Why we walk backwards

Female deities with inscrutable smiles, the Stele di Nora (a stone tablet showing in Phoenician characters the first recorded occurrence of the name “Sardinia”), and spindly, highly stylish, innovative and quirky bronze statuettes of varying sizes are just some of the things possible for viewing at Cagliari’s Museo Archeologico. This is Sardinia’s premier archaeological museum… Continue reading Why we walk backwards

The timelessness of Su Casteddu

Ah, Cagliari! (In Sardinian dialect, Su Casteddu) A city ascending in a choas of golden-hued mansions, domes and facades up to a rocky citadel. Vespas buzz down tree-fringed boulevards and locals exchange gossip and discuss politics and sports at cafes under graceful arcades. Sunset is the best time when soft evening light reveals pastel facades… Continue reading The timelessness of Su Casteddu

VIPs of Cagliari

Roman Emperor Diocletian didn’t like Christians very much, so when Saturninus refused to offer sacrifices to the god Jupiter Caligari Governor Barbarus had him beheaded in 304. A Paleo-Christian basilica marks his burial place. Bishop of Cagliari Lucifer Calaritanus, aka Lucifero da Cagliari, was well-known for his passionate opposition to Arianism, (a nontrinitarian belief that… Continue reading VIPs of Cagliari

Unloved in Jerusalem

There is a phrase that beguiles me with its unknown source that “a prophet is rarely respected in his own Jerusalem.” This phrase comes to mind when I consider the Rhine towns of Feuerthalen, across from Schaffhausen, and Rheinau, downriver 181 km / 113 miles if discussing walking distance. Feuerthalen, population 3,500, is Schaffhausen’s unremarkable… Continue reading Unloved in Jerusalem

The secret sites above the Falls

The biggest problem with being a tourist in Switzerland is the distinct feeling that the Swiss don’t want you to visit and certainly don’t want you to learn anything about the country. Switzerland certainly does not go out of its way to market itself aggressively in comparison with countries like the US or France. The… Continue reading The secret sites above the Falls

Wolves in sheep packaging

“No one could tell me, but I learned something else about Schaffhausen, a tiny curiosity of history. The town was bombed by American aircraft in 1944. (See Oops! Did we do that?) The Americans insisted that it was a mistake – a bombing force had lost its way and, thinking it was still over Germany… Continue reading Wolves in sheep packaging

The company that couldn’t

Neuhausen am Rheinfall is a municipality in the Canton of Schaffhausen just south of the cantonal capital, Schaffhausen. It has a population of nearly 11,000 people. Despite its location beside the Rhine Falls, Neuhausen is primarily an industrial city. “We came along a filthy street between forges and mills right through to the Falls. What… Continue reading The company that couldn’t

Chasing waterfalls

Day Three of the Four Points Walk, Saturday 4 July 2015 Bernard Levin, widely regarded as one of the greatest journalists of his generation , in his book/Channel 4 series To the end of the Rhine, calls the Rhine “Europe’s noblest river”. The Rhine is not Europe’s longest river. That title belongs to the Volga.… Continue reading Chasing waterfalls