This is my last blog post for Switzerland because now we will move on north towards England and Scotland. Yesterday we went to Saanen and Gsteig. Saanen wasn't on the map but Gsteig was, thankfully. Saanen is actually much bigger than Gsteig so it's absence was a bit odd. But I think the only reason Gsteig made the map was because it is the last town before a mountain pass. Perhaps a last "are you sure you want to go up this way?" Before making our way to Saanen, we went to Fribourg, not the same Freiburg, Germany. Why did we go to Fribourg? Because someone, won't mention any names, somehow misplaced her phone charger, probably at the semi-sketchy hotel we stayed in for our first night in Switzerland. So we had to get a replacement. Fribourg is a very neat city and it would have been nice to tour a bit. It is literally built on the edge of a cliff, the perfect natural defense. It has a lot of character and some very very old buildings. However, we were on a mission! After we purchased a new charger, we set out towards Saanen. Now, I am the navigator which means I sit in the passenger seat with the maps and try to figure out which way we should go, which is dicey since I am directionally challenged. This can get even more interesting when the signs don't mention the towns you are looking for as markers, which leads to a "let's try this" scenario, like we faced traveling to Guggisberg. There were two roads that led to Saanen. One went through the valley and the other over a mountain pass. I wanted to go through the valley, however, as we went through roundabout after roundabout, none of the towns on that valley road were listed on the signs. So guess which road we ended up taking...that's right, the high road up over the mountain pass. Ok, I admit, I secretly wanted to take that one anyway. As we slowly wound our way up we passed kasserie after kasserie...kasse is cheese, I think you can figure out what a kasserie is! Then I started to notice how we were the only ones on the road and started to wonder if this was a good idea. The driver aka dad, decided I must not have read the map correctly. However, we continued after seeing some signs with "our" towns. As we continued to climb thousands of feet, I noticed that the road got narrower and there were no guardrails. By the time we got to the top we were at 5000 feet. I would again like to emphasize: No guardrails, one lane road. I am not afraid of heights, however, I will start to get very very nervous when we are zooming on switchback roads with no guardrails at 5000 feet, especially when I can clearly see over the edge. We stopped at the top to take in the view of the snow covered mountains, then started our way down. The view of the valley with houses sprinkling the sides and bottom was striking so we stopped so I could take a picture. I rolled down the window and smelled something burning. I commented on this odd burning smell and my Dad said nonchalantly, "it's just the brakes." That, my friends, is how steep these twisty roads were. On the way down from Pike's Peak in Colorado, there is an inspection station that tests how hot your brakes are, we had to stop because ours were too hot. Coming down from this mountain pass in Switzerland there was no inspection station. Anyway, at the bottom of the valley, perched slightly on the side of a hill is Saanen. It is now a resort town because of the great skiing opportunities in winter. Saanen is also supposedly from whence my paternal grandfather's mother's ancestors, the Linders, Werrens and Haldis came. Simon Linder was born in 1650 in Saanen to Wihelm Linder and Maria Haldi. Wihelm was the son of Simon Linder (the elder) and Anna Werren. Simon the younger is the father of my great grandfather X 6, John George Linder whose daughter, Rebekah married into the Lang family who I will talk about when we get to England. We found no evidence of Linders in the church cemetery, but we found numerous Haldis and Werrens. The church itself was something else! The current church was built in 1402, although there have been some modifications since then. The inside was beautiful. Paintings completely covered the walls of the altar area. The balconies and pulpit were made of wood, but they were striking because it was inlaid wood. The Pulpit dated to 1628.
View from the top of the mountain pass.
Church in Saanen (Protestant)
Our next stop was Gsteig, another Linder, Haldi, Werren home. Gsteig is just a few kilometers from Saanen and sits right at the foot of the mountain. It is the last village before you go over the next mountain pass. It is much smaller than Saanen but not without the alpine charm. We headed to the church. Outside, on the church billboard were the general announcements and the like, however, there was also a prayer written in Schwitzer Deutsch (Swiss German) and neither my dad nor I could read a word of it. When I said Swiss German was completely different from high German, I meant it! Gsteig was first mentioned in 1312 under the name Chastalet. The current French name of Gsteig is very similar. I should note that in order to get to Saanen and Gsteig we had to pass through Fribourg canton which is a part of the French bit of Switzerland. Switzerland has four national languages, German, French, Italian and Romanche. Romanche is similar to Latin. I encourage you to look it up, it is fascinating. So, back to Gsteig, the first chapel was called St. Joder and was first mentioned in the 1300s. On June 19,1453, the current church was dedicated by the bishop of Lausanne, it had joined the Reformation in 1528. The oldest Church bell is from 1453 and bears the inscription: Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum benedicta. There are three other bells as well. One is from 1706 and the third and fourth bells are from 1931. The inside of the church is plain, but all over the walls in script were passages from the Bible. We explored the cemetery but once again came up empty handed with Linders, but there were several Haldis.
See the tiny houses at the bottom? They belong to Gsteig.
Gsteig church (Protestant)
Inside church, 1453 was the dedication date.
Scripture on the walls.
Inlaid wood ceiling decoration
Back of Gsteig church
From Gsteig we headed back north and found that elusive valley route we had tried to find earlier. It was neat to see the change between the German part of Switzerland to the French part. We ended up spending the night in the French part. My dad went into the hotel and asked for a room in German. The hotel staff member looked at my dad blankly, so my dad asked in French and then the staff member understood. They eventually agreed English was the best way to go to converse. I have to say, last night was probably the best meal I have eaten. Veal in a cream sauce with rosti (a Swiss potato dish) and chocolate mousse for desert. Dad had no idea what he ordered, so we looked it up later and found out it was probably just beef and not horse like he thought.
Now we are headed north to the misty (and rainy) British Isles for the last part of our tour!
Cheers!
Elizabeth
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