A Boat Ride on Lake Zurich

“After dinner, accompanied by Brother Erzberger, we had a very pleasant ride on Lake Zurich in a row boat. The water was very smooth and we had a good view of the cantons on [around] Zurich Lake. We could see the mountains in the background. This lake is thirty-five miles long and we could gather a good idea of the extent of Zurich and the many cantons situated on the borders of the lake. This is a beautiful expanse of water enclosed with banks which swell upwards with terraced vineyards and pine forests from amid which hamlets and white villas gleam out amid the trees and cultivated hills, which give variety and beauty to the scenery, while in the far-off distance the glaciers are seen stretching their icy peaks to the very skies, blending with the golden clouds. On the right the region is walled in with the craggy ramparts of the Abbis Alps, but the mountains stand back from the shore and this permits the light to fall freely upon the bosom of the lake and on the ample sweep of its lovely and fertile banks, giving a charm to the picture that the pen of the artists could not possibly describe.”—Manuscript 29, 1887.EGWE 273.7

It was in the midst of this natural beauty and splendor that Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, presented the beauties of Christ the Creator and Redeemer to the Swiss people.EGWE 274.1

May 20 Ellen White speaks on the Sabbath day to the believers in Basel for the last time. It is a time of sadness, for she leaves the brethren and sisters with whom her life was so intimately entwined for nearly two years, and now she is saying good-by with the prospect of never seeing them again in this world.EGWE 274.2

Tuesday, May 23, with Sister Ings, she departs from Basel, catching the train and moving northward into Cologne and Vohwinkel, Germany, for appointments. Then on to Scandinavia and Great Britain for her final visits before sailing for America in early August.EGWE 274.3