In my chocolate research (as you know by now, an important aspect of this sabbatical) I have discovered a chocolate bar made with the Swiss equivalent to Ovaltine. It even has the nutritional information (amounts of vitamins and minerals) on the back of the label. And, it does have a certain Ovaltine-esque taste ... which is a good thing for me, because I'm very fond of Ovaltine.
Today Prior Basil took me (by car) to Mount Etzel, which is where St. Meinrad had his first hermitage ... it's across the valley and up the next mountain. Then we made our way down the other side of the mountain to Pfäffikon, which is on Lake Zurich. The monks used to have a schloss (vacation house) there, but now it is rented to the town for their municipal offices. On the next hill over is the Abbey Vineyard, which seems to go on for ever. It's interesting to see the rows of vines running up and down the hills, rather than across them.
It's been cloudy all day with some drizzle of rain on and off ... and a little on the cool side ... but even then, the views were spectacular as we drove around. There isn't as much fog as there was yesterday, so the distant visibility is much better.
Side note: Switzerland is lovely, but it's expensive ... at least in Swiss Francs.
Tomorrow I take leave of the Mutterabtei and head for northern Germany. I'll get the 9:30 train out of Einsiedeln, make the connections to Zurich, then over to Basel (Switzerland) then on up to Hildesheim. I should be at Marienrode (my next destination) by around 6pm or so.
2 comments:
Oh brother-not ovaltine! PDQ was the best! Sounds like you just continue to seek, learn and relish in the history! How very cool to experience your motherhouse....and to see where it all began!
There is actually less erosion when planting straight up the slope than planting across. Planting across exposes more soil and eventually even the roots. Years ago that was not a problem when you had serfs (Europe) or Chinese (California) to scoop up buckets of dirt at the bottom of the mountain and carry it back to the top. Many vineyards plant a cover crop (grass) between rows running straight up the mt. to further impede erosion.
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