Zürich, 29 December 2015 Both the big name guidebooks, Lonely Planet and Rough Guides, suggest a visit to the University of Zürich. “See the Archaeological Collection”, they say. “Visit the Graphics Collection”, they suggest. “Check out the Law Library”, they advise. Yet a university is so daunting a place to check out as a tourist, especially… Continue reading Me at the U of Z
Category: Travel
On time
Zürich, 29 December 2015: “What is time? If no one asks me, I know. But if I wanted to explain it to one who asks me… I plainly do not know.” (Augustine, The Confessions) “On 21 June 1995, the longest day of that year, a unique clock was set in motion in the shop of… Continue reading On time
Canada Slim and the City of Spirits
Zürich, 29 December 2015: “Zürich´s relationship to the world is not of the spirit, but of commerce.” (Carl Jung) “Not so long ago, Zürich was famed chiefly for being the cleanest, most efficient city in Europe – prim, but devoid of soul.” (Rough Guide to Switzerland) There is the city everyone assumes Zürich to be:… Continue reading Canada Slim and the City of Spirits
On a pathway to Hell
Boxing Day / 26 December 2015 I decide to go a-walkin´. Wife at work while I have the day off and a ticket to ride anywhere in Switzerland for as long as 26 December 2015 lasts (0500 – 2400). Decide to resume walk begun long ago in Bargen (the northernmost point in Switzerland)… (See Borderline… Continue reading On a pathway to Hell
Allegiance to the Queen
Arenenberg, Switzerland – Today my wife Ute and I visited Arenenberg Castle for Advent Sunday brunch. “Arenenberg is an estate with a small chateau, Schloss Arenenberg, in the municipality of Salenstein at the shore of Lake Constance in Thurgau, Switzerland, that is famous as the final domicile of Hortense de Beauharnais. Today it houses the Napoleon… Continue reading Allegiance to the Queen
My own private Bhutan
Everyone, I think, has their own list of places they would like to see before they die. Of the many places I have yet to discover I would love to visit Bhutan one day. “Bhutan is a world that you had only hope existed. Vertical prayer flags flutter in the breeze and men dressed in… Continue reading My own private Bhutan
Biel-Bienne the undecided
There are places in the world and especially in Switzerland that are amazingly easy to fall in love with. Biel-Bienne is not one of them. It is a place that even its residents seem undecided about loving or hating. Biel is the German name for this city of 52,350, located exactly midpoint between Geneva and… Continue reading Biel-Bienne the undecided
The Bedroom: A Hostel Environment
Back in Geneva, but this time staying at a hostel instead of in a hotel. As I am sure most of you are aware of, there are four basic types of hostel: – the YM/YWCA type hostel – the Salvation Army type hostel – the IYHA type hostel – the independent/backpackers hostel The differences between… Continue reading The Bedroom: A Hostel Environment
Sunshine Sketches of the Wild, Wild East
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” This was the catchphrase for the 1930s US radio show, “The Shadow“, as well for the 1994 film of the same name, starring Alec Baldwin and Penelope Ann Miller. I was reminded of this phrase when driving back to Landschlacht yesterday after… Continue reading Sunshine Sketches of the Wild, Wild East
The Last Castle
There is an old story, a rumor really, that spread during the 1980s that was meant to discourage promiscuity / slutty behaviour by young ladies. A young American lady on her last night in Rome decided, in a state of increased intoxication, to allow herself to be seduced by a pair of handsome Italian men,… Continue reading The Last Castle