[Culturechat] Tenneseans and Noodles in the Alps
Peter Haggart
haggart@uidaho.edu
Wed, 18 Jul 2001 11:02:27 -0700
Thanks for your remembrances Hal - we enjoyed reading them!
The party in individual Idyll villages is a good idea and should be followed
up. The number of people has grown and so it is difficult to manage in some
areas. The idea of getting to know local people better and understanding
their way of life is appealing.
One of our best Idyll experiences was this year on the German Rhine tour -
the wine tasting party in Winningen. Our winery host, Rosemarie
Hautt-Korber, provided a group of about 18 people not only with wine
tasting, but a typical "harvest" lunch and a wonderful history of grape
growing in this area of Germany. But with an emphasis on her role as the
grand-daughter of the owner of the winery and how she grew into management
in what was then only a man's profession. She personalized the party and
thus made it one that we will always remember.
So go ahead and start the party - they will grow to eventually include most
of the idyll villages - just like Idyll has grown because of the personal
contact that you gave it in the early days.
Pete and Maggie
Moscow, Idaho
**********************************************************
Peter Haggart, Faculty Secretary
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83844-1106
208-885-6151
Office email: haggart@uidaho.edu
Office home pages: http://www.its.uidaho.edu/facultysecretary
http://www.its.uidaho.edu/facultycouncil
Personal email: haggart@moscow.com
Personal home page: http://users.moscow.com/haggart
**********************************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hal Taussig" <HT@untours.com>
To: <gigli.saw@dplanet.ch>; "culturechat" <culturechat@untours.com>
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2001 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Culturechat] Tenneseans and Noodles in the Alps
>
>
> I have been neglecting this space for almost a year, but found
> myself with a few spare minutes--and intrigued by a title combing the
words
> "culture" and "Tennessee." II was delighted to discover that I connected
in
> various ways to several subjects in Vance's fine essay.
> First subject: Bob Miller. his very name reminded me of a stage
in
> Idyll's growth when I would travel anywhere in America where "alumni"
> offered any kind of format allowing me to speak to groups about idyll.
This
> was not sophisticated marketing. It was, rather, an excuse to have face to
> face contact with our clients--and potential clients. In other words these
> were sales trips. Bob and I had met in Switzerland, at which time he
> mentioned that he was the member of a Hiking club in his home town,
> Kingsport, Tennessee. Would I like to speak to this club? Bob asked. Sure,
> I responded. And a trip was worked out, combined as I remember it, with a
> trip to a hiking club in Hendersonville, NC (more densely populated with
> Idyll clients than any other non-metropolitan area in the US.) Bob met me
> in the airport, hosted me in his home, was my guide to a visit of the
area.
> My presentation complete with a slide show (you remember slide shows), was
> well received--but really a failure, considering the intended purpose:
> sales. Or was it?. Maybe the friendship that Bob Miller and I formed that
> weekend contributed to the many "sales" that he has made in the subsequent
> decade--including this big group of hikers from his Kingsport Hiking Club.
> Well I have stopped making those kinds of sales trips, partly because I
> gradually realized that the Untour' sales force are the many hundreds of
> clients scattered accros the nation, clients like Bob Miller. This entry
> in Idyll chat is my way of saying thanks to Bob--and to the rest of you
who
> tell your friends about Idyll.
> Briefly there are two other subjects which surfaced in my mind as
> I read Vance's account--one a reminisccence, the other a speculation about
> a possible future programatic change. I remember that once in the early
> years, as we sought to design a party which would be an authentically
Swiss
> experience, at Berit Grutert's proposal, we bused everyone to a eat Alpen
> Maggarone (macaroni) at the Oberschwanden hut. The thought crossed my
mind,
> as I read, "should we try such a party again?". Then I remembered that we
> very quickly dropped this format for our party--our groups were already
too
> large. But Albert and Berit Greuterts role in this story (and in the early
> party--and 15 year's of subsequent parties) brought to mind a recent idea
> pressented to me by Albert. He proposed a way of providing a deeper
> client-contact with villages like Sacheln. The idea was presented to me
> when he and I talked on my overnight stay at the Greuterts last month.
> Albert proposed that he and Berit invite Sachseln guests to a party at
> their house. If it worked in Sachseln, we would try to expand it to other
> villages. In addition to enriching contact with a Swiss family, it would
> allow Untourists other Untourists intheir village. We are in the initial
> stages of thinking about this subject, and would like to hear your
opinion.
> Hal Taussig
> At 05:10 PM 7/13/01 +0200, Vance Roy wrote:
> >Yesterday was a postcard day in Sachseln. A few weeks ago, an Idyller
> >sent me a message about a group of hikers he was bringing to Kandersteg.
> >I was later to find out that this man, Bob Miller, is 81 years old, but
> >he is some sort of mountain goat. Messages went back and forth, and the
> >upshot was that he and his folks were invited to spend a day hiking
> >above Sachseln on the Stuecklikreuz mountain. Berit Greutert volunteered
> >to fix Alpen Maggaronen for us all at a mid height alpine hut.
> >
> >The crowd of about 20 arrived in late morning from Kandersteg, in the
> >Oberland, and were greeted by the Greuterts, Albert Roher, who is known
> >as the Wanderweg Pope, and us. Albert Roher is a nationally known expert
> >on the ways and byways of Swiss Wanderwegs. At age 82, he can still out
> >hike people half that age. I was amazed to find that all but two of the
> >hiking group were from Eastern Tennessee. I spent my life up to age 18
> >in Western Tennessee and spent 3 years at Knoxville in Eastern
> >Tennessee. After a few football war stories about the Volunteers, we
> >drove up above Sachseln to Fluli Ranft. There, Albert Greutert gave them
> >all a tour of the patron saint of CH, Niklaus von Flue's birthplace.
> >Then we parked the vehicles a bit further up the road and hit the path
> >toward Oberschwanden. Berit and a few others went by car ahead to
> >Oberschwanden to get the lunch fired up.
> >
> >Oberschwanden is a mid-level alp above Sachseln where for a few weeks in
> >the spring and fall, the cows are kept by the farmer before taking them
> >up or down. For the rest of the summer, the Men's Choir in Sachseln gets
> >the use of the place in exchange for doing some twice yearly upkeep. It
> >is about halfway between Sachseln and the cross at the summit of the
> >Stuecklikreuz. It took us about 90 minutes to reach the hut. On the way
> >of course, there were stops for gawking. At the hut, we found the cooks
> >at work on Alpen Maggaronen. This dish is a typical alp farmer's food,
> >and I'm here to say that it will make a bulldog break his chain! It
> >consists of macaroni cooked together with cubes of potato, then drained
> >and mixed with alp cheese, then served in bowls with caramelized onions
> >on top, and applesauce on the side. A man could leave home for this!
> >This was all fixed over the open hearth. It has been a mainstay of the
> >alps for many years, because the farmer had and could keep for weeks,
> >all the ingredients. We had wine, beer, and soft drinks to go with it.
> >Then came Orientation Brownies. These are what Berit used to fix for
> >folks when orientation was not in a hotel, and a desert was needed.
> >Lastly, came the Chelli. Bowls of weak coffee with sugar and schnapps
added.
> >
> >After this "lunch", we received gifts of Swiss red tee shirts with the
> >Old Timers Hiking Club logo on them. Berit and Albert also got a
> >beautiful book of Tennessee nature pictures with the whole group's
> >signatures and the author's inscription. After more fun and
> >conversation, we cleaned up and moved out downward to Sachseln by a more
> >direct route. There was time for some sight seeing and a visit to the
> >magnificent church in the village center before going to the Bahnhof to
> >say goodbye.
> >
> >These folks were super nice to visit our town, and we hope to see them
> >again. I know they were well fed. We all have invitations to see them in
> >the Appalachians some time.
> >
> >For some photos with the new digital camera that I won from Credit
> >Suisse's web site, go to:
> >
> >http://photos.yahoo.com/gigli_saw
> >
> >
> >Vance Roy
> >gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.
> >
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