At the end of an official visit to Namibia and Sweden, we joined a group of 26 others on a package tour of some European countries. Our itinerary, which looked so inviting and thrilling while we were contemplating whether to shell out that kind of money back home, did indeed live up to it’s name.
Rome – Venice – Switzerland – Paris …….the works!
We had a chartered bus at our service with the most polite and ever smiling Czech driver at the wheel. He drove at an amazing speed, taking the scheduled break every two hours while we sat back on the cushy seats and admired the breathtaking view of Europe, passing by.
We crossed over from Italy to Switzerland without as much as a check of our visas and suddenly, the beauty of Heidi’s countryside assaulted our windowpanes. We were in Luzern, the seventh largest city in Switzerland. The city straddles the Reuss River where it drains the lake and therefore, has a number of bridges, the most famous being the Chapel Bridge. From Luzern, we drove to our destination in Switzerland, the modest ski-resort of Engelberg.
Stationed at 3028m, just below the distinctive crest-of-a-wave summit of Mount Titlis, Engelberg, along with its huge Benedictine Kloster (monastery) and the faded grandeur of its hotel architecture, was indeed well worth a visit.
We were warmly welcomed to the Edelweiss Hotel by our hostess Suzanne, who had some ‘Indian tea’ ready for us –
‘Oh, how thoughtful’, we said in unison, looking forward to the home brew, ……….
we managed to gulp the cinnamon water with false gratitude and vowed never, ever, to sip Indian tea while in Switzerland!
Indian tea soon forgotten, we gasped at the beauty of the actual Swiss cottages and the snow-clad Alps that beckoned to us from our bedroom windows.
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“A walk to the village square is a must”, said my husband, and so, off we went trudging down the hill to the aroma of freshly baked bread and cakes wafting from a bakery close by and the faint ringing of the Bells of the Angelus, marking the close of day, to explore the little town of Engelberg.
“A quiet town that sleeps early”, I said to myself.
But……what was that in front of me? In fact, in front of almost every store, there stood a little angel, painted in all finery, to match the theme of the window dressings, blessing the store and guarding it.
“There must be a story behind all these angels”, I thought in wonderment! Later that night, I heard the story from Suzanne herself……….(see box)
Engelberg: Angels of the Mountains
The story is told of a knight who lived sometime in the 14th century in modern day Switzerland. He often felt the need to become a monk and set up a monastery. But his family’s disapproval prevented him from doing so for a very long time. He took to pursuing the acts of his forefathers and participated most reluctantly in a couple of wars to save his country from invasion. A few wars later, he finally took the decision of renouncing his knighthood and becoming a monk. But he could not do so as he had crossed the age when he could be initiated. Undeterred, he decided to at least fulfil his dream of setting up a monastery.
He spent many a sleepless night wandering in the mountains, wondering in which direction to go ___trying to find a suitable place for the monastery. One night while in deep sleep, he saw a vision most glorifying _____some angels were giving him a message. He listened carefully, for they were giving him the directions to the place where he should set up his monastery. He walked in that direction guided by the angels’ voices and reached this little spot. He set up the monastery and called the place Engelberg which means, Angels of the Mountains.
Benedictine Kloster, the monastery is still functional; a High School functions from here too. The bells ringing in the morning wake you up to a beautiful day, while the angels that have been sculpted in memory of those angels that showed the way, still stand guard and bless this beautiful town.
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