So my time spent on the Mediterranean draws to a close as i bid farewell to my adventures in Spain, France and Italy. It has been six weeks now, the longest I can recall being away from home in one stretch, let alone on my own.There are inevidably certain things to you awaken to on such a quest across the globe. Many things which you do not expect to find. Like how much of your personality is only accesible to you through people, and while isolation can be liberating at times it is for me, incomplete. We need to see ourselves relfected back at us through those around us. It is a very human need.
And it so it was that i unexpectedly fell in love with Switzerland, a place where the flying solo does not bother me so much because the vistas are breathtaking beyond any measure of conversation. It is a refreshing change from the tourist frenzy of the Italian coast in June as even in the tourist regions have a calm serenity. It is a place that mirrors the image of utopia oulined by Thomas Moore, where the cumulus formations echo the snow covered peaks and the crystaline waters reflect perfectly, the robust green mountainsides and valleys. Where even the rivers in major Metropolitan areas like Zurich run clear and give home to swans.
My travels in Lucerne which is neatly situated between lakes and moutain peaks. I walked the city for a few hours visiting the Chapel bridge, and ofcourse I smelt it in the Air, the ontemporary art musem, with a surprisingly impressive collection of Picasso, Pisarro, Paul Klee, Kandinsky, Miro and others. Included in the ticket was the Picasso museum which houses primarily photographs of his personal life and provided a unique insight in the life of the eccentric artist in his latter years. It seems to me that my trip has been shadowing the life of picasso whose furios career has left landmarks throughout Europe. I have traced his development from his birthplace in Malaga, to Paris, Barcelona and Rome and did you know that he spent a good portion of his time at his `villa La Californie` in Cannes. I must admit that at first I only identified with some of his works, but now my mind is so conditioned that i have discovered that the secret to my own appreciation of Picasso is to picture his subjects as animate objects. My peculiar friends.
My next stop was the nation's business capital, Zurich, situated on lake Zurich. For the first time on my trip I feel a rivaling affection for a country other than South Africa. When made this remark to an Italian friend he sugested that it was because my mindset was so obviously anglosaxon therefore it appeals to my taste.Err...i thought it was just the cheap low fat fortified flavoured buttermilk. But i think he is absolutely right, and that northern and central european countries do feed into Anglo Saxn mindsets. An d switzerland has the added bonus of unique diversity, a curious melange of french finesse, german efficiency and italian good taste.
Today i found myself in Basel which is unique in that it is a striking combination of the old and the new, the traditional swiss houses juxtaposed with metal and glass buildings. It is a cultural hub and the reasonably priced basel pass can get you into 30 musuems for free as well as the Basel Zoo. Although realistically I`ll leave the game viewing for when i Get back to sunny SA.
Basel is really quite a unique place in that the energy is young and fast paced by Swiss standards. There is no natural or sceneic beauty but there is a wealth of cultural museums to take advantage of. I can`t say that I have had any fondue yet, but i will be sure to pick up some tomorrow before I head out to the Swiss Alps to do a bit of hiking.
And it so it was that i unexpectedly fell in love with Switzerland, a place where the flying solo does not bother me so much because the vistas are breathtaking beyond any measure of conversation. It is a refreshing change from the tourist frenzy of the Italian coast in June as even in the tourist regions have a calm serenity. It is a place that mirrors the image of utopia oulined by Thomas Moore, where the cumulus formations echo the snow covered peaks and the crystaline waters reflect perfectly, the robust green mountainsides and valleys. Where even the rivers in major Metropolitan areas like Zurich run clear and give home to swans.
My travels in Lucerne which is neatly situated between lakes and moutain peaks. I walked the city for a few hours visiting the Chapel bridge, and ofcourse I smelt it in the Air, the ontemporary art musem, with a surprisingly impressive collection of Picasso, Pisarro, Paul Klee, Kandinsky, Miro and others. Included in the ticket was the Picasso museum which houses primarily photographs of his personal life and provided a unique insight in the life of the eccentric artist in his latter years. It seems to me that my trip has been shadowing the life of picasso whose furios career has left landmarks throughout Europe. I have traced his development from his birthplace in Malaga, to Paris, Barcelona and Rome and did you know that he spent a good portion of his time at his `villa La Californie` in Cannes. I must admit that at first I only identified with some of his works, but now my mind is so conditioned that i have discovered that the secret to my own appreciation of Picasso is to picture his subjects as animate objects. My peculiar friends.
My next stop was the nation's business capital, Zurich, situated on lake Zurich. For the first time on my trip I feel a rivaling affection for a country other than South Africa. When made this remark to an Italian friend he sugested that it was because my mindset was so obviously anglosaxon therefore it appeals to my taste.Err...i thought it was just the cheap low fat fortified flavoured buttermilk. But i think he is absolutely right, and that northern and central european countries do feed into Anglo Saxn mindsets. An d switzerland has the added bonus of unique diversity, a curious melange of french finesse, german efficiency and italian good taste.
Today i found myself in Basel which is unique in that it is a striking combination of the old and the new, the traditional swiss houses juxtaposed with metal and glass buildings. It is a cultural hub and the reasonably priced basel pass can get you into 30 musuems for free as well as the Basel Zoo. Although realistically I`ll leave the game viewing for when i Get back to sunny SA.
Basel is really quite a unique place in that the energy is young and fast paced by Swiss standards. There is no natural or sceneic beauty but there is a wealth of cultural museums to take advantage of. I can`t say that I have had any fondue yet, but i will be sure to pick up some tomorrow before I head out to the Swiss Alps to do a bit of hiking.
