Today I was asked to tea by the Schwümmlis. It gets more and more comfy in their apartment. We should sit down in the state parlour. Granny Schwümmli  already sat in her massive armchair knitting, when we entered the room. Granddad was deep in his crosswords.

The clicking of her needles never stopped, while we had a chat about the famous Schwümmli Knee Sock tradition. They wear their knee socks already for generations. The colorful socks of the Schwümmli family are all handknitted by herself, Granny proudly told me. Now Granddad joined in our conversation. It seemed, that he was the expert on the wool. „We get the wool from an animal, you only fi
nd in the backwoods of the Indian part of the Himalayas. The so called kneesockgeep is a very rare breed and gives the finest thread ever“, he let us know. Granny put down her knitting to show me a picture of a kneesockgeep in an old photoalbum, Granddad had produced from a moving box..

What lovely creatures!!

There’s so much to learn from my new neighbors. I have to ask them to dinner some day.

Heute war ich bei den Schwümmlis zum Tee eingeladen. Ihre Wohnung wird immer gemütlicher. Wir sollten uns ins Wohnzimmer setzen. Dort saß bereits Oma Schwümmli in ihrem massiven Ohrensessel und strickte. Opa Schwümmli war tief versunken in seinem Kreuzworträtsel. Das leise Klicken ihrer Stricknadeln verstummte nicht ein einziges Mal, während wir über die berühmte Schwümmlistrumpftradition sprachen. Sie tragen sie bereits seit Generationen. Die farbenfrohen Strümpfe seien alle von ihr selbst handgestrickt, erzählte Oma nicht ohne Stolz. Nun brachte sich auch Opa Schwümmli ein. Es schien, dass er der Wollexperte war. „Wir beziehen die Wolle von einem äußerst seltenen Tier, das in den Bergen des indischen Himalayas zu Hause ist. Die sogenannte Kniestrumpfschiege ist eine sehr seltene Rasse und gibt den feinsten Faden überhaupt“, ließ er uns wissen.  Opa fischte ein altes Album aus einem Umzugkarton  und Oma Schwümmli legte für einen Moment das Strickzeug nieder, um mir ein Foto einer Kniestrumpfschiege zu zeigen.

Herrliche Kreaturen!

Es gibt so vieles zu lernen von meinen neuen Nachbarn. Ich muss sie dringend zum Abendessen einladen.

The kneesock eating monster sucks.
Mum Schwümmli told me today, when we met at the laundry line, that the Schwümmlis again and again had problems with it. They were hoping, that the problem might have been solved by moving home. But yesterday they had the washing machine repairman at home to see, if there’s a new one living in their drum. But he couldn’t help.
Poor Schwümmlis.

15.02.2015

Yesterday the Schwümmlis moved in. I am not sure yet, how many Schwümmlis will stay next door. There were so many helping hands, that it was impossible to find out, who was a Helpingschwümmli and who a future neighbor. It seems to me, that they are a friendly crowd, even when it costs them a fortune to get a smile on their face.

Dad Schwümmli said happily „Hello“, when we met on the stairs today.

He already offered his apologies for all that noise and asked me in for a drink. So I could take a quick  look at Babyschwümmli, who was standing in her bed, not willing to go to sleep. She was complaining about a ghost. He was spooking around her bed, she said. I couldn’t see, what she was talking about. But little kids are well known for their vivid imagination.

There was still some flat cleaning activity waiting for me. So I departed. Lovely people!

I am looking forward to meeting the rest of them soon.

We have new neighbors in the flat next door. The Schwümmlis are very nice people. You will find out more about them here soon.