What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?
I don’t remember that.
Besides, why would that matter?
What I will always recollect is the perfect taste of a Rum Sempach Gellato I ordered at the Wirtschaft Zur Schlacht restaurant and store in Sempach, Kantone Luzern, Swiss Confederation.
Not only it was good beyond imagination. It tasted of honesty, just like the Swiss.
And no, before any of you start poking the bear, I haven’t had any Swiss for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 😁😁😁
The price mattered little although my wife recoiled in shock at the CHF 14.80 I paid for it.
I was at this Store/Restaurant on business, and in Schweiz for pleasure, and God is my witness I was unable to get what I wanted that day. Although to be frank this had almost everything to do with me and absolutely nothing with the store owner.
This store is dedicated to the Battle of Sempach (1386), which opposed the Old Swiss Confederacy (Schwyz, Unterwalden, Uri, Lucerne) to the Duchy of Austria. Austria wanted to make Lucerne pay for extending her liberties to Sempach among other cities. So that’s when 4,000 of her armored knights invaded the territory of the Swiss Confederacy. When the Swiss did not agree with this point of view, they decided to something about it. So they immediately routed the Austrian army killing their Duke, Leopold III. BTW, there were 1,000 to 1,500 Swiss.
It took the sacrifice of approximately 400 unarmored Swiss halberdiers, who galvanized by the death of the Luzern Schultheiss, Petermann von Gundoldingen, and most importantly by the example of that brave man, Arnold von Winkelried, carried the day against all odds.
The casualty rate was horrific but still the Confederates emerged victorious from the clash.
I said it before and I shall say it again. Any people that treats its history, its heroes with reverence, has its place assured in the distant future. For what is history but a well-treaded path. The moment we forget or ignore it, we are condemned to cut new ways through the jungle. And that constant struggle to keep the roads clear takes a lot of effort. Smart people don’t forget their history. Smart people remember it.
In any case, this is how the Swiss honor their gefallen, their dead. To this day, there is an inscription on the East side of the Zurich City Hall that reads:
“Either a life in honor or death”
Despite my commercial setback, I will always carry in my heart and mind, the taste of that perfect Swiss home made gelato. And no, the Italians don’t make the best gelato. That is a frequent misconception. The honor belongs to the Swiss. Think about it! Who makes the best natural ingredients on God’s green earth? The Italians… Or the Swiss. Come on!
A word of advice to y’all: don’t be cheap and especially don’t be cheap to your own bodies. We are what we eat. Better watch what you have for lunch then, eh!
All I know is this. Although food tastes good almost everywhere in the world, you can only lose weight eating three square meals a day and doing a modicum of exercise in but a few countries.
Romania, Italy, Spain, Türkiye and Switzerland are good for your belly and waist line. These are locations where eating three meals a day, without overindulging and going for seconds, one can lose weight with only a modicum of exercise.
Canada and America and even good ole Mexico – not so good, folks. Here, you have to be constantly careful about what you put in your mouth. You can work out maniacally, and still if you eat three meals a day, you will only manage to maintain your weight.
You want to lose weight in the New World?! Better skip a meal or even two. And the one you do ingest, watch out for the quantity and quality, because, boy, you will be in for a nasty surprise at the end of the week on weigh day. Here, everything you eat stays on. Sometimes it only takes you looking at a donut, and bam, you are fat again. Working out and exercising is a must for anyone who wants to make it to 70.
As for Switzerland, I really miss its many wonderful cheeses, superlative chocolates, amazing mini-sausages, and in general tasty food.
I miss the people and the mountains and lakes too.
Oh man, if I could live there, life would truly be complete.
Götterdämmerung 