In my 3rd blog entry (December 1st – The Ghost Walk of Zurich) I mentioned having drinks at the Aelpli Bar with our new Swiss friends from Meilen. They are Paul and Iris Sprenger, a wonderful couple who have ‘taken us under their wing’.Doug always chuckles when I say I’m the shy one of the two of us. But I am! I’m an extremely shy extravert. I like meeting new people and exploring new venues. I was the one who found and suggested the Ghost Walk. We were the first to arrive that evening, but were soon joined by another couple who appeared to be about our age or slightly older. The tour was being given in English, so I knew they spoke or at least understood English … even American English (vs. British English).
So, while people were arriving, I introduced myself to the woman. “My name is Luci,” I said. She responded, “I’m Iris.” The tour began, and as we walked from location to location, she and I chatted about random things: where are you from, why are you taking this tour, isn’t it cold, and so on--nothing in particular, just conversation. Iris introduced her husband Paul to me, and I introduced them both to Doug. We learned that they lived near Zurich, and they were taking the tour just for the fun of it. They lived just south of Zurich in Meilen, but were fond of “meandering” frequently, just as Doug and I do.
Sometime during the tour Iris said, “Give me your number, so we can get together.” YES, I thought: I had made a new friend! I mentioned it to Doug and when the tour ended they suggested we go for a drink. They knew the city and took us through the cobblestone street to an out-of-the-way pub called the Aelpli Bar, in central Zurich’s Niederdorf neighborhood.
As we walked through the old wooden door and up a few narrow steps, it was as if we slipped through a portal into old Zurich. The pub was small, cozy, comfortably lit, and packed with happy patrons. The music was not piped in, but was live and up close: three accordionists played as they sat on overturned crates, and the waitress wove her way among close-packed tables of customers who sang and foot-tapped along with the melody. We found a well worn wooden table and benches in the back of the pub, and Paul ordered us a bottle of wine.
The next hour or so was magical.
Paul shared with us that he had recently connected with relatives from America. In 1854 these relatives’ ancestor, John Jacob Sprenger, had immigrated to America – to my home state of Minnesota! John Jacob Sprenger’s descendents had done their research, connected with Paul and Iris, and exchanged family information. Just last year, Paul and Iris had traveled to Minnesota, California, Oregon, and Washington to visit with their new found relatives. So they knew Seattle, and had visited many of the places we had. We connected!
Before the night was over, we had exchanged not only phone numbers, but business cards and email addresses, and they had invited us to dinner at their home on the following Sunday evening. They walked back through old Zurich with us; then we said good night and boarded our respective trams. Not goodbye, but just good night, for this would be just the first of several adventures with our new Swiss friends.
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