Day 13* Unteragerisee and a Tour back to Wangi

After a refreshing sleep, we rose and went down to a sumptuous breakfast, with lots of good espresso to help it down. The Friebe’s had a bit of work getting presents back to Bonstetten and cleaning up at the hotel, and at the church to complete, so we were left to our own devices. We went to check out only to find our bill had been settled by Paul. Their reasoning was that the Coopers and we had already paid enough to come to the wedding, and it was their honour to have us. We accepted this most gracious gift to us. We’ve all four of us experienced a real generosity of spirit being extended to us, not just by the Friebe’s but by all the Swiss we’ve met.
Denise and I went walking in and around the town and the edge of the lake and finished up back at the hotel where I had a first attempt to get some photos on to the Internet. The walk gave us some much needed exercise through some meadows, but not to the lake edge. Back in town Denise bought some lunch and we walked the other direction to where we got on the boat, and found a delightful setting in front of the fountain and looking up at the surrounding hillside with its houses and fields and forests. Going around the lake had reminded us all very much of parts of the Sounds, with deep green water and forest down to the edge with the odd house on the shoreline.
Then back to the hotel and we began writing our journals and sharing reflections until Paul and Margrit arrived to take us all back to Wängi.
We had four tourist stops along the way. The first was above the city of Rapperswil at one end of the Zurichsee and which I managed to insist was Zurich – a third time being totally 180º disoriented!? Paul and Margrit found it very amusing and so did Denise – NOT!
The second was going up the side of the Iddaborg mountain and there was a view of some of the Alps including the mountain Santis, 2900 m, and with a restaurant on the top.
The third stop was at Iddaborg itself. It is on one of the old pilgrim ways and has a shrine to Idda, a woman who was accused by her husband of being unfaithful so he threw her off the top, but instead of falling to her death she fell into a grotto just below and was saved (though apparently it was really the work of angels and Mary). We walked down to the shrine and thanks to some hymn sheets there I became Catholic for a moment and sang a couple of verses of the Ave Maria in Geman. The acoustics were lovely. Then back up to the top and into the small church which has a black Madonna. It is the only one in central Europe and the most easterly one. I think they think it was brought by Spanish pilgrims. We followed this with tea and coffee and reluctantly it was agreed that Terry would be allowed to pay.
Back into the cars and down to the monastery at Fischingen. Last visit the church was closed but this time it wasn’t and a full Baroque church in all its breathtaking glory was revealed.
Finally we got home and there Kathrin and Philippe with the help of Susann and brother Philippe had prepared the evening meal – lasagne.
A moment of horror though, for me, I tried to get some photos of the wedding onto the net and found that the last 200 taken are unable to be opened off the memory stick. I tried again back at the hotel and still no luck. I can still see everything I’ve taken so I’m not sure what I can do. I’m hoping when I get home I can recover them via the USB connection.
On our return to the hotel, our host Herr Haffner was waiting and invited me to join him for a glass of beer. This I did and we had a long conversation about life in New Zealand and Switzerland. Time for bed.