Journey to Switzerland Day 9

Gottfried Keller


The Gottfried Keller Center

Day 9 : August 7th

Today, we traveled by train to the Gottfried Keller Center, located in Glattfelden. Because Glattfelden is located right next to Zurich, it was only a 25 minute trip. This center was created in honor of Gottfried Keller. He was born in 1819 in Zurich and died in 1890. Zurich, which is where we have gone hiking, boating, and shopping, is Switzerland's largest city, and the canton Zurich capital. It is also known for its culture and being the wealthiest city in Europe. Gottfried Keller was a well known novelist, poet, short story writer, and artist. He was known for his realistic and purposeful work. His most famous novel Green Henry depicts a man's struggle as a failing artist and is considered to be one of the greatest works of Swiss literature of the 19th century. Romeo und Julia auf dorfe is another one of his works in which he rewrote Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet making it take place in a small Swiss village. Keller is also known for becoming canton Zurich's first official secretary in 1861 but later retired in 1876 to continue his writings.

Katie Burnet yet again embarrassed herself today. What in the world are we going to do with her? The entire time while we were visiting the center, Katie was talking to some of the guides saying, "Who is Got-Fried Keller and where was Got-Fried Keller born?" She didn't realize his name was actually pronounced "Gott-Freed" not "Got-Fried" like "french fries."

The Gottfried Keller Center, called the "Zentrum" by the locals, had many exhibits on his life and works. After we finished looking around, we stopped for dinner at the Gottfried Keller Cellar. The food was traditional Swiss cuisine like meat pies and pasta. It wasn't as good as the other places we have eaten, but it was still filling. After eating our meal, we took the train back to Mr. Carter's house.