who traveled all the way from Wetzikon, has plenty of refreshments in his luggage, and we, too, can contribute to quenching our thirst with a Schilcher from southeastern Styria. As always when we get together with our roommates, it turns into a long evening, and somehow nature even rewards our efforts to put out the fire by sending a thunderstorm over the meadows—bringing at least a little rain.
 |
| Lake Walen, Switzerland |
The next day, we’ll head to the sun terrace in Amden, above Lake Walen. We visit Barbara and Uli, whom we’ve known since the days when we lived in Germany. The two of them have since settled in Switzerland. I was worried that it would be much too warm for the raclette we’d been promised, but the weather gods were kind to us once again and sent us some relief in the form of a thunderstorm. Even so, we still had to quench our parched throats with plenty to drink in Amden as well. We wrapped up our visit with a short trip to the Chapf lookout point and drove on to Galgenen, where we met up with Sibylle and René. Franziska and Hanspeter were there too, so we celebrated a convivial reunion. After all, we hadn’t seen each other in over four years. Aside from switching our “fire extinguisher” from wine to sour must, not much has changed in the ritual of moistening our parched throats and putting out the “fire.” I take a short hike with René to Lake Zurich and check out the newly planned marina in Lachen.
 |
| While attempting to extinguish the fire |
In Rüti, we meet up with our former boss for a coffee before heading back to Germany. We would have loved to visit some other friends as well, but because it’s the holiday season, we weren’t able to catch up with a few of them. We’ll make up for that next time. The trip back is just as relaxed as the trip there, even though the A 81 feels like it’s made up of 100 construction zones. Apparently, all the bridges are being renovated at the same time, and there are quite a few of them on the A 81. Still, we’re able to wrap up our trip to Switzerland by evening.
Now it’s time to prepare for our departure. I submit an application online to extend our visas. Unfortunately, we’re required to get a chest X-ray. In Germany, there are two doctors authorized to perform this procedure—one in Frankfurt and the other in Berlin. Unfortunately, the doctor in Frankfurt is fully booked. My initial attempt to schedule an appointment by phone fails. I’m supposed to send an email, which has so far gone unanswered. If all else fails, we’ll have to get the X-ray done in New Zealand. The problem is the three-week deadline that Immigration has given us. I hope everything works out. I’ll tell you how the whole story turns out next time. Until then, fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
Comments
Post a Comment