Before we
left Rome, I called Hans on the payphone and told him that we would arrive in
Zurich at 7:00. He asked the train number, and we briefly spoke before we had
to get on the train. Colin and I were about 40 minutes outside of Zurich,
trying to get some final naptime in, when I heard a voice say “Will!” Startled,
I look up and it was Hans. Somehow he got on the train somewhere and was
walking up and down the train looking for us. Don’t know how he did, don’t know
really why he did it, it was absolute bananas. Straight up hoodwink stuff. Part
of me wanted to start calling him Hans Houdini. I called my Dad and told him
this story and he said, “that’s what Swiss guards do- they’re just amazing”.
Here’s some background on Hans:
My dad met Hans while he was studying in Rome for 4 years. At the time Hans was a Swiss guard working at the Vatican every day. (Not exactly sure how they met though). Hans was... well I don’t know how to say it other than, “big time.” He was Pope John Paul II’s right hand man. Whenever the Pope would travel somewhere, Hans was on the plane (or pope mobile) with him. Right before a Papal speech, Hans was the guy who would hand the Pontfix the sheet of paper. He showed Colin and I many photo albums of him and John Paul II, who by the way, is set to be canonized as a saint next week at the Vatican. The albums included photos of the Pope with his family, his wife Carol, and two little daughters (at the time) Claire and Kathleen. The Pope actually baptized Claire – talk about a conversation starter, “Hey I’m Claire, and I was baptized by a saint- what was your name again?” Hans told us that once or twice a week, he would just walk up to the Pope’s room and they would just have normal, friendly conversations. In May of 1981, the day there was an attempt on the Pope’s life, Hans was there. He heard the gunshots and immediately sprinted, tracked down the assailant, tackled him, and helped detain him in the Vatican prison. You literally cannot make this stuff up. Hans was a Swiss guard for “20 years, 1 month, and 17 days” and loved every minute of it.”
I have known him practically my entire life, as when he comes to America every 2 years, a stop in Worcester, Massachusetts is high on his to-do list. He and Carol plan to come stay with us for a couple of days in July. He and Carol took Colin and I in with open arms, and every time I would thank them, they would counter with thanks and gratitude for the many times they stayed with us in Worcester. We got there on Thursday and when I told them we were leaving Saturday they were upset because they wanted us to stay longer!
My dad met Hans while he was studying in Rome for 4 years. At the time Hans was a Swiss guard working at the Vatican every day. (Not exactly sure how they met though). Hans was... well I don’t know how to say it other than, “big time.” He was Pope John Paul II’s right hand man. Whenever the Pope would travel somewhere, Hans was on the plane (or pope mobile) with him. Right before a Papal speech, Hans was the guy who would hand the Pontfix the sheet of paper. He showed Colin and I many photo albums of him and John Paul II, who by the way, is set to be canonized as a saint next week at the Vatican. The albums included photos of the Pope with his family, his wife Carol, and two little daughters (at the time) Claire and Kathleen. The Pope actually baptized Claire – talk about a conversation starter, “Hey I’m Claire, and I was baptized by a saint- what was your name again?” Hans told us that once or twice a week, he would just walk up to the Pope’s room and they would just have normal, friendly conversations. In May of 1981, the day there was an attempt on the Pope’s life, Hans was there. He heard the gunshots and immediately sprinted, tracked down the assailant, tackled him, and helped detain him in the Vatican prison. You literally cannot make this stuff up. Hans was a Swiss guard for “20 years, 1 month, and 17 days” and loved every minute of it.”
I have known him practically my entire life, as when he comes to America every 2 years, a stop in Worcester, Massachusetts is high on his to-do list. He and Carol plan to come stay with us for a couple of days in July. He and Carol took Colin and I in with open arms, and every time I would thank them, they would counter with thanks and gratitude for the many times they stayed with us in Worcester. We got there on Thursday and when I told them we were leaving Saturday they were upset because they wanted us to stay longer!
Thursday
night, we had a light dinner and went to bed pretty early after a long day of
travel, and Carol offered to do our laundry, which was incredible- and much
appreciated. They both had things to do for Good Friday so they were all
worried that we would be bored.
Colin and I
woke up around 10 and planned to go to Luzern, a quaint city about 45 minutes
away- which my family and I had gone to the last time we visited in 2003. Hans
took us 20 minutes of the way because he wanted to make sure we got on the
correct connecting train. Great guy. It was kind of overcast in Luzern but we
walked all along the river, checking out the boats, and beautiful Swiss Alps
off in the distance. We sat down for lunch and then walked to the Jesuit Church
for a Good Friday service at 3:00- which was interesting. If I knew a lick of
German it probably would have been a little better, but I don’t. It was an
experience, but it’s the thought that counts. We got out of church and decided
to head back to Wadenswil because it had started to rain. The walk from the
train station to their house could definitely have been drier, but we made it.
We dried
off and Carol had made a cheese fondue, which is the national food of
Switzerland, accompanied by the national drink, white wine. The white wine was
quickly substituted for red because Hans doesn’t like white. Hans gets what
Hans wants. It was absolutely incredible. We dipped bread, pears, and potatoes,
and I think I had enough to nourish all the Swiss Guards. We shared stories
about our visits to one another, and Hans told some stories about him and my dad,
which were hilarious. We ended the night watching the Stations of the Cross
live on TV at the Coliseum where Pope Francis was.
We woke up
this morning, and had breakfast waiting for us on the table. Carol had packed
us lunches to take on the train, and we couldn’t thank her enough. Hans walked
us to the train station but it wouldn’t be a trip to Switzerland without
chocolate. He bought us about 8 things of Lindt chocolate, which is like the
best of all time. He took the train with us all the way to the last stop in
Switzerland- just because he wanted to see us off. Hospitality like you read
about. It was an awesome visit and I look forward to returning the favor(s) in
Worcester this summer. #locals
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