Once upon a time my mom's cousin Rustum met a lovely young international student named Ruth from Switzerland that was staying at my grandmother's house. She didn't speak much English and he didn't speak much, if any, German. My grandmother asked the young, handsome bachelor if he wouldn't mind taking out some of the students (including Ruth) out dancing one night. Well, they all went out... they got along well... and I guess you can say the rest is history. Ruth is now an honorary member of the family... she is my honorary 4th aunt- like a sister to my mom and her sisters. Just as Djell from Algeria fell in love with my aunt Marcina- he was determined to learn the English language... and well, love is powerful- Ruth learned the English language too. She was born and raised in Switzerland and I was honoured to go and visit her and their two children- Nadia and Noah- who although are my 3rd cousins (?) are pretty much cousins themselves, if not siblings!!! See Ruth goes back to Switzerland every summer for 6 weeks, to visit her family and integrate her children with her side of the family as well. While in Vancouver, I always know- when summer comes along, off they go... but I never knew where or what their home on the other side of the world looked like, so it was a great experience to visit them in their Swiss element!!! I also got to witness Nadia and Noah speaking German!!!!!! I was so impressed...every time I tried to get it on film, they stopped speaking....so I don't actually have documented proof (ITC) but they are quite fluent, and I was very impressed.
This is a mini picture story of Ruth's story:
1- This is Lake Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstättersee, lit. "Lake of the Four Forested Cantons") in Switzerland (see flag) right next to the village (Seedorf) she grew up in...
2- This is the canton/province in Switzerland: Uri- and their flag/crest.
3- This is the lumber-mill that Ruth's father established and has since been in the family for years... unfortunately it is shutting its doors within the next few months. It represents a large part of their family history and I was honored to get to see it.
4- One of the huge machines.
5- Some of the many saws blades
6- This isn't the house that Ruth grew up in, but it is where her parents currently reside and is just down the street from the mill. So beautiful!!!
7- A beautiful room to read the paper while drinking a hot cup of coffee in the morning.
8- The church where Rustem and Ruth got married...
9- Years later... Along comes Nadia (modeling the back yard to her grandparent's house- yes, at the foot of a massive mountain)
10- And Noah (modeling a stunning Swiss hat and the magical marble fire place that I adore!!!
11- And can't forget their friend the singing cow....
Blog posts to come... the full Swiss experience in two days... I don't know how we did it...but it was incredible- It honestly couldn't have been any more Swiss!!!!!!
FYI:
The legendary William Tell is said to have hailed from Uri.
The legend proper
William Tell, who originally came from Bürglen, was known as an expert shot with the crossbow. In his time, the Habsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri. Albrecht (or Hermann) Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, raised a pole in the village's central square, hung his hat on top of it, demanding that all the townsfolk bow before the hat. When Tell passed by the hat without bowing to it, he was arrested. As punishment, he was forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son, Walter. Otherwise, both would be executed. Tell was promised freedom if he successfully made the shot.
On 18 November 1307, Tell split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow. When Gessler queried him about the purpose of a second bolt in his quiver, Tell answered that if he had killed his son, he would have turned the crossbow on Gessler himself. Gessler was angered, and had Tell bound. He was brought to Gessler's ship to be taken to his castle at Küssnacht. A storm broke on Lake Lucerne, and Tell managed to escape. He went by land to Küssnacht, and when Gessler arrived, Tell shot him.
Tell's defiance sparked a rebellion, in which he played a leading part. The struggle eventually led to the formation of the Swiss Confederation. He fought again against Austria in the 1315 Battle of Morgarten.
William Tell died in 1354 while trying to save a child from drowning in the Schächenbach river in Uri.[1] A fresco in a chapel in Bürglen, which dates to 1582, depicts this scene.[2]
You little Swiss Miss!
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