Swiss Skyline

The Eiger (3970 m), the Mönch (4099 m), the Jungfrau (4158 m) – Swiss mountain peaks famous in literature, movies, and mountaineering lore.

Met with Helen and Felix at the Zürich Hauptbahnhof to catch a train to Bern, transferring to Interlaken, and then on a narrow-gauge railroad to Lauterbrunnen at the foot of the trio of gorgeous mountains of the Berner Oberland.

Our first stop was a visit to the amazing Trümmelbach-fälle, made up of ten waterfalls inside a mountain that drain the glacier defiles of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau, carrying 20,000 tons of rock and gravel per year. This is the only glacier-waterfall in Europe inside a mountain, accessible by tunnels and stairs for visitors. The force of the waterfalls is frightening, up to 20,000 liters of water per second, very cold, and the noise is deafening!

At Lauterbrunnen we caught a series of busses and cable-cars (I lost count by the end of the day) to reach the summit of the Schilthorn (2971 m), to have a picnic lunch near the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria, a location used in the Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

 

The weather was perfect, warm and sunny, and both outside and in the 360˚ revolving restaurant, we could only marvel at the majestic scenery of the spectacular panorama of the Swiss Skyline, the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau. There were well-marked hiking trails for exploring flowery alpine meadows and permafrost fields along the glaciers, and, of course, many peaks for technical climbers.  For those who just want a minimum of exertions for a coffee and to shop, the Piz Gloria works nicely.

On our way down, we stopped in the picturesque village of Mürren, filled with classic Swiss chalets, small hotels and restaurants, and lots of flower gardens. The Eiger in the distance seemed to be watching over all.

Back to Interlaken (the Jungfrau in the distance) for a short walk-about, eyeing all the luxury hotels, and stopped for ice cream at an outdoor café complete with jazz band.

 

Reluctantly, we had to dash to catch the train to Bern, and then back to Zurich.  I lost count of all the trains we had been on, and we counted at least eighteen!  But what a wonderful chance to see what makes the Swiss Alps so world-class famous.

Day hike in Appenzell, Switzerland

Several days ago Felix, my cousin Helen’s husband, invited me for a day-hike to the canton of Appenzell, in the north-eastern Swiss Alps. Appenzell is a small canton that was once part of the canton Sankt Gallen, today is surrounded by it, and has a colorful history tied to the famous medieval Abbey of Sankt Gallen.
Felix, a vigorous and experienced hiker, chose the Ebenalp in the Alpstein as a test of a moderately challenging hike. His plan was for us to journey by train to the Ebenalp, a resort area with hiking trails, cable-cars, and a number of restaurant-hotels. We would explore the area, taking one of the shorter hiking paths to see the Wildkirchli, and have lunch! I was to be the test subject, a proxy stand-in to gauge the difficulty of the hike for the up-coming visit of Felix’s cousin in October.

We met up at the Zürich Hauptbahnhof and caught a train through Winterthur, disembarking at Gossau. Crossing to the adjoining platform, we jumped into a railcar for the narrow-gauge railroad (for the mountain climbs) called the Appenzell Bahnen, to Wasserauen, the last stop on that leg of the Appenzell Bahnen.  The neat, red painted railcars were fitted with large windows for viewing the green fields dotted with villages and farms, and the approach of the gorgeous mountains.

We emerged from the railcar at Wasserauen, crossed the bridge over the clear, cold mountain stream called the Schwendibach, and walked to the Ebenalp cable-car building. Felix got our tickets and we were soon on the cable-car with several other hikers on a 6-minute, white-knuckle ride above the rough granite cliffs. The over 700 m change in altitude caused my ears to pop, but I was pleasantly surprised at my lack of vertigo and was able to get some photos of the green valley receding below.

Wasserauren is at an altitude of 868 m and the cable-car stop was at about 1590 m so we walked up remaining 50 m in altitude to the Berggasthaus at the top of the Ebenalp, alt 1644 m.  The weather was cloudier than I had hoped, and we were not able to see the Bodensee (Lake Constance) in the distance, as had been advertised.  Felix cleverly said, “We viewed the mist, but missed the view!” 

 

However, we could clearly see up to the highest point, the top of the Säntis (2504 m alt) and down to the Seealpsee, the dark blue alpine lake below.  Hiking trails were well marked, and according to the trail map I picked up, most of the peaks had either a restaurant or a B&B.  The Säntis had two!  Of course, the restaurants above were accessible only on foot, but I think the B&Bs on the lakeside of Seealpsee could be reached by car.  A cable-car terminus was near the restaurant and B&B on the Schäfler peak (1924 m alt), but the rest were geared for the hardy trekker!

We walked back down past the Berggasthaus Ebenalp by the charming flower garden with the alpine flowers marked with small signs.  Of course there were Edelweiss and Alpenrose, so delicate in what must be a harsh environment. The predominant sound on these high hills, besides the wind, is cow-bells, large oval shaped ornaments hanging from the necks of the cows contently munching the grasses.  I made a short video of one just to record the sound of the cow-bells.

We continued down the path and soon saw the opening of a large cave in the side of the granite cliff.  I had read that this was a prehistoric site, and had evidence of Neanderthal human habitation 30,000 years ago, and bones were found of cave bears dating to 60,000 years ago.  We were soon inside the cave, the sound of dripping water mixed with the pop music from a radio near some young workmen repairing the path. There were floodlights helping us keep our footing, and hand rails for unsteady descenders like me. 

 

The cave wound around inside the cliff and came out behind what was called the Hermit’s Hut, a sturdy wooden construction consisting of three rooms, one of which had a display case with the 60,000 year old cave bear bones. According to an information plaque in the cave, the last hermit who had lived there exited the hut by falling over the cliff around 1853.  The path continued along the sheer cliff wall, and I was startled to see a carpenter re-roofing another small hut clinging to the side of the cliff, bits of pine shingles falling onto the path.  One miss-step and he would go the way of that last hermit. We walked along and found the Wildkirchli, the small chapel nestled in yet another cave.  The chapel, dating from 1656, was simply rows of benches facing an altar, and the only wall was the fence at the cave entrance, next to a small bell-tower with the Gottdienst, the chapel service times posted. 

At the end of this path, which seemed to be carved out of the side of the cliff, was the restaurant and B&B named the Aescher-Wildkirchli, a classic Appenzell architecture style building situated on a small ledge – the rear of the restaurant was built smack up against the bare rock face of the cliff.  There were tables for outdoor dining, as well as cozy tables inside, and the brochure said the B&B had rooms for 45 guests. The food was wonderful; I had my favourite Swiss specialty Käse-rösti (hash browns with melted cheese) and Felix had the blue-plate special of calf liver.  For dessert we split another alpine specialty Schlorzifladen, an egg custard torte with hazelnuts.

With full tummies we made the ascent back up to the Ebenalp cable-car terminus, Felix weighted down with 20 kg of paper, to test his climbing skills.  Following behind him, my feelings alternated between admiration and worry. We caught the Appenzell Bahnen to return to Gossau, but since we had a bit of extra time, Felix suggested we stop at the town of Appenzell to have a quick look.  Great suggestion, because I thought Appenzell was one of the most picturesque Swiss towns I had seen.  The capital of the Canton Appenzell, its history goes back to the 1200s when the canton gained independence from Sankt Gallen and in the 1400s joined the Swiss Confederacy. Felix told me much about the history as we walked through the cobblestone streets lined with chalet-like buildings with painted facades and decorated with banners of the Appenzell emblem, a bear rampant.  We came into an open square and Felix told me this is the Landsgemeindeplatz, the place where the citizens meet once a year (Landsgemeinde) to vote for their government officials and other legislation.  This form of direct citizen democracy is characteristic of this part of Switzerland, and seems to have been a tradition for centuries.  We shopped for some of the famous cheeses of this region, and I bought a Swiss flag to take home.

We caught the Appenzell Bahnnen and were soon changing trains at Gossau, retracing our route.  The train back to Zürich took about an hour, giving us chance for a little shut-eye after a pleasant outing in the mountains.  A fantastic day!

If visiting Switzerland and interested in taking this day hike, here are some websites to peruse:

Schwendetalstrasse 82

CH-9057 Wasserauen

Phone +41 71 799 12 12

Info-Tel. +41 71 799 15 44

Fax +41 71 799 12 13

info@dont-want-spam.ebenalp.ch

www.ebenalp.ch

Berggastaus Aescher-Wildkirchli

1454 m ü. M.
45 Touristenlager mit Daunendecken
Appenzeller Spezialitäten
Geöffnet: Mai–Oktober
Familie Knechtle
Tel. +41 (0)71 799 11 42
info@aescher-ai.ch
www.aescher-ai.ch

Swiss “Wanderweg” to Meilen on the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich)

Anyone who loves hiking through fields and forests would love it here in Switzerland.  The forest trails around Zürich (Wanderweg = hiking trails) are well marked, not at all difficult, and are dotted with picnic areas with tables, water pipes, and fire-pits complete with stacked firewood.  

 

 

My daughter and I decided to take a hike to Meilen, a small town on the east side of Lake Zürich, a distance from Witikon of about 10 miles, a good stretch of the legs!  We did our best to avoid walking on roads with heavy traffic, and kept to the Wandeweg as much as possible, even though that meant we got twisted around in the forest at times.

 



Our goal at Meilen was to find a wine garden, any wine garden on the edge of the lake, where we could have a nice chilled glass of Swiss white wine, and bottles of sparkling water, watching the excursion boats load and unload the passengers at the dock.  Lake Zürich is a great spot for anyone who loves water-sports, and on this bright sunny day there were many pleasure boats – cruise ships, sailboats, and speedboats – on the water.

As pleasant as the hike was, we were quite happy to reach Meilen, and we found the perfect spot to enjoy the view over the lake, and quenched our thirst with chilled white wine, just as planned.  A perfect day!

Summer comes to Switzerland

Now that the chilly, rainy spring has given way to warm, sunny days, the people of Zürich have stripped down to shorts, tank tops, and sandals. Gone are the puffy jackets, wooly sweaters and scarves, and everyone is enjoying the fine weather. The days are quite long, with sunrise at about 5:30 am and sunset past 9:30 pm.  The children are out playing after dinner, and are on their scooters and skateboards until dusk.

I have returned to Zürich, staying with my daughter and son-in-law at their bright, roomy apartment in Witikon.  Mornings are filled with the bustling of the working people coming from and going to the tram stop, accompanied by the whistling of a huge green bird who lives across the road. The bird’s favorite tune to whistle is the opening march “Colonel Bogey” from the movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and now that tune runs through my head mercilessly. We enjoy many evenings sitting on the southwest facing balcony with a glass of wine, watching the sunset and contemplating the end of the day. 

Still so much to discover and explore.  Switzerland is a small country, yet there is so much to see and so much history to learn.  What to me is exotic and unusual, such as this basket of edelweiss in a florist’s shop, is commonplace to the locals.

I went along on a Saturday morning shopping excursion (a weekly routine) which included a trip to a wine merchant, Bindella (Bindella Weinbau, 115 Honggerstrasse, 8037 Zürich, www.bindellaweine.ch), an elegant shop, with helpful staff, and was able to sample multiple wines.  Of course, we bought several bottles there, and more at two other wine shops!

One morning I took the tram from Witikon into central Zürich train station (Hauptbahnhof) to buy some train tickets to Lake Como in Italy, and took a little extra time just to wander around and get some photos.  Here is the view from the Lindenhof Bridge across the Limmat River with the towers of the Grossmünster across the river.

I climbed up to the Grossmünster, for a nice look over the river to the Fraumünster, still a bit of a cloudy day. The Grossmünster is an historical church; founded in the late 8^th century by the Emperor Charlemagne on the hill where the graves of two saints of the city, Felix and Regula was discovered. High above on the walls near the south tower is a statue of a seated Charlemagne, a copy -- the original is in the church crypt.

Walking along the Limmat Quai, I saw the river boats tied to the little marina, and was glad the sun was finally coming out. The Fraumünster, founded in AD 853 by Charlemagne’s grandson Louis the German, was easy to spot with its slender green steeple.  To the right of the Fraumünster steeple is the tower of St Peter’s Church, with the largest clock face in Europe.

So lucky for me to have family here to stay with, and I am looking forward to the Köferli Family reunion, the main event during my visit to Switzerland.  More to come!

Finding My Swiss Family

Fountain in Lengnau with village emblem of the horse

Where we left off last August, I was quite convinced I had found the names of my great grandfather and his father and his brother in the census records in the Gemeindehaus (community center) at Bad Zurzach, and visited Lengnau the village of their birth. And now, six months later, for the “Rest of the Story.”  In February I spent an afternoon in the Canton Aargau Staatsarchiv, scanning spools of microfilm and delicately handling fragile old immigration documents searching for the name Köferli.  I hoped to learn when my great-grandfather emigrated to America, and why.  The staff at the Staatsarchiv was most accommodating, telling me they often had visitors searching for family records. With their help, I was able to find a census record of Jakob Leonz Köfferlin, born in 1757, six generations from me.  I searched the immigration records from 1853 to 1870, which gave numbers of people who left for North America, but no names.

Lengnau, with Dorfmuseum and tower of St Martin's church

 

 Beginning to lose hope, I revisited Lengnau and this time gave my name and my daughter’s Swiss phone number to the Gemeindehaus staff, asking them to contact any remaining Köferli folks in the village to see if they would be willing to meet me.  Just before leaving the village, I stopped in at the bank and mentioned to the young lady at the teller window that I was in Lengnau searching for family, and she told me my Swiss name was one of the founding families of the village!  She told me some of the other family names: Bucher, Schmid, Angst, Müller, Suter, names which I had seen over and over in the Staatsarchiv records.  There was a book about the village, written by Hans Schmid, which I purchased, with old photos and stories of the families.  I later met Herr Schmid who gave me copies of the “Wappen” (coat of arms) for the founding families, including mine, and told me the name originated as Küfer, meaning a coppersmith, such as “Cooper” in English. He said one of his cousins is a Köferli, and I began to suspect the founding families were all inter-related.

The Surb, which flows into the Aare, which flows into the Rhein River

The following week, we got a phone call from Theresa Köferli-Suter, who arranged an afternoon meeting with us (my daughter and son-in-law) to include two other cousins, Helen and Josephina.  What a joy to meet my long-lost relatives, and they were simply delightful; we were all amazed at finding each other, pointing out family resemblances with much laughter, lots of German and English translations of the conversations and stories.  They presented me with a booklet “Köferli von Lengnau, Familie Genealogie.”  This booklet described our family in Lengnau as dating back to 1470, and the earliest name was one Hans Köfferlin von Lengnau born in 1550!  I gave them a copy of the Kaferly genealogy I had drawn up for the American side, and we pinpointed where the families diverged. They told me my great-great grandfather emigrated with his wife and four children in 1851, and they left probably because of bad economic times.  They showed me photos of their fathers, and their businesses in Lengnau, and told me about the Köferli Family reunion to take place in June that I simply must attend! And indeed, I have my tickets already…

The Köferli Metzgerai (third generation butcher shop) in Döttingen

The following week I meet with my Köferli family for lunch, and since it was the day after my birthday, they sang Happy Birthday to me in English, German, French, and Italian.  True multi-lingual Swiss.  After lunch, which they wouldn’t dream of letting me pay for, Helen and her husband Felix drove me around the valley of the Surb River to visit the tiny farming communities surrounding Lengnau and showed me where she and Josephina had lived as children.  It was a hazy winter day, with the chilly mist settled on the fields and the afternoon sun glowing on the hoarfrost on the tree branches in the hills above us.  What a perfectly peaceful rural scene, barns, grain silos, farmhouses, horses and cattle, and the friendly residents walking their dogs. I felt as though I had always been part of this land, and had known these lovely people all my life.

A winter walk in the Surb River valley

I can hardly believe it: from knowing almost nothing of my father’s family a year ago, I now have the Köferli Family history and genealogy that stretches back 15 generations. And the best part is I have met and fallen in love with my Swiss Family Köferli and plan to see them often in the future!

First visit to Munich

January sunrise over Lake Starnberg

It’s hard to believe, but in all my journeys to various places in Germany, I had not been to Munich.  This egregious oversight cannot persist, I thought, but I must see for myself the great city, the capitol of Bavaria.  How can one claim to have sampled southern Germany without Munich? 

Marienplatz, Munich

 

The drive from Zürich to Munich, a distance of about 310 km, was through charming winter scenery with the fields under a blanket of snow, the forests dusted with sparkly powder, and the setting sun shining on the white mountains --  a glorious sight. Being caught speeding in Switzerland results in a hefty fine (maybe 250 CHF) so I made sure to be the pokiest driver on my way to Sankt Gallen until I got to the Austrian border near Sankt Margarethe at the southern end of the Bodensee (aka Lake Constance, the largest inland lake in Europe). Very grateful to have GPS to guide me through the maze of tiny roads and tiny villages in Austria (after I stopped at a filling station to buy a road tax sticker called a ‘vignette’) before crossing the border into Germany just north of Bregenz.  What a huge, beautiful lake the Bodensee is, and how stunning the snow-covered Austrian Alps appeared just south of me. 

Museum Kaiserin Elisabeth in Possenhofen















The lake and snow covered mountains receded and I was in the rolling farmlands of Baden-Württemburg, familiar territory after many road trips through here.

But as I crossed the border into Bavaria and approached Munich, I had that sense of excitement from being someplace new. My GPS Lady guided me to Starnberg, about 30 km south of Munich, where I had reservations at the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth.  The route took me through the town of Pöking, which I remembered as the home of Dr Otto von Habsburg, who settled there with his family in exile after Austria was declared a republic after WWI.  I wondered whether anyone at the hotel might know where his house had been.

Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth

In the small town of Feldafing, south of Starnberg, is the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth, a fine old lady with a 19^th century Bavarian elegance. My room overlooked Lake Starnberg, the site of the mysterious drowning of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1886. His cousin, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, for whom this hotel was named, stayed here every summer for 24 years. While ordering my supper in the quaint gasthof, the printed menu included the story of how this hotel was founded in the 1500’s and expanded in 1876, and hosted the Empress Elisabeth and her daughter Valerie when the two came to Bavaria from Vienna to visit Elisabeth’s mother in Possenhofen.  The halls and stairwells of the hotel are filled with portraits of Elisabeth (called ‘Sisi’ by her family), perhaps the most famously beautiful queen of all time. Not to be completely overlooked, a nice portrait of Ludwig hangs in the bar.

Lake Starnberg

 

There was a cordial friendship between Ludwig and Sisi.  I was told that Ludwig, when spending time at the Schloss Berg on the opposite shore of Lake Starnberg, would often cross over by boat to a carriage which would take him to this hotel where he could spend some time chatting with the Empress, his cousin. The site of some of their meetings was also at the Roseninsel, just off the shore of the hotel golf course.

Dining Room at Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth with portrait of 'Sisi' on far wall

 

After a nice breakfast in the sunny dining room, I caught the tram for the 30 minute ride to Munich, emerging at the Karlstor, one of the original city gates.  Wandered up the pedestrian shopping zone and noticed the façade of St Michael’s church.  I realize that I can’t resist visiting a Baroque church, and this one is stunning and is also famous for containing the burial crypt of many Wittelsbachs, including King Ludwig II.  I detoured off the main street when I saw the huge Frauenkirche, the largest medieval building in Munich, and walked through it. Originally built from 1468 to 1488, this is the reconstructed and restored version, since this building and much else in Munich was bombed to rubble in WWII.

 

Next was the ‘Neue Rathaus’ the New Town Hall, a fabulous neo-gothic construction with niches filled with statues of saints, kings, and legendary figures. 

 

Above the main arches is the Carillon, consisting of bells and carved figurines that dance to the bells at 11 am.  The tower of this marvelous building is 283 ft high, and gives a panoramic view of the city.  But no time to climb it because I was on a quest to find the English tea shop just south of the Viktualienmarkt, a little paradise for foodies. 

 

Wandering through the square of the Viktualienmarkt I saw the choice of fresh produce was overwhelming, and all seasonal, so that the winter vegetables and herbs and mushrooms were plentiful.  But also there was fresh geese, duck, chicken, and an innumerable variety of wursts, seafood, beef and veal. 

 

A leftover from the Christmas market was the ‘Glühwein’ stand, the hot mulled wine so welcome on a cold snowy day.  So many shops to check out, including one that specialized in Bavarian clothing, with the dirndls and lederhosen in abundance, and of course, the shop overflowing with cuckoo clocks, beer steins, and Bavarian dolls. 

 

 And the snow started in earnest, driving me back to Marienplatz where I caught the tram back to Feldafing, footsore, and loaded down with all my purchases.  A great first visit to Munich, and will plan to return in the warmer season!

 

 

 

Excursions in Switzerland

A small church outside Zurich, on a snowy Sunday morning

Greetings from Switzerland! Already 2015 promises to be a good travel year.  Spent New Year’s Day on a flight to Zürich, and after surviving a serious cold, have been doing some exploring.

One of my first excursions was to find and visit Lengnau, Switzerland, the birthplace of my great-grandfather.  My family name of Kaferly is so rare, I just assume any Kaferly I meet is related to me.  However, genealogical records for the Kaferly family are even rarer, most were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The Swiss vineyards in hibernation.

In doing some genealogical research on my family name over the past few years, all I was able to uncover using US census records was that my great-grandfather, Joseph Caspar Kaferly, was born around 1850 in Switzerland. With a little more digging, I found his brother’s name, John Baptist, who lived in Sandusky, Ohio, and their father, John Joseph Kaferly, who also lived in Sandusky; the country of origin for all three was listed as Switzerland.  I was unable to find the date of their emigration, or from where in Switzerland they came. 

On my first visit to Zürich two years ago, I stopped into the Central Library of Zürich near the campus of the ETH (Eidenössische Technische Hochschule, Switzerland’s MIT, the internationally known university where Albert Einstein once studied). With the help of one of the research librarians, I scanned through volumes of Swiss immigration records, searching for my family name, with no success.  The librarian could find no instance of my last name in the Zurich directory of historical names, and suggested that I write the Swiss National Library for help. 

The answer I received was most encouraging, and explained why I had had no luck thus far.  My family name was derived from “Köferli” or “Koeferli” and I had been looking for records under the wrong spelling.  The National Library search on that spelling indicated the place of origin for my name was the village of Lengnau, in the Canton Aargau, and dated back before the year 1800.  My time in Zürich ended before I could continue with my research, but on this trip I was determined to find out whether Lengnau was truly my great-grandfather’s birthplace. My breakthrough came when I visited the Gemeindehaus at Bad Zurzach, which I knew to be the district center containing all the census records for the surrounding villages, including Lengnau. 

The sleepy farm village of Lengnau, Aargau, Switzerland

A very kind lady at the Gemeindehaus in Bad Zurzach pulled out massive ledger books that were stored in a locked safe, and painstakingly searched the census records (deciphering for me the ancient German “Schrift” writing) for the “Köferli” name. While at first not entirely convinced we had found my great-grandfather, whose name was given as Kaspar Josef Köferli, born 1849, we persisted in identifying other names using the US census records I had for John Baptist, and John Joseph.  The dates matched, so we kept on delving into the past for earlier records, ending with “Johann Baptist Köferli” of Lengnau who was born in 1786 and died in 1843.  Curiously, the information in the column for date of death for my great-great grandfather and his two sons had a notation from 1913 indicating that they had “disappeared” and no further information was available.  That suggested to my helper that they had perhaps emigrated, but with no indication of when or to where.  I felt this evidence supported the idea that that they had in fact emigrated to America.

 

St Martin's church and cemetery in Lengnau, with mistletoe in the trees

Feeling quite confident that I had found my great-grandfather, I located Lengnau on the map, which turned out to be about 35 km northeast of Zürich, just a bit south of the Rhine River across the border from Germany.  Driving to Lengnau was an easy matter, through charming agricultural territory of wooded hills separating snowy wheat fields, grazing cows, with a village here and there, real sleepy winter scenery.  The history of this area is quite ancient; excavations have uncovered Roman villas, the land was once controlled by the Habsburgs, and the regional history parallels the formation of the Swiss Confederacy.  Lengnau lies on a picturesque little stream called the Surb, and has a population of around 2400 people. The largest, most stately building in town is the Jewish synagogue, built around 1846. Turns out that in the 17^th century Lengnau and the neighboring village of Endingen were designated protected villages where Swiss Jews could settle. In fact, Lengnau was the birthplace of Meyer Guggenheim who immigrated to the US in the early 19^th century and founded the famous Guggenheim dynasty.

The Jewish synagogue of Lengnau, a Swiss heritage site of national significance

 

After wandering around this very tiny community, I decided to look in the village cemetery next to the church of St Martin to see whether I could find any tombstones with the name Köferli.  My search was rewarded, and I took a photo of the tombstone of one Josef Köferli, born 1893 and died 1980.  Must be a long-lost cousin.

The grave of Josef Köferli, perhaps a long lost cousin

 

With unanswered questions, such as: what occupation did my ancestors follow (probably farming), what year did they emigrate (my guess is 1853 based on something I found in the US census records), and why they left (I may never know), I have some more digging to do.  My next stop will be a visit to the Canton Aargau government archives to search for Swiss immigration records.  But this has been quite an exciting and interesting experience – at last to see the village where my great-grandfather, Joseph Caspar Kaferly, was born.