Tannzapfenland
hello everybody well this time we're not just going into geography we're also going to go a little bit into history now you're probably wondering what Tannzapfenland actually means. pine cones but to me it's also a region of Switzerland where the roots of my family are in the village where I grew up there was also an artist who did sketches in the region and he also published a booklet with various sketches of small towns so you'll see as story progresses that we have some pictures of his work . well this is Schönau and Schönau has a big meaning for me because that's where my grandmother was born. my grandmother was born and grew up in this farmhouse in Schönau and was born in 1875 and my grandfather was born 1875 as well but he grew up in Dussnang . they had married in 1898 in Fischingen. the monastery in Fischingen got established in 1135. Also by coincidence my brother Paul and
Theres got married in 1971 in the same church. Grandparents lived in Dussnang and in 1907 commissioned a contractor to build them a house for a grand sum of 12,700 Francs. the house still standing and the Widow of one of my cousins is living there . As you
can see on this map at the very bottom is Dussnang where my grandparents and family grew up and then my dad purchased a property in Eschlikon and I grew up there and Paul ended up in Bichelsee which is more or less in the center of the map . this is part of the Tannzapfenland and we're going to do a bit of exploring. Bichelsee is quite an old town and as you can see in the sketch it's typical construction with Lumber and Stone. this is looking out of Paul's window. he was kind enough to raise the Canadian flag. we didn't have sunny days every day, we actually had quite a bit of rain at times which kind of explains all lot that the grass is so green. as you can see that there a lot of forested areas and hence the name of Tannzapfenland. hiking trails of course are shared with Farmers but they are in really good shape and easy for walking looking southeast and you can see it's quite hilly looking East you can see the Village w which is tripled in size since I was a kid when I was a kid we had a population of 600 people. somebody set up a little honey
collection operation in the Woods. amazing looking little beehives and surprisingly that this late in the year there were still busy gathering. this is Paul's friend's Farmhouse and obviously well taken care of I noticed there is still a big demand for firewood and this fellow actually has made it his business to chop up wood and sell it for firewood as you probably noticed, agriculture is still big part of the economy in the smaller towns and there also big concerns about the trash there was this poster in one of the Farms that basically says garbage kills animals and we're happy to notice that people really made an effort to not leave anything behind if they go for picnic everybody what you bring trash you bring it back this Farmer was quite proud to hang up some of the old Hardware they used while he was still working the farm with horses. of course they had to have the bells up there this is kind of proof that it does rain quite a bit in Switzerland so enough moisture that moss is growing on its roof now the other thing I noticed that the mailboxes they seem to be all the same in Switzerland so I wonder whether the Postal Service actually has a standard size . this farmer obviously was into big time exercises and also looks like he was doing a bit of wood carving it's quite the sculpture last summer they did some deep digging and poduced some core samples and discovered that in this area actually even 5,000 years ago was already being farmed and it's amazing when to look back. they're not sure, but anywhere between 13,000 to 5,000 years ago 13 ,000 was basically the end of the last ice age . when exactly they started working this area wasn't quite clear
but there's definite proof that 5,000 years ago it was already being farmed . this cow kind of took a shine to me that she kept watching me. maybe I thought I was going to feed it some first class grass. we went on another nice hiking trip looking East and this is Mount Säntis.
visible on a clear day from our house at home we ended up on top of this forested area and oddly enough to name it a Hill. named Cabbage Head . the trail signs always tells you uh where you want to go and gives you time it takes to get there also in this area they had because it's right along the border between Canton Zurich and Canton Thurgau the exact stones that marks the border they was set up in 1913 so those Markers were there for a while on the way down we came across this tree cutting area where they were clearing out some the old beech and also some spruce trees. they were quite huge and there was this one Karen really took interesting in and it was red wood so we suspect it was a wild cherry. when I grew up there was in several saw mills .we had one in our village the next Village
East had a saw mill and to the West as well. so it was quite a big industry. back in the village again and you see some of the beautiful old houses with timber frame construction and also there is this lady in the village that does sculpturing with her chainsaw and she's quite the skilled artist. look at the stack of books. it's actually carved out of a tree or a log back to hiking heading up towards the Hörnli which is the highest point in the Canton Thurgau. towards the end things got really serious. huffing and puffing but we did enjoy the view from up there you can see the valley below is Tösstal and in the far distance you see the Alps this looking East on top of some of the mountain they have these triangle Peak that actually are designed for the surveyors .underneath that Center there's a survey marker so they can actually measure from Mountain to Mountain and then you know exactly what the elevations is. finally we made it to top and we we and enjoy a nice break we had a little drink there and and an apple Paul's checking his app on the phone shows him the trails for the way back but first we had to go and have a coffee at this restaurant . it's just one thing about
Switzerland, If you go up the mountain one thing you always want to make sure there a restaurant there . it's always the highlight of the hike. you go sit there and have a coffee and a Nussgipfel. these two peaks in the distance actually are in Central Switzerland always amazes me how small the country is. this Tower that's actually communication Tower and also has a weather station interesting you can see there's quite hilly that area and uh also there's never shortage of signage so you never lost and on the bottom you can see there's a signage for the actual hiking trails and we came across the rabbits were happy to see us and uh Karen rabbit Whisperers got them all excited well back in Bichelsee again and hunkering down for the day take a rest well it's time to check the mail I hope by way the uh little symbol on top there this little Hinzelmann actually was that uh Paul's wife maiden name was Heinzelmann and that's why they put the little sculpture on top there. well the story wouldn't be complete if I didnt introduce you to Suzie the turtle that has been living in Paul's family for over 30 years and around this time of year it just buries itself into the ground and hibernates and usually Paul brings it in but the Rascal started digging itself in so Paul had to give it a bath and get it ready for the winter. He puts in that box in a cool spot in the cellar and it digs itself in now the other thing that Paul was instrumental in last years he built this senior home in town and uh it's quite impressive and uh it's quite an achievement. well surprise surprise they also have cities in Switzerland Wil is about 15 minute drive from Pauls place and it's quite an old city What used to be the main entrance into town they Closed it off to traffic so it's just pedestrian traffic now which makes it really nice and the old part of the city actually was on a higher are.
guess it made it easier to defend the town . what always amazes me in Switzerland how the older cities they have this Murals . I guess maybe they had more civilized graffiti back then but it's amazing and they all tell the story now you can understand why the lumber industry was big back in the days because the construction were using a lot of big Lumber especially Spruce and fir tree because they grew nice and straight to think that the some buildings are 400 to 500 years old and still there's no sign of rot in the wood always amazing they actually have the sidewalk below the buildings were actually protecting over the sidewalk so it was easy to even in a rainy day to walk along there and stay dry and here seems to me they have these trap doors underneath the sidewalk where they would have access to the basement to uh deliver or especially if there was a restaurant or so probing barrels of beer and wine down there again uh no true traffic just local traffic which makes it nice for the pedestrians and this is the East Gate going out so you can see how the way the city was designed was well protected and this is the uh Patron Saint a Bishop again for color even in Switzerland leaves change not as brilliant as said to Canada. Karen was impressed that this Outdoor Cafe even
provided blankets for people to sit there and have their coffee on the ground floor they had this woodworking shop and I also noticed that a lot of the shops were kind of related to arts and crafts our mom used to take us here and weekends or during the week on Wednesday afternoons when the store was closed . this is the gate the the east side of town well we're back in Bichelsee and looks like we're not all alone we got our furry friends as well and here's Petra going to swimming Bichelsee temperature 14 C and there's Karen Yahoo a amazing to think that our ancestors already swam in there 5,000 years ago I hope you enjoyed the story and we'll see you next time
2024-11-09 01:17
