Day 175 - A local Artist Painter

(Ursula) I felt reborn after a wonderful morning shower and a leisurely coffee with Mrs. Kern.

After her husband arrived home for lunch, we said our goodbyes and searched for a Swiss painter and artist Mr. Kern told us about.

His house wasn't hard to miss with its prominent orange-colored entrance gate! Mr. Kern had apparently telephoned ahead to say that we might be interested in his artwork.

Mr. and Mrs. Koenig were a lovely Swiss couple in their 80's. He proudly showed us his collection, and I liked his oil paintings from the Bahia and Recife area. The larger ones were priced at $125, which wasn't expensive for an original, but we couldn't afford it. He sensed that our budget was limited and offered me a smaller one at a "good Swiss friend" price. We purchased it without the frame so it could easily be rolled up in a tube. Mrs. Koenig was sweet and gave us a jar of her homemade orange marmalade on our way.

A few miles further down the road, we stopped at the pastry shop of Augusto Hirschi, another Swiss. He was overly pleased to converse with us in Swiss German. He immediately offered us a Schnapps, of which he had a whole collection. He was talking like a book, trailing off into different subjects. Heinz had to steer the conversation back on track several times until he realized (in his eagerness to speak Swiss) that we might have stopped by to try some pastries. He was particularly proud of his baked goods and made the point ( several times) that he only uses the best quality butter. The samples tasted indeed delicious.

We bought a selection of pastries to take with us on the road. Then drove on for a few hours and stayed overnight at a truck stop. After all the sweets we ate that day, sharing a fresh salad and good sausage for dinner was good.

While we were eating, we heard Büsi meow from far away. We thought he was lost somewhere in the tall grass and went searching with our flashlights. But we couldn't find him. Then we heard the meowing again. As it turned out, he was close by, locked inside the fridge by accident. What a day!

Stats: Miles 56, Expenses $29.75Read more