round 1: Zürich and environs, and Bern.

As I suspect most of you already know, my parents spent the entire month of July in Europe. I am so proud of them for doing this, for many reasons...getting out of their comfort zones, traveling for an extended period of time, going to a place where English isn't the first language, trying new foods, etc., etc., etc. I'm also very grateful that they let me tag along, especially since we all calculated that I haven't really spent just me-time with them since I was SIX YEARS OLD (thanks in great part to those I like to call "my younger siblings"). I really valued and enjoyed the experience, and I can only hope that they enjoyed themselves as well, given the monumental distances we walked, and the late-night trains we hopped, and my "occasional" tendency to be a bit "impatient." Thanks, Mom and Dad, for your patience.

The initial intent of the trip, for my Dad in particular, was to learn more about the Anabaptists (a derogatory name, meaning "re-baptizers"), the 16th-century radical reformers who felt that the mainstream Protestant Reformation hadn't gone quite  far enough in its departure from Catholicism and the practice of selling indulgences. As a result, the Anabaptists received not only the ire of the Catholic church, but of the Protestant Reformers as well. Despite torture and martyrdom, the Anabaptists still managed to establish some of the basic worship and church practices that are near and dear to our hearts: the importance of the separation of church and state; freedom of conscience and of worship; the practice of adult (i.e., voluntary and consciously chosen) baptism; and nonviolent protest and expression, to name a few. The modern-day descendants of the Anabaptists can be found in both some Baptist churches, in the Amish church, and in the Mennonite church as well (a church which, we learned on this trip, can run from extremely conservative--this is where I envision bonnets and dresses and beards and whatnot--to extremely liberal, as we saw in the hidden church in Amsterdam...but more about that later.)

It turns out that the core of the Anabaptist movement arose right here in good ol' Zürich, with Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and Conrad Grebel. For a far better treatment on all of this, you should absolutely refer to my Dad's blog, the Peripatetic Curmudgeon, which he mostly wrote while we were on the road. (Obviously, this is super impressive to me, as I can barely be bothered to write while not doing much of anything at home.) I'm going to try to keep this short, and with a slightly different selection of photos, 'cause he's already written all of this, and far more knowledgeably than I could have.

That having been said...within and around Zürich, among other things, we visited Zwingli's church, Grossmünster; the Fraukirche (with stained-glass windows by Chagall); the Wasserkirche, which, frankly, I didn't even know was open to the public and had a fascinating archaeological exhibit in its crypt; the homes and neighborhoods of Manz, Blaurock, and Grebel (such as they are today, cafes and theaters and private residences, although I have to say that the city of Zürich has done a nice job marking everything possible with plaques); the spot on the Limmat River near where Anabaptists were executed; the site of the first Anabaptist congregation; and a cave in which Anabaptists both worshipped and hid during times of persecution. It was an action-packed few days, in which I learned a great deal from Dad about the Anabaptists, and about my own city's history.

Plaque on the Limmat commemorating Anabaptist executions.  This thing dates all the way back to 2004, when the local Reformed Protestant church, Zürich city council, and Mennonite World Conference met to promote a spirit of reconciliation.

Site of the first Anabaptist congregation in Zollikon. Used to be a farmhouse, now apartments.

The cloisters of Grossmünster, which I had no idea existed until we found this during Mom and Dad's visit. Just gorgeous, and two entire walls are covered with the story of Zwingli's role in the Reformation in Zürich.

Baby goats on the long, long walk to the Anabaptist cave near Bäretswil. Talk about rural.

Approaching the Anabaptist cave.

Inside, looking out. You can sorta see the little waterfall that flows right over the cave opening. Inside was a little plaque that read something like, "This cave offered protection to the persecuted Anabaptists for quiet and prayer in the 15th century."

A view back down the trail from the cave. Very pretty, very green, and very quiet, except for the cow bells in the distance. Also, it was oddly cold here.

After four days in Zürich, we hopped a train to Bern, which was, naturally, the site of additional persecution for the Anabaptists. Again, among other things, we saw the Rathaus, where Anabaptist disputations (essentially, the opportunity to present and debate their beliefs in public) were held; the city cathedral (Münster, in German); the bear enclosure (sometimes you just have to do the touristy things, since you're there already...!); Albert Einstein's house; tons of fountains and 15th-century buildings; Käfigturm, the prison tower in which Anabaptists were held; Swiss parliament; and an actual Bernese mountain dog.

Käfigturm on the left, parliament in the right background with the green dome.

Bern's Zytglogge, an animated/astrological clock, and one of the town's main attractions.

City streets lined with 15th-century sandstone buildings and arcades.

Einstein's house.

Mug in the gift shop at the Bärengraben. I want.

Back side of a statue of Bern's founder...I love the little bear looking inside his helmet. Heh. 

Sadly, I somehow failed to get a decent photo of an entire facade of the Münster, but here's a close-up of its main entrance. Quite elaborate, and dating back to between 1460 and 1500.

A figure carved into one of the side entrances...he reminded me so much of the scene in A Christmas Story. "Stuck...? Stuuuuuck?" (Flick? Flick who?) Nice one, anonymous medieval builders.

This was something new and interesting: there are rows upon rows of "reserved" seating in the cathedral, dating back to the 18th (I think...) century, which were for guild members and important politicians. The back of each individual seat in each pew was either carved for its specific owner, or had a tiny painted tin sign indicating who sat there. Really interesting stuff.

The fancy seats. For fancy people.

And then there were the misericords. I've heard this word before, but never really looked into it: turns out, it's a little platform on the underside of a fold-down seat on which either ladies in dresses too fancy to sit in, or just anyone during an extended period of standing can lean on. This one and the one next to it are the only ones in Bern's cathedral that have faces on them.

Finches on the fountain in front of the Münster. Thankfully, we saw far more of these little guys on our adventures than we saw of pigeons. Finches = adorable. Pigeons = filthy rats with wings.

Weird little goblin-eared dude holding up the bottom of a tower. Not the last one we'd see. (Goblin dude, not tower. But that's also true, I guess.)

Ugh. Bern is just so disgustingly charming and adorable...!

Bernese mountain dog! These things are monsters, in the best possible way. There's another one laying down behind him, and the little white doggie on the right was very interested in being friends with us.

Seriously, though, read Dad's blog. It's way better and more thought-out than mine.

Up next: Langnau im Emmental and Basel.