In Hallwilersee
Of all the places that I’ve been to in Switzerland, not one have I frequented more than Hallwilersee. We put aside the regular trips to the grocery stores like the COOP at the little village where I lived for the past 4 1/2 years, clearly would be the winner! Hands down…Hallwilersee is the champion.
I didn’t find this lake by chance. My friends who were my neighbors in Othmarsingen, go there on a regular basis. So, her tradition kinda got stuck with me as well. Whenever it shined, I arrived! Besides, the car ride from Othmarsingen to Hallwilersee invited you to take it…all the time. If you like curved roads that cut thru deep forests and emerge onto the open sunflower fields around the typical seasonal –“pick up your own fruits and flowers in a basket”- presented sceneries…this is your calling for the -“spontaneous picnic stop in the afternoon at Hallwilersee”- kinda deal. Again, why am I living in Jakarta?
My daughter would get out of school and if there was any sun shining, I would pick her up at noon, and boom, we were there at the lake in 20 minutes. What’s 20 minutes of a hidden palace of nature? Nothing. I need to scape my neighbors…boom, we’re in Hallwilersee. I don’t want to talk my husband…boom, I’m in Hallwilersee. I have to go to my gynecologist in Amerswill, which by the way is on the same route to Hawillersee… boom, I end up in Hallwilersee. Don’t want to cook today, let’s get McDonalds…boom, take it to Hawilersee. GOT HALLWILERSEE?
It also made me fall in love with the idea of swimming with swans. I swore I would never do it, but I did. Everyone did. (Ok, here I am, splurging words on an article about a lake and its swans). The swans here were so killingly friendly. They would get really close to you. Then, they would wait, and wait, and wait. They know you had bread somewhere around you. They smelled it a mile away. They also sensed fear, so it was do or die by psycho swans! Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist being attacked by swans, so I used to bring loads of breads for ’em.
My husband and I would talk about buying a house around lake Hallwyl because who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money in a little Swiss chalet in Hallwilersee, right? It would have been a great investment, but then again, a house in Switzerland is not the same as buying a house in Texas, let alone the size of the house. For the price of one, I can buy 2 in Texas! Even 3 in some areas of Texas. Crazy.
Did you know that there are over 100 lakes in Switzerland? Yes! So, you can imagine, the desire for wanting a lake house that overlooks beautiful mountains, views of the vineyards, and Braunvieh to admire the fields of Löwenzahn and what nots. Yep. I’m sobbing. But the inevitable happens, and reality sinks in. All I can do now is remember the good times at Hallwyl, admire the pictures of the endless visits I made to my swan friends, and hope I get to see them once again…in the future. I hope in the near, near future? Alors, why am I in Jakarta?
As you can see, it was a great place to have fun, unwind with a beer or two, relax by the water, read a book, walk your dog, let your dog attack the swans, swim with the swans, etc., etc., etc., and I got carried away into my void of all things Hallwilersee.
