31 Days in December #22: Swiss Sunday Christmas

I've really enjoyed the red and white themes of Christmas decor in Switzerland. This is the first year of marriage that I haven't prepared for Christmas. Oh, we made and froze stuffing and bought turkeys before we left home. I put 2 homemade tabletop trees in the LR. But there was no baking, no gift-wrapping, no decorating the front door and stairs. No decorating a tree. We sent Christmas cards to a few via post, but most heard from us via email.

Typically Swiss: red bulbs
and Stollen (bread)

It's weird this year. Different. I can't decide if having no Christmas decor is freeing or if it's just another loss to process. Probably both. We don't get another chance for Seattle traditions. Next year, we expect to be in sandals and hot-weather clothing, far away.

A typical Swiss tree:
plainly striking

We'll arrive home late Christmas Eve. I'm a Boxing Day fan (Dec 26) of putting Christmas things away ... so Christmas will come and go in a day.

Funny thing: last year I felt this surge of decorating motivation. We decorated our big tree and the house, used all the festive dishes, hosted friends and family, and prepared our traditional Christmas feasts.

However, in January, I began shedding 35 years of Christmas accumulation. We sold our 10' tree, lights, and about 15 boxes of ornaments during our move. By fall, our Christmas "stuff" had been reduced to the 2 little trees and one box of keepsakes (still packed up).

Smile worthy: Christmas decor includes a
stuffed squirrel that sits on the pulpit

I thank God for His gift of energy and the pleasure in "doing Christmas" one last time. He knew then of the changes coming - that we'd never celebrate in that home again. This year, T and M are letting the family use the space for family Christmas but it's up to them to decorate (or not - they just had a baby a month ago). We'll meet in their home not ours.
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This Sunday morning, we're out of the Oberhofen house by 8:15am to get things set up for the service. Leanne sings through her songs; the worship team reviews their music.

Leanne Russell, a true soprano with a big heart

The tables are set and the room fills with regular attendees and guests. Leanne's a wonderful soprano and very confident, easy to play for. It is relaxing, energizing, and fun for me to play for a service again. The audience response is positive.

The morning worship service at Kristliches Zentrum Thalgut

W preaches before taking questions at the end as usual -- this time in German. Students and adults come up to ask theology questions after it's over. We talk to a lot of people before we're out the door.

Hot stone feast

We have our last big lunch at a hot stone restaurant. The family works as butchers. Oh my! W's steak is amazing, my veal is tender and tasty. The decor is Swiss and the service friendly. They bring huge bibs so the cooking doesn't splatter our clothes.

D enjoys a "fitness classic" of steak and salads

The world-famous cookie factory, Kambly of Trubschachen, lies in the Emmental (famous for Emmentaler cheese). We've skipped dessert at the restaurant. Nothing prepares us for aisles of cookies. Nearly every type has a plate of samples: we cruise along, tasting as we go like the dozens of other customers. In the end we buy a few favorites.

Marzipan figurines

Some long tables are set up for clients learning to make marzipan figures from the store's experts. Children and parents lean over their colored dough. Little birds, bears, and elves emerge.

The sun burns through late afternoon clouds

Swiss regulations restrict the color, size, and shape of homes. Therefore, the landscape unfolds with traditional houses made of wood and plaster, endless variations on a theme.

Traditional Swiss architecture in the Emmental

The wind blows quiet ripples across the Thunersee as we drive home near sunset, renewed in spirit and body.

Thunersee

Read more:
*The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. Psalm 19:7 ESV

*By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The wise prevail through great power,and those who have knowledge muster their strength. Proverbs 24:3-5 NIV

*Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 1 John 2:3 ESV

Moravian Prayer: We are a tired people trying to be faithful, God. Renew us through your acts of grace. Invigorate us when we see your Spirit at work in the world. Restore in us the joy of your salvation through the birth of your Son. Amen.

31 Days in December #18: Time in Thun

L drops us in Thun, the nearest town, before lunch. He teaches music to high-schoolers in a reform school on the other side of the lake. D is working all day. W and I wait at the train statin; we pass off a rehearsal CD to Leanne, who will sing Sunday. (She and I will rehearse again Friday.)

A castle above Thun

Thun has Switzerland's big military school with specialized tank training. Military trucks have rumbled by in convoys while we've been here. D says tanks also drive by on the roads, which thrills her grandsons.

Tree bark

I love the old trees, pruned into knobby faces overhead. The tree bark adds texture to the side of the streets as we walk by.

Trees laughing overhead

W and I find the Christmas market and browse the regular market booths lining the streets. We taste sausages and cheeses, admire home-crafted wares, and marvel at the skilled tradespeople - from candlemakers and bakers to woodworkers and jewelers. L meets us in Thun after noon, on his way home to Oberhofen. He takes along our few purchases to lighten W's bag.

Founded in 1133

W and I decide to walk home (5km or 3 miles). It seems further because our feet still feel yesterday's walk around Bern. There's a wide walkway along Lake Thun (Thunersee). White swans paddle past, along with ducks and turns. Older couples stop to feed the birds and sit on the benches along the lake.

Many swans a-swimming

Above us, castles tower against the blue sky. Bells in clock towers chime the quarter hours.

W pauses on our walk

We snap a photo of a staircase with feet instead of posts at the bottom.

Funny footed stair

L has made tortellini, and by the time we're home at 3, we're hungry. Deeelicious!

When we're done, he takes us to a new suspension bridge, 5 minutes away by car. The bridge connects the villages of Aeschien and Sigriswil. Children walk from their village to the next village's school over a 340 meter (375 yard) span and above a 180 meter (200 yard) chasm. The bridge also connects the hiking trails the Swiss love.

The suspension bridge

W doesn't like heights but he pays the 8 CHF (about $9) to the ranger so I can walk across and back. Every time someone treads on it, the steel bridge sways. It's like walking in a moving bucket. I remind myself that if the Swiss have engineered it to support their schoolchildren, it's probably safe. How amazing to lean over the canyon and the breathtaking surroundings. The trees below look like matchsticks and the houses like dots on the mountains.

Villages along the valleys gouged out
by mountain streams

W stays home to finish grading (papers from students back in Seattle), but L and I leave about 6pm to pick up D from work. We go straight to church to rehearse for Sunday worship. About 15 musicians show up to sing and play, ending with prayer at 9:30pm. We relax together, eating a slice of toasted Panettone after the half-hour drive home.

The evening view from the hills above Oberhofen

Read more:
*I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Exodus 6:7 ESV

*Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago). Luke 1:68-70 NIV

*He has put all things under Christ's feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23 ESV

Moravian Prayer: God, you are the one to whom we belong. Help us to trust your word, made flesh, in Jesus the Christ. Enable us to see the fullness of Christ in all. Amen.

31 Days in December #15: All together now

The concerts go well. Lawrence writes the arrangements, pulls together musicians, and manages a creative show. It's relaxing to watch because he's done so many events; small glitches don't phase him. The lights flicker but the music goes on. After all these years of hearing his music, we're still in for a musical treat.

The tables are packed with enthusiastic listeners at every concert. We sing carols between songs by the choir and band. Overhead the young tech crawls on the beams to adjust the lights.

My brother plays a few violin solos, to the delight of the crowd.

Lawrence plays his 5-yr-old gift from Dad,
sadly not a hockey stick ... but a violin

And when it's over, young servers hand out coffee, spiced cider, and home-baked cookies (Saturday) and home-baked egg braid bread (Sunday). The Swiss take fantastic baking for granted.

20" of bread left from the long loaf

Everyone takes a long afternoon nap after lunch. We walk along the lake as the sun drops behind the Alps.

Wally and Doris at lakeside

A boat at sundown

It's a long uphill climb to the top of our walk. We catch our breath and start down, back home.

Beautiful silhouette of the clock tower 

31 Days in December #14: Long walk uphill

The kitchen opens at 8 or 9. We have a leisurely morning after a long night watch of 2-6am. The house is decorated in red and white, crisp and cheerful in preparation for Christmas.

Doris is  a great cook: we usually eat eggs, bread, sausage, and cheese for breakfast and have a hot lunch.

In the afternoon we walk 5 km through the neighborhood to the next village. It's a steep climb up but the view is spectacular. 

The church clock tower rises above the graveyard. And down at the lakeside, the castle and pier stand guard. It's more fun to walk downhill, no question about it.

In the evening, we head for a concert conducted by my brother Lawrence and hosted by the local church.

31 Days in December #13: Setting the table and enjoying the view

The neighborhood: typical Swiss architecture

After a good night's rest, we head to the church to set tables for tomorrow's event. The organizer has set up a model of the finished tablescape. Young gals are cutting heavy fleece-paper to size for tablecloths. We lift the wicks on the tealight candles before inserting them into their holders: tomorrow's crew has to light them quickly before the concert.

It's calming to be with people of similar DNA. The women move easily between tables, placing things just so, rearranging, counting sugars and creamers, and pulling tablecloths straight. Doris and I relax into the rhythm of their work.

Frost outlines the trees.

The weather outside is cold and the views look like picture postcards.

Ice crystals on branches

This corner of Switzerland hasn't had snow recently. In the mountain shadows, last month's snow lingers. Each morning, white hoarfrost lines the trees.

The fog burns off under the blue sky

We're looking forward to strolling beside the Thunersee (lake) next week. The sidewalk stretches along the lakefront for many kilometers. Last visit, an old man with an traditional Swiss Alpenhorn practiced at the side of the walk, the deep tones echoing off the mountain slopes. (Listen here to a mellow Alpenhorn.)

Walkway along the Thunersee

Per capita, Switzerland may have the highest number of qualified sailing aficionados. The boats lie quietly at anchor, the wind resting between the mountains. W and I feel the stress of the past months draining away as we take in the beauty.

Tranquil lakescape

Read more:
*When the cares of my heart are many, may your consolations cheer my soul. Psalm 94:19 ESV

*Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ESV

*Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us. 2 Timothy 1:14 ESVMoravian Prayer; Spirit and Sustainer, make us bold in our faith as we proclaim you as God and King. Remove any shame we may have of being your disciples and help us step beyond our own weakness to share the good news to the world.

Great Comforter, there are times our lives seem hopeless. Days are filled with stress, sorrow, grief, and pain. Holy Redeemer, walk with us, abide with us and sustain us with your ever present love, even in times of great joy. Amen.