2013-07-31 47 8

Location

A grove in Frauenfeld.

Participants

Plans

Catch IC train to Frauenfeld, leaving Zurich at 7.07pm from rail 8. Expecting to reach hashpoint at 8pm.

Expedition

Calamus had often sat in the train to Frauenfeld (and further to Romanshorn, home of the not-so-much feared lake-beast Mocmoc) when returning from Berne, but had alway left it in Zurich. After all, Frauenfeld's attractions were quite limited. The capital of Thurgovia, it is mostly known for an annual music festival, its name (meaning "women's field") and … that's about it. Thurgovia as a whole is known for its apples, its berries and its … interesting dialect. At least, Thurgovians aren't subject to as much ridicule from the arrogant Zurichois as the Argovians. That is, as long as they keep their mouths closed.

On the train, Calams happily listened to the other passengers' banter, including a Northern English tourist, who anxiously inquired multiple times whether this really was the right train to the airport, an elderly lady with her little grandchildren, who weren't nearly as enthusiastic as her about the impending national holiday ("They just picked a random date because every other country had a day to celebrate racism!"), and a female couple, who argued loudly about who of them had the nicer breasts, until they shouted at each other and suddenly started to kiss passionately. The world is more fun if you treat it as a stage for your personal problems, I guess. Even being a spectator is kind of fun.

Arriving in Frauenfeld, Calamus's plan to go to the point quickly was foiled by the town's immense cuteness. The flags of the town, the canton and the confederation hung everywhere, either in preparation for tomorrow's national holiday or just because the inhabitants liked flags, and the streets were reminiscent of Zurich, just smaller and deprived of all the hustle and bustle. Whilst Calamus did walk in the hashpoint's general direction, he took less direct paths to take in more of the town's serenity, which was only disturbed by a travelling stag party.

The orchard containing the hashpoint was populated by cattle. While Calamus took his pictures, a family passed by, and whereas Calamus halfway expected them to scold him for accidentally tripping a daisy on Good Old Farmer Such-And-Such's land, they complimented him on the excellent motive and pointed out the luck he had with the lighting. In general, Calamus noted on the way back, the inhabitants of Frauenfeld had a remarkably high tendency to not only greet him, as is customary, but also to append compliments on things like his hairstyle or his bracelets with no detectable irony, on one occasion combined with blushing. This isn't a usual behaviour towards strangers in Zurich, and Calamus noted it in the "Positive surprises about Thurgovian culture" section of his mind. It was compensated soon, when he encountered the stag party yet again, which had now begun to sing German songs from the sixties.

Luckily, there was a train to Zurich standing right at the station. Less luckily, its doors were already locked and it departed. Calamus didn't even mind anymore, it had become somewhat of a running gag of his expedition, and he used the thirty minutes to have dinner and talk to a few people (they initiated the conversations). When Calamus returned home, he found he had actually begun to like the sound of the Thurgovian dialect. This, if nothing else, was quite the surprise.