Walking at least 5km every day in the mountains with the dogs was normal and often more on several occasions. I also had the opportunity and time to explore the almost 1000 year old site, including the monastery itself as well as the 330 year old chapel, the over 800 year old crypt, the dining rooms, kitchens, cellars and other nooks and crannies. A personal tour of the hospice library by the Prior, who is the head monk, was a great privilege. The ancient books included subjects such as philosophy, theology, natural sciences, biology, medicine, geography and many others.
I attended a special mass celebrating the 330 year anniversary of the chapel, sitting with the monks in the front of the chapel, by invitation, throughout the ceremony.
Many memorable evenings were spent with the monks, enjoying a beer or glass of wine, while discussing various subjects such as religion, politics, dogs, philosophy and others.
The monks manage the monastery with volunteer workers, usually about 10 at any one time. These volunteers give up 2 weeks of their time to work at the monastery in various functions such as cooking, cleaning rooms or managing the museum. They come from all over the world and are the most fascinating and diverse group of people imaginable! I enthusiastically got to know each group and learnt some amazing things from many different people.
I visited 2 other monasteries belonging to the same religious order. The first, Simplon Hospice at another mountain pass in Switzerland. There I had a personal tour before joining the Prior and other monks for lunch. The second, Hospice Regina Pacis in Italy, where I attended mass and had total freedom to explore the old monastery buildings.
I attended an All Breeds Championship show in Evian, France, where I exhibited a 6 year old male that I had been training at the Hospice. He had previously had minimal training and had never been exhibited at any shows before. He was perfectly behaved and was awarded second place in the “Open” class and a grading of “Excellent”.
Dr. Marc Nussbaumer, author of the book “BARRY vom Grossen St. Bernard” and curator of the Saint Bernard collection at the Natural History museum in Bern invited me on a personal tour of the facility. The stuffed and mounted body of the original Barry 1 is kept on display in the museum and I was privileged to hold the actual 200 year old skull of Barry 1 in my hands. Other items in the collection include over 150 Saint Bernard skulls, all thoroughly documented, as well as skeletons, furs and interesting artifacts and information.
