Two days ago we flew from the subcontinent to Helsinki, and then down across Europe to the city of Zwingli – Zurich, Switzerland.

What a contrast to the country we’d been living in for the last week and a half!  As the plane circled for landing I glimpsed manicured farms and well ordered towns.  And closer inspection yesterday supported those aerial views.

Yesterday we three couples had decided each to do our own thing, choosing which excursion or tour we wanted to take.  Luana and I opted for the Heidiland Tour, a bus trip that would take us 130 kl (about 80 mils) south and east to the site that inspired the book Heidi. The views were awesome as we drove into the Alps.  We traveled along Lake Zurich and stopped to visit the last Hapsburg stronghold in this tiny country, a castle that sits in the town of Rapperswil.  We did travel up the mountainside to the Heidi House, and even saw the goats, or, at least some goats.  Then we journeyed to the tiny kingdom of Liechtenstein, just 9½ miles by about 15.  The capital city of Vaduz was absorbed with the yearly celebration of the duke’s father’s birthday.  The old man had died, but before he did he made a law that his August 15^th birthday be celebrated every year with parties by everyone.

And, they were partying.  Streets were blocked off.  Live concerts were in progress.  There were dozens and dozens of food venues.  Hang-gliders soared from the mountain peaks.

I said to Richard Crocker later, “I’d like that on my birthday.”  He said, “Well, folks may remember the day you die like that.”  Nice, huh?

We crossed the River Rhine once again into Switzerland and headed through the mountains by a different route back to Zurich.  The mountain farms were amazing.  Geraniums filled window boxes on every house.  The fronts of the churches were decorated with roses.

It was a feast for the eyes, and soon I quit taking photos because of the overload on the senses.  I captured enough that you will be able to see what we experienced.

This small country is a very beautiful place, but it seems to be as full of spiritual darkness as the large one we left earlier in the week.  Only 5% of the populace, some 7.8 million souls, even attends church on a given Sunday.

The needs in Heidi’s land are pronounced.