Switzerland Sabbatical Sites: Mountain Formations and Protestant Reformation.

July 18, 2012 — Adam Rumball

The view from on top of Santis Mountain. This was my first ever mountain ascent.

I had high expectations of Switzerland. It has exceeded my expectations for rejuvenating experiences in every way. Calvin and Zwingli’s churches were inspirational and impressive.  The landscapes of buildings and mountains, lakes and rivers, towns and villages, vineyards and rolling hills were all very lush and  tranquil.  Many thanks to my host family for generously facilitating  many memorable events. :)

The plan for this sabbatical month of July is touring beautiful and historic European cities using a Eurail Global Pass. You may know that from talking with me or from reading my last post on Italy. Well that plan is going well, so far. Observing the beautiful landscapes, visiting church history sites plus strolling through urban centres has been both invigorating and devotional. Here is some detail about my sabbatical experiences in Switzerland from July 8-16.

Swiss Landscape Sites: Geneva, Zurich, Luzern, Stein am Rhine, Saint Gallon, Fraunfeld, etc.

Landscapes I saw included:

  1. The Alps.  I arrived by train from Milan through Chiasso to Zürich during a sunny afternoon.  The Swiss rail system is the perfect way to see the stunning landscapes of the Swiss Alps. They have dramatically steep mountains slashing into broad blue lakes.  The Alps are very different mountains ranges than our Canadian Rockies, which appear broadly wide, but less sharply vertical.
  2. Mount Säntis (2500m) ascent by cable car.  This was my first mountain ascent and is pictured above from a photos that day.  I also pet two cows at the bottom of the hill.  They had loud cowbells.
  3. Rhinefalls: Europe’s biggest waterfall and flows at 600m3/second.
  4. Stählibuckturm.
  5. Scenic driving tours through many Swiss Cantons including Appenzell, Shaffhausen, Thurgau, Zurich, Luzern, Saint Gallen.  Each of the 25 Canton’s has distinctive architectural features in their homes and fascinating histories, like the peaceful separation of Catholics and Protestant citizens in Appenzell.
  6. Day trip to Luzern.  We walked the city, took nice photos, had a peaceful lakeside lunch with a view of the mountains, the KKL building’s impressive roof, the covered bridge and the lovely old hotels.  Luzern is such a charming town. I also enjoyed seeing the two Catholic churches, the glacier museum and the Lion monument (Löwendenkmal) to the fallen soldier’s of the Swiss Guard.
  7. One day, we took a day trip into the forest to help build a roof over a brookside cabin’s fireplace and then enjoyed  long, relaxing lunch of fine Swiss hospitality in the sunshine.  The joy of eating together after this forest building project will remain as a special memory.

Geneva and Zurich have beautiful landscapes too, but my first focus in those cities was to explore the church history sites of Calvin and Zwingli.

Swiss Church History Sites: John Calvin in Geneva.

One day, I made a 4hr train trip to the lovely lakeside city of Geneva to see Church History sites of the Reformation including John Calvin’s church called Geneva Cathedral (St-Pierre), Geneva, the Reformation Monument, The Reformation Museum and Auditoire de Calvin, Geneva.  All 4 are within 5 minutes walk.  3 of them are in buildings that are nearly touching each other.  The Reformation Museum was very educational and had many engaging displays. As a city, Geneva has nice waterfront walkways and a tall and narrow fountain.  French was commonly spoken, which is nice for a Canadian to hear.  I travelled, by train, through Lausanne. This is where the World Evangelization Conference was held.  Check out more on what Sacred Destinations reports about Geneva and Church history.

Swiss Church History Sites: Ulrich Zwingli in Zürich.

In  Zürich, I saw church history sites of the Reformation  including Yülrich Zwingli’s church called Grossmünster, plus Fraumünster and St. Peterskirche. The city has many nice walking areas including the University, Neirdorf and the River walk into Bellevue.

What comes after Switzerland?

After Switzerland, I plan to see Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Kracow, Berlin (Wittenburg), Brügges and Amsterdam before returning on August 2nd to Toronto. Many of the Church history sites that I plan to visit in each place are described and photographed in the website www.sacred-destinations.com. They organize entries by destination city and country.  For example, I want to see Wittenburg and the Bible Museum.

May God bless you all with faith, hope and love in Christ.

See you in August.

Peace,

Adam

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Italian Sabbatical Impressions: Hearing the Pope in Rome and other fun stuff.

July 14, 2012 — Adam Rumball

Travel puts wind in my sails.  My plan for this sabbatical month is touring beautiful and historic European cities using a Eurail Global Pass.  Observing the beautiful landscapes, visiting church history sites and strolling through urban centres has been both invigorating and devotional, so far.  My next post will be about the  impressive landscapes and Reformation Church History sites of my Sabbatical time in Switzerland. For now, here is a bit of what stuck out from my time in Italy. :)

June 30-July 8: Rome, Florence, Venice and Trieste.

Italy has fountains, public squares, museums, churches, heat, stylish people and delicious food, like the buffalo mozzarella and tomato pizzas.

Venice was nice, but too touristy for my taste. However, I enjoyed the strolls through narrow streets and day trips for swimming at Lido and Trieste.  I had a peaceful dinner by myself on the grand canal one night and watched the romantic gondolas go by, along with water taxis and public transit boats.  I bought a T-shirt from the Venice site of the Hard Rock Cafe, which is near St. Mark’s Basilica and square.  I found it fun and unique that gondolas could pull up in front and drop you off at this Hard Rock Cafe.  If Venice was a slight disappointment, then Florence was a nice surprise.

Florence’s museums, such as the Uffizi, are amazing. The David, by Michelangelo, was impressive. I will never forget the 15 minute description and interpretation given to us by our tour guide as we viewed the magnificent form.  The highlight of my time in Florence was a bicycle tour that our group took from 9-11pm over the river’s many bridges during a full moon. Florence is the Renaissance-textile capital, but Rome is the historical-religious centre.

In Rome, the highlight for me was being in the front row to hear the Pope address the crowd in St. Peter’s Square.  I had just exited the tour of the immaculate St. Peter’s Basilica tour and then walked into the front row of the audience who had gathered to hear his last speech of the summer (before he went into summer residence for 2 months).  He spoke at 12:20pm on Sunday July 1.  Attending such a religious event at the Vatican was a fun way to spend my 2012 Canada Day.  What impressed me most about hearing the Pope read a Latin blessings and then translate it into many languages from his little window was the responsiveness of the crowd.  They shouted adulation  to the Pope such as “Long live Papa” and “We love you Papa”. He waved his hands gently and, I assume, affection for the people. It was like being front row centre at a U2 concert when Bono is connecting with the crowd and singing “Where the Streets have no name“.  It was electric with spiritual emotion.  Now, I am not a Roman Catholic Christian, but I did shed a single tear at the affection displayed between the man and his international flock.  It reminded me of Jesus Christ and his love for the Global Church, which we become a part of by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. A sad aside is that because of all the excitement of the Pope-moment, I forgot to see the Sistine Chapel before I left the sovereign territory of the Vatican City.

I was also impressed by the Pantheon.

Look for my next post on the Sabbatical time in Switzerland.  Thanks for reading.  See you soon.

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