Winterthur, 29 January 2016 Wearing my teacher´s hat again this day…conversation class. Topic of discussion: The Swiss Family Robinson, written by pastor Johann David Wyss (1812), edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss and illustrated by his son Johann Emmanuel Wyss, is a story about a Swiss family shipwrecked in the East Indies en route to Australia. The… Continue reading New Switzerland lost and found
Category: Travel
The future: Older dog, newer tricks
Winterthur, Switzerland: 26 January 2016 Generally speaking I am not a fan of natural museums, for they often seem to me to be: well, unnatural. “On the Mounted Animal Nature Trail, you’ll be sure to see All Mother Nature’s favourite pets, all sitting rigidly. They’re never hungry any more, their last meal left them stuffed.… Continue reading The future: Older dog, newer tricks
Timely sensations of sex in the city
Winterthur, Switzerland: 26 January 2016 I have very little experience of Winterthur as a tourist as I work as a teacher here twice a week. Ute, my wife, is constantly complaining that I need to get out more and acquire some culture in my life. And whenever she is at home I allow her to drag… Continue reading Timely sensations of sex in the city
Viennese, Down Under
Triesenberg, Liechtenstein: 25 January 2016 There is an 11-hour time zone difference between Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, and Canberra, the capital of Australia. So while I was discovering the secrets of this land of the Walser in southern Liechtenstein, Australians were already starting up their barbies for cut lunch and snag while drinking stubbies of beer… Continue reading Viennese, Down Under
Last of the Knights Templar
Triesenberg, Liechtenstein: 25 January 2016 My private student in Winterthur had cancelled his lesson for today, leaving me only my regular lunch-time Cambridge BEC Vantage group in Vaduz. With the wife away in Zürich, with time on my hands and little desire to waste the clear skies and temperate weather, I decide to explore more… Continue reading Last of the Knights Templar
Konstanz: City of Shattered Dreams?
In the two years just passed and in the two years that follow, multitudes of people around the globe commemorate the events of World War 1 (1914 – 1918) that involved 70 million soldiers – 9 million of them killed in action, 7 million civilian casualities, and a conflict that lasted 4 years, 3 months and… Continue reading Konstanz: City of Shattered Dreams?
Where I am
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name And they’re always glad you came You wanna be where you can see our troubles are… Continue reading Where I am
Sick daze
Landschlacht, 22 January 2016 Being married to a German doctor has its advantages and its disadvantages. Because Europeans and their higher educational standards are very demanding and extensive, one can visit a physician in Germany and Switzerland in complete confidence that they probably know what they are talking about should you ever have occasion to need… Continue reading Sick daze
The artistic criminal
Zürich, 30 December 2015: We have all seen them. Scribblings, scratchings, stencils, murals up, down, over and under in public places. Simple messages to elaborate street-long paintings. This is nothing new under the sun. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans knew them. Today, spray paint and markers and what has been wrought from them are part and parcel of… Continue reading The artistic criminal
The Haa Bay and Needle Park
Zürich, 30 December 2015 You have arrived at “the Haa Bay” as the locals call it: Zürich´s Main Station or Hauptbahnhof. You should be impressed. There are 3,000 trains, carrying around 350,000 passengers, arriving and departing daily on 30 tracks. The station is one of Switzerland´s oldest. The first station on this site was opened in 1847 by… Continue reading The Haa Bay and Needle Park