Musical group setting up for a gig in Sion later in the day.
The ruins of time build mansions in eternity.
-William Blake
I have been lucky enough to travel to many places in the world. Even though I haven’t been everywhere, I’ve visited enough to come to the belief that anywhere you go, there are many places nearby to visit and experience. That’s certainly true of the Swiss Alps. I came here with a mental list of things I wanted to do and I’m open to amend and change that list as opportunities arise. My brother has been coming here, twice a year, for some 40 years and knows the hotspots pretty well. But even he has not experienced it all. For one thing, he’s never been to CERN and it is definitely on my list.
CERN, or Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Organization for Nuclear Research), has existed since the 1950s. It has the largest particle accelerators in the world, including the large hadron collider where the Higgs boson (or the “God particle”) was found in 2012. It is a multinational laboratory located a short tram ride from Geneva. They have some exhibits and tours open to the public and both my brother and I are scientists and hence interested to go check it out. Phyllis was game enough to come along and we got up early to catch the 6:56 bus down to Sion where we can catch the train to Geneva and then the tram to CERN.
As seems to be the theme for this trip, though, things did not go as planned. When we got to the train station, we found out that it has been raining enough that the Rhone River is in flood. The inondation (I love it how there are so many English/French cognates) was severe enough to stop the trains from running in several places in the valley. That’s not a show-stopper – there are buses to take to cover the gaps, but we decided that we would put off seeing CERN for a couple of days in the hopes that, in a few days, we wouldn’t have to use them. Instead, we’ll stay in Sion, walk around and explore.
The history of Sion goes back to the stone age. The town’s name comes from the Latin word, Sedunum, which was used by the Celtic people who lived in the area in the first century BCE (before current era, or BC). The Romans built a castle and city here in around 40 CE (current era, or AD), but people have lived here since around 6200 BCE. In the late 6th century, Sion became the seat of a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 13th century, a castle (now ruins) was built at the top of a steep hill. This Château (castle) of Tourbillon, and the nearby Château Valère, stand on adjoining hills that dominate the city. The Château (now Basilica) Valère is a museum and a church (still in use) that houses the oldest still functioning organ in the world. As we walk along the narrow streets and alleys of Old Sion, these stone buildings look down on us from on high, demanding that we visit. We decide to comply.
It’s a long steep climb to the top, but we’re rewarded by the walls and history of the Château Tourbillon. We are gifted with a young woman who serves as guide and fills us in on the long history of the place. All that’s very interesting, but what I get the most out of visiting these kinds of places is the ambience. Standing amongst the fallen stones and crumbled walls, it’s not hard to imagine myself being alive and standing in the same spot on the days when all that history took place. It’s all bathed in fog and shadow, but still, I can pretend, to some extent, that I have traveled through time.
The basilica is impressive as well. We didn’t know it at the time, but we just missed the organ play during a mass. Much of the building was closed off to us, but there was enough we could enter that we could get a feeling for the place. I would like to come back during mass so I can here the old organ play. Alas, that’s not going to happen this trip.
It’s afternoon before we venture back down the hill. It’s late enough that I can call the Pooch Hotel and see how Waldo is doing (Sion is six hours later than Boston). They tell me he’s happy and enjoying the exercise time they provide. I last talked to them two days ago, but I can’t help but worry about him and wonder how he’s taking his separation from his home.
Besides, I miss the guy…
Bill, Phyllis and myself at the top of the tower of the Château Tourbillon.