Handcrafts

Weiss Küfer

Our traveling chaplain is retiring and returning to the States, so we are having a farewell dinner for him and his wife on Sunday. We wanted to find a distinctly Swiss gift for them, and decided upon some wood pieces that are utilitarian while also being beautifully handcrafted and hand carved. 

The bowl is an item originally for cream. Note the latches. This is a smaller size, but they are made in many large sizes, too. The boards are for the Swiss supper. 

There is a lazy Susan board too, but it is already packaged. Here is ours, for a comparison idea, both with daily accumulation and without. 

They are made with plexiglass on top, so no problem to use them well and heartily. 

A memory of Switzerland with every use. 

Isn’t This Sweet?

Metaphorically and Literally 

Yes, seven inches of premium chocolate. 

Rose Festival

Sunday Afternoon 

After church today, some of us walked to a nearby nursery with fantabulous rose gardens for a summer festival. The family operating this place has bred hundreds of rose varieties of all sorts. They also have acres of the most scrumptious strawberries (not the tasteless, watery commercial kind), and they have shrubs, herbs, succulents, and lots of interesting plants to buy. This Oma‘s hand was, again, mostly in that of a sweet little miss, so I didn’t get many pictures, but here is a taste. 

A random front garden on our walk there. Everybody has roses blooming for June. 

We arrive. Note the setting, a farm in the middle of vast open acres. This is in the Canton of Aargau. 

We are just getting there….

Beds and beds and beds of roses 

Thousands of these beauties. 

Now imagine the scent….

Rose trees 

Note the climber on the right. A more phenomenal one is coming. 

Single roses, like wild roses 

Three kinds

It was hot!

In a shady tent, a classic band was playing walzes. 

This bed didn’t get weeded, but was still beautiful. 

Not our little miss, but still cute.

Behold! This is a climbing rose in that tree. Compare to car size. 

And huge trees everywhere adding gravitas. This seems to be a fir. 

And this is a gorgeous pine. All five of us could not have reached our arms around its trunk. (Granted, two of those arms are barely each over a foot long, but still, the tree is stout.)

Dr. Seuss trees and palm tree.

An enooooooormous pot

And a road corner, on our walk back. Poppies. 

Blessed Sunday to all. 

In St. Gallen

Details

Excuse the blur. 

Note the Bible stories depicted.

Pentecost fountain

Florist shop

A random building corner decoration. 

Would that all buildings were so well preserved after existing for several hundred years.

Bear in the city.

More Medieval

Knights and Horses

A few more action photos.

Spear the ring. He did.

She did, too.

Spear the Wildschwein.

Get a heavy mace to stick on the wooden target- not easy. 

And pick up the pillow with the spear. 

And they all managed to do so. 

With a lot of action.

Good horses, good riders, and worth staying to see.