Da waren wir nun - wieder daheim in der Schweiz nach einem Jahr rund um die Welt. Vom Gefühl her war's vor allem in den ersten Tagen ein "home sweet home": Familie und Freunde wiedersehen, viel Käse und fliessend Warmwasser zu jeder Tageszeit, das man auch noch trinken kann - danke Schweiz! :-)), nach kurzer Zeit stellte sich auch ein wenig "back to black"-Stimmung ein als uns klar wurde, dass es nun ans Wohnung- und Jobsuchen geht und der Alltag schon ungeduldig an die noch nicht vorhandene Tür klopft.
Zunächst einmal aber folgten wir der Einladung unseres guten Freundes Michi und seiner neuen Freundin Irmgard in den Kanton Tessin, um ein Wochenende im kleinen Dörfchen Brusino Arsizio am Luganersee nahe der Grenze zu Italien zu verbringen. Das Örtchen war früher ein Fischerdorf, bis der Tourismus aufkam und viele Ferienwohnungen gebaut wurden. Heute sind die Touristen weitergezogen und was bleibt sind uralte Häuser, ein wunderbarer Waldweg auf den Serpiano (die Seilbahn rentierte nicht mehr) und 425 ständige Einwohner, die entweder Polli, Poli oder Rossi heissen. Wir assen, tranken, jassten (typisch schweizerisch halt) und machten uns auf die semi-erfolgreiche Maroni-Suche, denn wir waren schon etwas spät dran im Jahr. Ein sehr gemütliches Wochenende, das wir in vollen Zügen genossen haben.
Der Heimweg führte uns über den St. Gotthard-Pass, 2106 m über Meer. Dieser Pass war seit dem Mitttelalter eine der wichtigsten Nord-Süd-Verkehrsachsen und ist es mit dem Gotthardtunnel nach wie vor. Zur Zeit wird am Gotthardbasistunnel gebaut, der nach seiner Fertigstellung mit 57 km der längste Eisenbahntunnel der Welt sein wird. Seit dem 16. Jh. bis 1881 existierte eine Postlinie, die Basel mit Mailand verband (50 Stunden Fahrt, was 68.- Franken kostete!). Es wurde eine Postkutsche installiert, die die Strecke in ihrer Blütezeit zweimal täglich das ganze Jahr durch befuhr. Im Winder mussten auf beiden Seiten des Passes 100 Männer bereitstehen, um die Schneeräumung zu übernehmen. Es ging jedoch nicht immer friedlich zu und her in den Schweizer Alpen. Im zweiten Koalitionskrieg kämpften Russland, Österreich und Grossbritannien gegen das revolutionäre Frankreich. Eine berühmte Schlacht ereignete sich in der Schöllenenschlucht am Gotthard. Unter der Führung von General Suworow kämpften 21'000 russische Soldaten gegen die Franzosen, die diesen Teil der Schweiz besetzt hielten. Obwohl die Russen nie zuvor im Gebirge gekämpft hatten und die Bedingungen mehr als widrig waren, gelang es Suworow, 15'000 seiner Männer und 1200 französische Gefangene quer über die Alpen bis nach Österreich zu führen. An die russischen Heldentaten erinnert heute noch ein Denkmal in der Schöllenenschlucht.
There we were – back home in Switzerland after a year travelling around the world. During the first few days there was a „home sweet home“ feeling: seeing friends and family again, lots of cheese eating and running tapwater as hot as you wanted all day long (and it’s even drinkable) – thank you Switzerland! After a little while there was also a bit of a „back in black“ mood coming up when we realised that we needed to look for a flat and a job and everyday life was knocking at our door which we didn’t have yet. But first we got an invitation from our good friend Michi and his girlfriend Irmgard to spend a weekend in the little town of Brusino Arsizio at lake Lugano close to the Italian boarder. The place used to be a fishermen‘s town before it was discovered by tourism and a lot of holiday homes were built. Nowadays the tourists spend their time elsewhere and what remains are ancient houses, a wonderful hiking path through the forest up Mt. Serpiano (the cable car wasn’t profitable anymore) and 425 residents which are either called Polli, Poli or Rossi. We ate, drank, played cards (typically Swiss) and went to collect chestnuts to roast them, altough it was quite late in the year for that. A very chilled weekend that we enjoyed to the max. On our way home we passed St. Gotthard pass which is 2106 m above sealevel. This pass was being used since medieval times as a major traffic route connecting Northern with Southern Europe. Nowadays there’s a tunnel though. At the moment a railway tunnel is being built which will be the longest in the world with a length of 57 km. Since the 16. Century until 1881 there was a postline connecting Basel with Milan (the ride took 50 hours and cost 68.- francs, a fortune for that time). There was a post carriage service installed which did the journey twice a day all year round. In winter there had to be 100 men ready each day on each side of the pass to remove the snow from the road. But it wasn’t always peaceful in the Swiss alps. During the second coalition war around 1800 Russia, Austria and Great Britain fought revolutionary France. A famous battle took place at a gorge named „Schöllenen“ at the Gotthard. Under the leadership of general Suworow 21‘000 Russian soldiers were fighting the French who had occupied that part of Switzerland. Altough the Russians had never been fighting in the mountains before Suworow could lead 15'000 of his men and 1200 French prisoners across the alps into Austria. Today there is a memorial at the gorge of Schöllenen commemorating the Russian triumph.
There we were – back home in Switzerland after a year travelling around the world. During the first few days there was a „home sweet home“ feeling: seeing friends and family again, lots of cheese eating and running tapwater as hot as you wanted all day long (and it’s even drinkable) – thank you Switzerland! After a little while there was also a bit of a „back in black“ mood coming up when we realised that we needed to look for a flat and a job and everyday life was knocking at our door which we didn’t have yet. But first we got an invitation from our good friend Michi and his girlfriend Irmgard to spend a weekend in the little town of Brusino Arsizio at lake Lugano close to the Italian boarder. The place used to be a fishermen‘s town before it was discovered by tourism and a lot of holiday homes were built. Nowadays the tourists spend their time elsewhere and what remains are ancient houses, a wonderful hiking path through the forest up Mt. Serpiano (the cable car wasn’t profitable anymore) and 425 residents which are either called Polli, Poli or Rossi. We ate, drank, played cards (typically Swiss) and went to collect chestnuts to roast them, altough it was quite late in the year for that. A very chilled weekend that we enjoyed to the max. On our way home we passed St. Gotthard pass which is 2106 m above sealevel. This pass was being used since medieval times as a major traffic route connecting Northern with Southern Europe. Nowadays there’s a tunnel though. At the moment a railway tunnel is being built which will be the longest in the world with a length of 57 km. Since the 16. Century until 1881 there was a postline connecting Basel with Milan (the ride took 50 hours and cost 68.- francs, a fortune for that time). There was a post carriage service installed which did the journey twice a day all year round. In winter there had to be 100 men ready each day on each side of the pass to remove the snow from the road. But it wasn’t always peaceful in the Swiss alps. During the second coalition war around 1800 Russia, Austria and Great Britain fought revolutionary France. A famous battle took place at a gorge named „Schöllenen“ at the Gotthard. Under the leadership of general Suworow 21‘000 Russian soldiers were fighting the French who had occupied that part of Switzerland. Altough the Russians had never been fighting in the mountains before Suworow could lead 15'000 of his men and 1200 French prisoners across the alps into Austria. Today there is a memorial at the gorge of Schöllenen commemorating the Russian triumph.
Morcote
Aussicht vom Serpiano - View from Serpiano
Maronisammler - Chestnut Collectors
Das Suwarow-Denkmal - The Suwarow Memorial
