Fribourg: Returning Home

Terry again, here, doing Brian's blogging job . . .AGAIN! We woke up this morning to an overcast sky and the realization that we've become quite captivated with Bern after yesterday's exposure. Sherry was simply amazed at the beautiful color of the river - a "seafoam aquamarine" suitable for the Caribbean - and Bree liked the Bear and the shopping street. So we decided that we would begin the day's adventures in Bern. So off we went to the Einstein Museum - his old apartment where he came up with the Special Theory of Relativity. I was hoping intelligence would somehow imbue into me from some type of posthumous osmosis, and it did!

From there we went to the Cathedral which was amazingly similar to the Fribourg St. Nicholas cathedral, only barer since it suffered from the destruction of the Reformation. Brian was able to find some early evidence of Swiss graffitti by finding the date "1566" crudely etched into the stone inside one of the nooks of the church. There was a date "1830" also carved into the wood close by! Damned Protestant rabble-rousers! See slide show of Bern.  When we came out of the cathedral, the sky had cleared and we were facing a sunny day that immediately put the thought into our heads: Fribourg!!  

Ah, Fribourg. The 20-minute train ride for me was filled with a bit of trepidation. For those who don't know, I spent my 20th year in Fribourg attending the University, living in an international student house with students from all over the world whom I could never have met in a non-neutral country. It was here where many of my life principles were formed: People are generally good and usually try to do the right thing even if we make mistakes. We thrive better together than we ever could alone. . .that sort of thing.

So here was my first return to the cradle of my budding personality in 38 years, and Brian insisted on being an irritating little snot by videoing EVERYTHING he could think of. It's amazing the end-of-day clips weren't shot through the outward-facing restricted view of his anal aperture.

In any event, we got off the train and started walking down the what was supposed to be familiar main street. Wow! The street layout was the same, but there has been and there still is a lot of reconstruction in downtown. See video: "Don't have a clue!" The Rue du Romont is now pedestrian-only with delightful cafes spilling their tables into the the street. Being lunch time, we stopped at Cafe du Midi, our favorite stomping ground of yore, so we could have the world famous moitie-moitie fondue. Made with the 2 Fribourgeois cheeses of Gruyeres and Vecherin, everyone agreed that it really (in Bill's words) did not suck.

From there, it was time to return to my old haunts at the University. Walking up the Rue de l'Hopital, I could see that new construction was sitting where the driveway to my old dorm, Foyer St. Justin, used to be. See video: "I never left."   Cresting the hill and standing by the railroad tracks, I could see that the old dorm was still there, just behind the new building (Relief!) We walked (I could have been running, I don't know) down into the complex, now called Cite St. Justin, and I proceeded to blather on about what I did 38 years ago, where all this fascinating behavior occurred, who I was with, etc. See video: "Guitar".  And in talking to one of the maintenance men, I learned it was still an international dorm complex that had simply grown bigger, not been replaced! (Again, Relief!) Everyone was dutifully respectful to let me drone on. And crossing the street to the University itself, the building looks amazingly similar, with a few new pieces to it. This city, to my mind, exists because of the University so it was a gratifying to see that it was still going strong.

That out of the way, it was time to descend to the basse-ville. Back down past the Gare (train station), to the high overlook. We walked down towards the Cathedral St. Nicholas, looking over the River Sarine winding below us. This church is where I used to sit on Sundays looking at the wonderful blue stained glass windows, listening to the finest church organ in Switzerland with an organist who loved to play Bach as the people filed out of Mass, filling the entire cathedral with the "Voice of God." Springing for the opportunity to be closer to God, we climbed the 368 steps to the top of the cathedral to come upon one of the most spectacular views (to me) in the world. After the appropriate rest and oxygen administration, we came down and continued our journey down to the basse-ville, impressing Brian with my knowledge of the stairway shortcut. Impressing me was the new addition of the funiculair back up to the main town, which was the only way this excursion avoided becoming known as the "Infamous Fribourg Death March."

Getting directions from the funiculair conductor as to the best place in town now to have dinner (we ignored it because I think it belonged to his brother-in-law), we went back to one of the outdoor cafes on Rue du Romont to have pizza and refreshing adult beverages under the late afternoon sun. I don't know what the menu actually said about the dessert entrees, but Bree read something that said "Monstrous Chocolate Thingie Made Specially for Bree Albright" and ordered it. Those were her last words for the day. See "cheers" video.  After that, she just purred and slept on the way home.  See slide show of Fribourg.  

Taking the 20 minute ride back home - note how every place in this country is "home" - reflecting on what has changed and what has stayed the same, it was comforting to realize that Fribourg, after all this time, is thriving here in Switzerland - and here in me.