The Swiss, especially the German-speaking Swiss, always have to be different. Consider playing cards. The Swiss German speaking part of Switzerland has its own deck of playing cards. They are mostly used for Jass, the “national card game” of Switzerland. The deck is related to the various German playing cards. Within Switzerland, these decks are… Continue reading The cards we’re dealt
Category: Travel
Five schillings’ worth of wood
A witch-hunt is a search for people labelled “witches” or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic or mass hysteria. The classical period of witchhunts in Europe and North America falls into the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War, resulting in an… Continue reading Five schillings’ worth of wood
The vicar and the vagabond
The mirror of these trusting, brown eyes Is like a reflection of gold from deep inside; From the bosom’s depths it seems to rise Where such gold on holy grief thrives. In the darkness of thine eyes I bury myself, It is thou who invites me, Unknowing Child— Thou wouldst have me ignite the fires… Continue reading The vicar and the vagabond
Song of the executioner
As I slowly walk across Canton Schaffhausen I come across a number of small hills that bear the name “Galgenbuck”(Gallows Hill). The cantonal capital Schaffhausen itself was a Reichstadt, an imperial free city, meaning it was directly subject to the Holy Roman Emperor and no other government. He granted it the privilege of being allowed… Continue reading Song of the executioner
Follow the money, Dennis
In the movie V.I. Warshawski, Kathleen Turner as Vicki Warshawski, explains that the first rule of detecting is to “follow the money” if you want to know what the reality of a situation was. In Schaffhausen, I had looked at where the money wasn’t… (See Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution.) So I then began to look… Continue reading Follow the money, Dennis
Do we need another hero?
A hero or heroine (Ancient Greek: ἥρως, hḗrōs) is a person or character who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage or self-sacrifice — that is, heroism — for some greater good; a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.… Continue reading Do we need another hero?
Wheels and the wanderer
Day Two of the Four Points walk, Wednesday 24 June 2015: Returned back to “Im Kerr” in Merishausen… (See Alex Supertramp and Canada Slim post of this blog.) …and once again found myself climbing a steep hill up into an elevated forest heading ever southwards to Schaffhausen. There are many things about the German language… Continue reading Wheels and the wanderer
The price of progress (Oxford and Gatwick)
“I have the greatest respect for Oxford University and its 800 years of tireless intellectual toil, but I must confess that I’m not entirely clear what it’s for… See all these dons and scholars striding past, absorbed in deep discussions about the Leibniz-Clarke controversy or post-Kantian aesthetics and you think: Most impressive, but perhaps a… Continue reading The price of progress (Oxford and Gatwick)
Life among the Oxonians
Back in the south of England after some time spent up in Oxford, a place I once called home for a number of months over two decades ago, a place that still has a hold upon my heart, and happily a place where I still have friends. It was and remains one of the fastest… Continue reading Life among the Oxonians