Switzerland

Well, this is officially it. This evening I take a bus to Bamberg and move into what will be my home for the next year. The kids are out of town visiting their grandparents so for a few days I get to settle in before everything begins. I am so excited and nervous and excited. Its strange to think that this really is the end of all my traveling. After the past 3 months its begun to feel as if I am a nomad or a gyspy which has been incredibly fun, but also tiring. I am weary of sleeping in different beds every night, eating pb&js or fast food all the time, and not being able to settle in to any of the relationships i make. I'm ready to have a home base, friends, a steady schedule. I'm really glad that I've had this opportunity, especially because I feel that it has in some way prepared me for the next year of aupairing--sort of helped me to get the wanderlust out of my system for a little while. 

Staying in Switzerland with the Stampflis was a nice end to a lovely trip. I haven't seen them since I was, oh I don't know...10 years old, maybe, but it was surprising how easy and natural it was to eat and spend time with them. They are a truly wonderful and warm family, and I'm really glad I got to reconnect with them. Ursula and Walter look exactly like I remembered them, and although it was a shock to see Marco and Evelyn grown up and not the little kids I used to play with, there are still shadows of that white-headed little girl and the boy with the huge smile. They live in a small suburb of Basel, which is only a few kilometers from the borders of France and Germany, and very cosmopolitan.

On Friday morning I went into town to see an exhibition at the one of the art museums, there(Basel is home to 12...) of VanGogh's landscapes throughout his life. It was a really amazing exhibition, especially because they also had a floor dedicated to landscapes by his contemporaries and friends, to show both the similarities and the depth of his originality. It was really nice since I hadn't got a chance to go to the VanGogh Museum in Amsterdam(always too crowded) to be able to see some of his works. 

Evelyn took me around Basel in the afternoon--showing me some of the "sights" and climbing to the top of the cathedral there with me. She is 17 now and in her last year of highschool. I really appreciated the fact that she took time to show me around and hang out with me without it ever feeling like a chore or like she was simply doing it out of hospitality. A lot of 17 year old girls I know wouldn't have been so open or kind. Therefore it was a really nice day, especially since the weather was beautiful and clear. We rode a ferry across the Rhein, which runs right through downtown Basel, and got chocolate covered nuts at one of the most famous chocolateries in town.

On Saturday I spent the whole day in downtown Basel, first going to the museum of modern art which had a couple really fascinating exhibitions. Later I sat by a fountain in downtown done by Jean Tinguely, a swiss artist, which is made up of 10 different robots made of scrap metal. Each different robot moves and shoots out water in its own way. If I can figure out how I'll post a video on here for you to see because it was really cool. In the evening there was this big free festival that's held in Basel every two years called the Jugend Kultur Fest. Its entirely focused around young people in Basel so there were theater, dance, art and music groups all from the area and all under 30. I went to a few shows early in the evening, and then decided to go to the Stadt Kino(City Theater) to see a showing of Trufaut's 1966 Fahrenheit 451 since it is one of my favorite books, he is one of my favorite directors, and it one of the only films he made in english. It was only the second time in my life that I've been to a movie theater by myself, and the experience was pretty magical. Something about the soft, warm seats, the darkness and the whisper of unfamiliar tongues--plus of course the fantastic film itself--really overwhelmed me.  Afterwards when I walked outside there was this huge crowd of screaming, drunk swiss teenagers waiting for one of the headlining concerts to start.  I decided to stick around and it ended up being this really good german rap group from right across the border. It was a really strange contrast for me to go from black and white art film to wildly jumping hip hop show, and it was great.

Sunday I slept in and then in the afternoon Marco and I rode bikes down into Basel and went swimming in the Rhein. You can get in on one end of the city and literally float all the way down through downtown. Of course, we only went about a third of the way, because it gets really crowded down towards the other end, but it was still really cool to let the current carry me past huge cargo ships and speedboats, watching the city slip by. Again I was really grateful to Marco for making me feel so at home, so entirely welcome. At first I had been a little nervous about staying with the Stampflis since I hadn't seen them in so long, and Marco, Evelyn and I had only really known each other as small children, but they took every opportunity to welcome me into their family.

On Monday Ursula and I went to an exhibit at an art museum in their suburb of Giacometti's work. Ursula is herself a very talented artist, and so it was really cool to go to an art exhibition with someone who was as much, if not more, interested in the subject than I was. They had a really great collection, including some of his early surrealist pieces that I'd never seen before, and even some pieces by his father and brother, who were also both talented artists. Later in the afternoon I went bike riding around Basel, and then in the evening we ate chocolate fondue for dinner!

Tuesday Walter was so sweet and bought me a train ticket that I could use to ride any train or boat or tram in Switzerland for the day. He even helped me plan out a route so that I would be able to see as much as possible in one day. I left early in the morning and went to Zurich. I only had a couple hours there, so I went to the Cathedral of Our Lady, there, which, besides its beautiful architecture, contains 3 stained glass windows done by Marc Chagall in 1970. Afterwards I went to Luzern where I ate lunch along the river and then took a boat ride all along the lake their which was just spectacular. That evening I caught a train to Bern and then back to Basel late at night. Although I only got to see a few things in each place, overall it was a really wonderful day and I really appreciated the opportunity to see a little bit more of Switzerland. The picture of the hazy alps rising up out of a clear blue lake still sticks with me. Although it was expensive, Switzerland was such a beautiful country that I hope I'll have the opportunity to go back. The Stampflis own a small cabin in the alps and they invited me to come with them next time they go. Hopefully it will work out with my schedule, because more than seeing the mountains(which I didn't realize how much I missed until I was surrounded by them) I would like to see the family again. Its not often that you get to spend time with such wonderful people.