They Were Part of the Mountain Landscape

I went to Interlaken to look for my family. My ancestors that is, two of my father's grandparents were from Switzerland. My grandmother's parents. Yes, I know they are long deceased and physically looking for them will not help. But the search persists, regardless.

Just the fact that I took the car was Field Trip material enough. I don't drive here. Scott does. I bike and take public transportation, because the Swiss make it way too easy not to. At least around town anyway. I grabbed my camera, the GPS, forgot my scarf and headed out.

I have spent some time looking for info on my great grandparents online since I have been here. Some lovely family member of mine has done much of the work, so it was pretty easy to find the simple details, like who, when and how. The where part is the tricky part. The records from US Immigration are very clear. But the Swiss heritage part is not. I know that my great grandmother, GGM, came from Bern. Whether that is the Canton or the City, who knows. And I know that she lived in Interlaken and possibly Spiez. I only know this because of a 40 year old travel journal from my GM's trip to Switzerland. It says that a cousin took her to see the house her mother lived in in Interlaken. That is pretty clear. But, of course, there was no address or photo.

I know even less about my GGF. Could have been Bern, could have been Zurich, maybe both. Either way, we think that they were farmers and the family name originates in the Emmenthal region, so this all sounds right. But I know not their Heimatrecht. This is the needle in the proverbial haystack, that would potentially solve the mysteries. Or not.

As for all the random cousins mentioned in my GM's travel journal, I have no idea who they are. Yet. My days here are numbered, this time at least, so in the spirit of getting on with things, I just decided to stop looking for a needle in a haystack and just go on a Field Trip.

I have sort of done some shadowing in my GM's footsteps. I have seen some of what she visited, been some of the same places. But this particular route is where she spent a lot of time. We have been going skiing in the Bernese Oberland the last few weeks and the drive takes me past towns that sound familiar. They are mentioned in her journal.

A few weeks ago, after skiing, we stopped in Spiez. It was early evening and kind of cloudy. But I was able to snap a few photos of the town, lake and castle. Thanks Scott. I know you were tired and sore from a long weekend on the snow.

My trip to Interlaken was solo. I had time to really wander. I saw the Aare River, Interlaken Castle, churches and lots of mountains. It is a bit touristy, but still a charming town, nestled in a valley, between two lakes. I wandered up and down streets, in and out of shops, in and out of historic places. All the while I was taking photos and freezing because I forgot that scarf.

I realized after a bit that I was really looking for something, but didn't know what. Then it hit me. I was looking for them. Clearly GGF and GGM and all the random cousins, aunts, uncles and others that may still be alive were not going to walk up to me and say, "Hello. You finally made it. You belong to us. Let us fill in all the blanks for you." But I wished for that to happen, just like that.

As I was wandering, Seeing all the sights, I couldn't help but wonder. Was that the house GGM lived in? That farm looks nice and cozy and from the right time period. Maybe that was where GGF worked. Then I would notice names of businesses. Again, some were the same names that were mentioned in my GM's journal. It all gets kind of creepy, but in a good way. But at the same time, it was kind of lonely and a little sad that I don't get to know and See my GGM's house this time around.

Then I began to think about what I might have in common with these ancestors. I know nothing about them, other than their names. Do I look like them, do I have certain traits that they had? Who knows. But I did feel like I look like the people in this part of Switzerland. I saw men that look like my Dad, Santa with a tan face. I see old women that look like my GM. This I noticed the first time we went to this area. So maybe this is where they lived.

But why did they leave Switzerland? I guess I will never know that. I don't know if they lived on an Alp or down in town. I don't know if they had brown hair like me. But hopefully someday I will find some more genealogy answers and come to some conclusions. It would be pretty amazing to visit with living, distant family members here someday. Maybe I will speak better Deutsch by then.

No one jumped out and offered me my ancestry on a silver platter. So it was time to move on. Time to cross another thing off my Swiss List. I love lists. Scott says that is where my Swissness becomes evident. On to Thun, another small mountain and lake town.

GM had been to Thun, too. I was there to see an art exhibit. It was at Kunstmuseum Thun. The translation of the title of the exhibit is "Shifting Landscapes. Works from the Collection." http://www.kunstmuseum-thun.ch/index.php?id=335&L=1 It is sort of an homage to the disappearance of pristine, untouched mountain landscapes. Just like what my ancestors knew Switzerland to be, before infrastructure appeared. It was amazing. Each piece, really, had its own voice, told a different story. I had the place to myself, literally. So I lingered and looked and Saw all I could. My favorites were by Monika Ursina Jaeger and one piece called Matterhorn Project.

This stuff was right up a landscape architect's allee. Pun intended. Just the type of stuff that my eyes wander to, too regularly. The details that no one else notices, that I will spend hours photographing. But, despite the statement, I must admit that I think some infrastructure is beautiful, too. In a different way, it can be sexy.

When I was done with the exhibit, I thought about what to See next. Should I go look around Thun? Then I started getting that nagging feeling of needing to know something concrete about my ancestors again. I realized that what drew me to the Bernese Oberland in the first place, way back when we first arrived in Switzerland, was the mountains. Heck, that's what drew me to this art museum today. They are everywhere and I like that. In fact, it is as if the lake just laps right up on the mountain's feet here. My guess is that my ancestors didn't ski, but they spent lots of time in the mountains, either swimming, tending to the herd, making cheese, or picking crops. They were part of the mountain landscape. So maybe that is where I get my love of all things high and snowy. That would really explain a lot.