“And then the fur flew,” Margaret murmured. “I wish I’d been here for that night but not for what followed.”
“It’s hard to imagine why baptizing someone produced such a reaction,” Sharon said.
“It was the Middle Ages,” Margaret said. “They didn’t think right back then.”
“Horrible things also happen in our day and age,” Nancy said, closing the guidebook. “Just north of here, in Germany, Hitler killed more than six million Jews in concentration camps, and even more people he considered undesirable. It’s the human condition, I suppose.”
“I wish people would stop killing each other,” Sharon said, shivering. “The world would be so much the better for it.”
“That I can agree with,” Nancy said. “Now, shall we go to our bed-and-breakfast?”
“I think we should,” Margaret said. “I’ve seen enough horror for one day.”
“Come to think of it, it’s terrible but not quite ‘horror,’” Sharon protested. “It’s what really happened.”
“Dropping grown men into rivers so they’ll drown is horrible,” Margaret said.
“It was for a good cause, I guess,” Sharon said.
Margaret snorted.
Nancy tried to hide the smile that leaped to her face. “I think we’d better get some sleep. It seems we’re all tired.”
“I could fall in bed and never get out for a year,” Margaret groaned. “Please take me there.”
At that, the girls followed Nancy back to the car. Moments later they were on the road, darting in and out of traffic. The man’s voice came from the GPS stuck on the windshield, guiding them all the way.
“Turn left at the intersection one hundred yards ahead.”
“Turn left at rotary, then take the first exit.”
“Divided highway in two hundred yards. Stay right.”
“Go eighty yards, then keep to the highway.”
Margaret groaned. “I’m already tired of that voice.”
“You’re tired of everything right now,” Sharon said from the front seat.
“You can say that again.” Margaret leaned back but didn’t close her eyes.
Katie sat with her eyes glued on the passing scenery. She wanted to see everything, each passing tree and rolling hillside. But there was too much to absorb. “This is really Switzerland!” she finally whispered.
Margaret sat up and joined Katie in watching the passing houses with little flower boxes in the windows.
“Everything is so neat,” Katie said. “And they don’t waste an inch of ground.”
Margaret rested her head back on the seat again. “People have lived here a long time. It’s full. We probably wouldn’t either.”
Before Katie could say anything, Nancy said, “Wettingen coming up.”
As if in agreement, the GPS man intoned, “Take next exit, eighty yards ahead.”
Nancy took the turn, navigating through a small town until they arrived at a two-story house on a quiet cobblestone street.
“You have reached your destination,” the GPS said.
“Bridgette’s house, I believe,” Nancy said, turning in the driveway. “And her husband is Hans. She said we could arrive anytime after three o’clock.”
“It’s four now.” Sharon glanced at her watch. “Isn’t this driveway a little tight?”
“I was looking at the rose trestles over on this side. Aren’t they beautiful?” Margaret said. “Forget about the driveway.”
Nancy brought the car to a stop. “Everything’s tighter in Europe. They have smaller cars, smaller gardens, smaller homes. But they do know how to raise flowers.”
“You can say that again,” Margaret said as they all climbed out.
Nancy walked over and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a woman appeared.
“Are we at the right place?” Nancy asked. “Bridgette is it?”
“Jah, Bridgette,” the lady said. “But no English…me. My husband, Hans, he come tonight. He can talk English.”
“Okay then,” Nancy said. “May we come in?”
Bridgette nodded, holding the door as they brought their suitcases in. “Follow,” she said. She led the girls to their two rooms. “This you like?”
“Yes, yes, certainly. It’s wonderful.” Nancy set down her suitcase. Sharon immediately set her luggage down and set up her laptop. “I want to see if there’s word from home…and check for any other email.” She looked to Bridgette. “Internet connection…um…jah?”
Bridgette looked at the laptop and nodded, “Jah, jah. Hans, he speak tonight.” And then she turned and left.
“I would have tried your German with her,” Nancy told Katie. “But with their Swiss variation, it probably wouldn’t have worked.”
“It’s just as gut,” Katie said. “I’m probably too nervous to say things right anyway.”
“A bed!” Margaret flopped down and groaned. “I’m not moving…not for months.”
“We have to go out for supper,” Nancy said. “They only serve breakfast here.”
“I want sleep, not food,” Margaret said with a moan.
“Then take a short nap,” Nancy suggested. “We’ll leave for supper in an hour.”
“Bye, bye.” Margaret rolled over and gave a little wave with her hand.
“I think we’d better leave her alone,” Katie whispered.
“This is your room also, Katie,” Nancy said. “So you’d better make yourself boss. I think Margaret has more bark than bite.”
“I think I’ll solve the problem by taking a little nap myself,” Katie said.
Nancy left to join Sharon. Katie lay down on her bed, hoping for rest to come even though her mind swirled with excitement.
She’d just started to doze off when Sharon burst in without knocking. Nancy was right behind her. “Hey, you’ve got to come over here and see the news from home!”
“What happened now?” Margaret muttered, unhappy to be roused.
“You won’t believe this. I pulled up the news from the Dover newspaper. There’s been a big drug bust there.”
“So?” Margaret asked, still not stirring. “I doubt it’s anyone we know.”
“Well, no,” Sharon admitted. “But it’s got the whole community in an uproar.”
“It doesn’t concern me right now.” Margaret sat up to shoo Sharon and Nancy out of the room.
“Well, to be honest, I’m just too worked up to sleep now,” Katie said. “I’m going outside to look at the roses.”
“I think I’ll join you,” Nancy told her.
The two girls walked outside into the warm afternoon sunshine. On the trellis fastened to the side of the adjoining house, the roses looked even more beautiful than they had when the girls drove in.
“They’re lovely,” Nancy said, not moving as they took in the sight.
“Yah,” Katie whispered. “So peaceful. It’s like they’re telling us Da Hah is here with His tender touch.”
“I like that,” Nancy said. “So how did you enjoy this afternoon’s tour?”
“I loved it. I’m so thankful I got to see where our faith began. Both Mamm and Ben want to hear all about it when I get back. I’ll have so much to tell them.”
The beauty of the roses caused Katie’s thoughts to turn to Ben. He’d once plucked a wild rose for her, stabbing his finger with a thorn in the process. “I love you, Ben,” she whispered to the roses before following Nancy back inside.
That evening after Margaret was asleep, Katie pulled Ben’s picture out of her suitcase and took a peek by the bright moonlight pouring in the window. He looked even more handsome than she remembered.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The following morning the early sunlight warmed the air as Katie rolled down the car window on her side. It was still a little chilly, but she wanted a gut look at this little town they were traveling through. Everything was neat as a pin, with bushes growing close to the houses and the occasional flower box in a window here and there. The old to
wn of Zurich had gone past the window on Margaret’s side ten minutes ago as Nancy had made her way through creeping traffic. Katie had even caught a brief glimpse of the twin towers of the Grossmunster along the banks of the river as they drove past.
Margaret now leaned forward in the backseat, as Nancy parked along the side of a steep hill. “So tell me again where we’re at.”
“Zollikon,” Nancy replied. “It’s south of Zurich about three miles. And we just passed the farmhouse where the first Anabaptist congregation was formed, but I couldn’t find a parking spot any closer.”
“I don’t mind. I need to stretch my legs anyway,” Sharon said.
All four girls were bright and chirpy after their night’s rest—and also from a very yummy breakfast Bridgette had served them. There had been no eggs like an American breakfast would have, but instead there were strange breads, sliced meats, and chunks of cheese. Nobody had any complaints though. Katie figured she might even gain weight if this kept up, which placed walking in a whole new light. It became a great necessity now.
Nancy was laughing as they climbed out of the car. “I think everyone will get plenty of walking by the time this day is done. We have lots to see today!”
“So what is there to see here?” Margaret asked, as they followed Nancy down the hill.
“A house, basically.” Nancy consulted her guidebook as they stood in front of the two-story home. “The government has placed a plaque up there, over the door. It says, ‘Here on January the 25th of 1525, one of the earliest meetings was held, and a congregation soon formed.’”
“And most of the people were soon martyred or driven out,” Sharon offered, aiming her camera at the plaque.
“I thought you were the sunny person!” Margaret said. “I’m still shuddering over how they dropped Felix Manz in the river yesterday. Can you try a little cheerfulness this morning while my breakfast settles?”
“You’re quite a carnal person,” Sharon snapped. “People shed their blood on this spot, and you’re thinking of breakfast.”
“Girls!” Nancy interrupted. “Let’s try to be nice and cheerful.”
“That’s what I’m trying to be,” Sharon said.
Margaret turned up her nose. “Not very hard, you’re not.”
Katie giggled, which was exactly what she probably shouldn’t do considering the seriousness of the moment. But this argument suddenly struck her as immensely funny. Neither of the two girls were making a lot of sense.
“I’m glad someone finds this funny,” Margaret said, obviously trying to keep her glare up, but failing. They all dissolved into giggles except for Nancy.
“You’re all a disgraceful bunch,” Nancy said, leading the way back up the hill. “What if someone saw us? They’d think we had no respect for our faith.”
“I’m sorry,” Katie offered, but Nancy had a trace of a smile on her face by the time they were all inside the car.
“I suppose it’s good to laugh once in a while,” Nancy concluded as she pulled away from the site. “It’s better than fighting with each other.”
“Sorry,” both Margaret and Sharon said at the same time.
“We’ll do better from now on,” Sharon added.
“We’ll all get along just fine,” Nancy said. “And we don’t want to spoil the fun even when we’re visiting sacred sites. It makes life more interesting.”
“How far to our next site?” Sharon asked, ready to move on with the day.
“All the way around this lake,” Nancy said. “And with this traffic it might take awhile.”
“May I look at the guidebook while you drive?” Sharon asked.
“Sure.” Nancy handed it over with the pages open.
“Tell us where we’re going next,” Margaret said, leaning forward on the seat.
Sharon cleared her throat. “It’s look like we’re heading to the little town of Hirzel, south of Zurich. It hangs on the top of a hillside, it says here, picturesque and beautiful. The views are spectacular with the Swiss Alps visible in the background. Its significance to the Anabaptist faith lies in the designation it soon received as a Taufer nest. Which is what the Reformers in Zurich called a town that had a high population of Anabaptists.”
“What’s a Taufer?” Margaret asked.
“That’s what they call the Anabaptists around here,” Nancy replied, taking the car around a tight curve. “‘A baptizer’ would be the literal translation. So these towns became known as ‘baptizer nests.’ They were places our people would congregate as they fled from persecution.”
“How awful!” Sharon said. “This is horrible. It says the authorities would come in, confiscate the property of the Taufers, banish them, and then use the confiscated funds for at least a portion of a new church structure.”
Nancy took another tight curve, climbing higher on the hillside. “That was the authorities’ accepted method of evangelization back in those days. Once the church was built, they used it to win back the hearts of the people who were left. I guess everyone felt honored to have their own church.”
“That’s bad,” Margaret said, as they entered a small village.
“And here’s the church.” Nancy pulled into a small lot and parked.
“Here’s something I missed,” Sharon said, before they climbed out of the car. “This town is also the birthplace of Johanna Spyri, the author of Heidi. Her home is still here today. Oh, Margaret, I want to see this. I loved that book as a little girl!”
“I want to see the church first,” Margaret said, gazing across the parking lot.
“It’s nice enough,” Sharon said. “But a portion was built with blood money. I don’t think I like that.”
“Well, you have to have a little understanding of the times these people lived in,” Nancy offered. “Anyone want to see the inside of it?”
“Why not?” Margaret said.
And they all followed Nancy inside.
“Stained-glass windows,” Sharon noted. “I still don’t think they should have done this with the money stolen from our ancestors.”
“It’s not as fancy as the big cathedrals are,” Nancy said. “So something good can be said about the church. And maybe there was some other good also accomplished. People might still have found God here. Just not quite like we do.”
“I suppose so,” Sharon allowed, following the others outside again. “No one’s perfect, I guess. I just don’t think they should have chopped off their heads.”
“No one said anything about chopping off heads,” Margaret said. “We only heard about drowning yesterday.”
“That’s coming, don’t worry. I can feel it.”
“I’m afraid she’s right,” Nancy agreed. “Medieval times were a little different.”
The group was silent as they climbed the hill past the sign that pointed to the Spyri home. They paused occasionally on the long climb to look back at the view and catch their breath.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous up here,” Sharon gushed. “No wonder Ms. Spyri could write like she could. Listen to those cowbells and look at the Alps over there. I can see Heidi now running through the meadows.”
“Or climbing up to the blind grandfather’s hut on the mountain,” Nancy added.
“It does my soul good,” Margaret said. “I think I’ve found one of my lost hours right now. It leaped right back into my body.”
They all laughed and approached the house where Katie translated the sign for them. “There’s a lady’s name written on top, then ‘Birth house of her daughter, Johanna Spyri’ written below that.”
“It’s even more lovely from up here.” Sharon walked away a few steps, snapping pictures. Katie soon followed, and they climbed farther up the hill behind the house. All of them spent a long time looking out over the valley at the rolling meadows with perfect patches of farmland.
“It’s almost like a picture book,” Sharon commented. “What would it be like to live up here? You’d be close to heaven every day.”
“Don�
��t forget the chopping off of heads that’s coming up,” Margaret said. “People who lived here probably did that.”
“You would have to say that!” Sharon sighed, “And you’ve spoiled a perfect moment.”
“Tempers down, please,” Nancy said. “Now, let’s get back to the car and grab ourselves some lunch. Then we’ll be on our way again.”
“I want to stay here all day,” Sharon said dreamily, but went along when the others started down. She was soon whispering and laughing to Margaret as Nancy and Katie lagged behind.
“Those two will keep us entertained, don’t you think?” Nancy said.
“They love each other,” Katie said. “They are my two best friends. They did something very special for me during a very hard time in my life. I’ll never forget that.”
“The Lord does that for us sometimes,” Nancy agreed. “He sends us what—or who—we need.”
They soon arrived at the bottom of the hill, climbed back into the car, and headed down the mountain. Margaret and Sharon were admiring the view with loud exclamations the whole time. Katie was enjoying herself just as much; she just didn’t make as much noise about it. That was probably from being raised Amish, which wasn’t wrong—just different from the Mennonites.
The awe and the gasps continued from Sharon and Margaret as Nancy drove through the countryside. Nancy soon stopped at another little market where they purchased lunch.
“Let’s not eat now,” Nancy suggested when they came back outside. “We’ll be at the cave before long, where I’m sure there’s a picnic area. And we might even be up in the mountains by then and have another gorgeous view to go along with our food.”
“Suits me,” Margaret agreed. “Though I hope it’s soon. I’m starving.”
“You should be,” Sharon said. “It’s getting close to one o’clock here.”
“That’s means seven in the morning at home,” Margaret said, as they climbed back into the car. “Breakfast time! I can smell the bacon and eggs.”
Nancy laughed. “I’m afraid that’s something you won’t see in this country. They don’t know much about American breakfasts.”
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