Esther’s sister Lydia and husband Peter Moser live in what is literally called the pit. That is really the address for where they live (Grube, in German). There farm house is located between two majestic hills that rise out of the lower, flatter lands below. They are covered with spruce trees.
In spite of the auspicious name, their old farm house has been completely redone in modern appliances and decor, making a unique mix of old and new. We arrived on a Saturday night, and although we had seen their house before, they wanted to give us a choice of where we wanted to lay our heads for the night. They were empty nesters, no children and Moser's parents had long moved away. We had five bedrooms from which to choose.
At the back of the house was a fully furnished, modern apartment that their son had lived in before moving closer to his work. It is beautiful and modern. They would like to rent it out as an AirBnB, but it is too far away from the beaten path to attract many lodgers. It’s in the pits!
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| Cow bells hanging over the entrance to the milking stalls. Living quarters to the left top. |
We chose a bedroom on the third floor where one of their daughters had lived before getting married. Our windows looked out onto flower boxes with beautifully cascading red, lavender and white geraniums and brought in fresh mountain air. Across the farm lane was a storage shed that looked more like a miniature farm house than a shed. The balcony ledges were adorned with flower boxes filled with the same theme of geraniums.
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| "Speicher" or storage shed. |
We could have imagined being in paradise until we were awakened at 6:30 am by twenty cows coming in from the pasture to the barn (under the house) with humongous bells strapped to their necks ringing away. Most farmers are proud of the sound of their bells. Although Peter is retired from farming, he rents out his building to a neighbor to feed and milk his cows. Not wanting to be confined to a rocking chair, Peter goes down everyday to wash the equipment used in milking.
After a typical bread, jam and cheese breakfast, we headed off to Peter and Lydia’s church for the Sunday morning service. It was a very small congregation, with maybe 20 in attendance, six of which were from the Moser family. Esther’s mother and an uncle attended this church before they died. Esther’s sister Rosemarie and husband Rolf are also attenders and were present on this Sunday morning.
At one time the church was considered to be very conservative, with women wearing prayer veilings and skirts. Jeans were unacceptable attire for both men and women. That is no longer the case, as nearly half of the congregation had jeans on this Sunday.
The service was simple. A short opening, a song, several prayers. Another song and then the sermon. A brand new hymnal was in place which seems very similar to the new Mennonite “Voices Together” hymnal. Many traditional hymns as well as more modern praise songs with a few African songs mixed in.
The sermon was definitely the main focus of the service. It lasted nearly an hour. Interestingly, the preacher was Mosers’ young son-in-law Reto, married to their daughter Salome. Apparently the men pass the preaching duties around between them depending who is available. Son Andreas Moser was in attendance as well, and accompanied us on our afternoon activities.
After the service several people came up to me to practice their English. One couple had lived in Canada for a decade and managed their English quite well. Their son had married a Russian woman, so Dora, the mother, learned to speak Russian as well. Two Ukrainian refugee women attended the service and Dora translated for them.
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| Boardwalk leading to overlook |
After lunch, we headed to a mountainous region near where Esther grew up. We were treated to a trail that was new to us called Gäggersteg. We hiked up a long incline until we reached the top of a hill overlooking the beautiful Gantrisch chain of Forealps. The trail is part of the Gantrisch Nature Park. At the top of the hill there were a series of boardwalks leading both upward and onward to a lookout point. Both the natural and wooden parts of the trail provided some spectacular views. (See pictures belos)
We decided to take a shortcut on our way home, and although beautiful, the incline was so steep that at the end of the walk my knees hurt.
That evening the Mosers treated us to a scrumptious meal of salads, grilled meats and dessert. I am glad we spent so much time walking, considering all the food we've been consuming!
The day full of events ended with a train ride back to our home base in Worb.
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| Hosts Peter and Lydia Moser |
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| Hosts daughter Salome with husband and the morning's preacher, Reto |
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| Me with my grandnephew Noe |
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