Days 58 59 60 Zurich, Rorbas and the Riedikers..

 58 travelling day..Berlin through to Zurich on MeinFernBus. Very comfortable and speedy. Double decker. We were in Munich by 1515 hours, having left at 0800. It’s 583 kilometres, so that’s an average of 80 Kms per hour. After a 45 minute break in Munich, we were off again, and we enjoyed another surprise ferry crossing across Lake Constance, and then we were in Switzerland. Arrived at the terminal in Zurich just before 2100 hrs, and there was a kiosk open so I bought myself a hot dog, and hopped into a waiting taxi. It was only a short ride to the EasyHotel, in Langstrasse, which is right in the heart of the red light district. Huge numbers of young and not so young people milling around, bars, strip clubs and sex workers waiting on the side of the street for customers. Switzerland were playing Iceland at soccer, so there were heaps of people around the big TV screens in the open air bars. 

59 early start for Rorbas. My mission was to find out what the town was like, hopefully get some information about my mother’s family name, Rietiker. Walked in to the main train station, Zurich HB, and bought my ticket to Rorbas. Had to change trains at Winterthur. Oh my, Rorbas is beautiful. My first thought was why anyone would want to leave here for the big cities in England and the US. But there was a lot of emigration in the late 1700s, and I guessed it was the lure of a better life. 

So where are all my relatives! Well, the town was very quiet. I saw the church and eagerly anticipated finding gravestones with the Rietiker name. It was a nicely laid out area, but I checked all the headstones and there were none with the Rietiker name. There were probably a hundred graves. The church was closed, so I wandered some more, and then decided to have lunch at the Frie restaurant. Good choice! Firstly the meal was fantastic, meat loaf with mashed potato and salad. Just what I had been wanting, having got a bit tired of pizza! Secondly, the landlady was most helpful with information, and thirdly I enjoyed only my second beer of the trip, a beautiful Swiss lager beer, which was so smooth and didn’t touch the sides. 

I mentioned to her the details of my mission, and she said there were a lot of Rietikers in Rorbas. She also said there was another cemetery on the other side of the valley, but today was not a good day to visit because there was a funeral. I thanked her and resumed my search. I didn’t find the cemetery, but I did explore a ruined castle. Could this rightfully be mine? 🙂

and so tiredness was setting in, it was a very hot day for walking, 29 degrees, and because I had the next 2 days available, I headed back to the railway station. 

60 So yesterday, Saturday, I made another early start for Rorbas, hoping to avoid the hottest part of the day. This time I was determined to find the second cemetery. It wasn’t where I thought it was from looking at GoogleMaps. Ok, carry on exploring. And then….I came across a service station (garage), and….the sign was Riedikers garage. Wow! My relatives are still here and in business. Unfortunately it is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, but cars were still filling up with petrol using credit cards, self service. Just along the road, I stopped for a coffee, and the nice young lady spoke English, and told me where to find the other cemetery, but it was quite a walk. Never mind I said, I’m used to walking distances! So I set off, and the day was getting hotter. I asked a few people, but they didn’t know where it was, and there was a language difficulty too. I guess I had walked about 3 Kms without finding it, so I reluctantly turned back, knowing I still had another day. 

Land then……….

no I’ll make this another entry because this device doesn’t let me make long entries……