pictures of Switzerland

at long last, my laptop is hooked up to the internet here in my new home :)

here are some pictures and hopefully a video of the fountain in Basel.

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.

Wer schreibt, der bleibt

The title of this post, which is also the slogan for Die Linke(The Left) political party in germany means, he who writes, remains. I like that, don't you? It seems particularly apt for me at this moment.

In the morning I catch a long and boring train all the way down Germany to Basel, Switzerland to visit the Stampfli's for a few days. I'm pretty excited, although I haven't seen them since I was six? seven? Ursula sent me a picture of what she looks like now so that I would recognize her at the train station and all I could think was that she looks exactly the same as I remember, which is comforting. 

Hamburg has been a surprisingly interesting and pretty city to visit. I came here, sort of out of obligation, since it seemed wrong to travel Germany and not visit its 2nd largest, wealthiest city. I have a couple friends from Hamburg, and had heard it was nice, but its not a big tourist hotspot like Paris or Amsterdam or Prague. In fact, most of the tourists here are from Germany. However now that I actually visited around I'm really glad I did.

On my first day I sort of wandered around on my own, taking in as much of this huge city as I could, and then went to a theater that showed movies in english and saw Public Enemies. I'd never been to a movie before by myself, which was kind of fun, especially since I was one of only about 10 people in the entire theater, and most of them seemed like Germans either trying to improve their english, or simply fed-up(as I am) of the poor dubbing job most english-language movies get here.

The second day I woke up early and took a really informative walking tour, which was nice since Hamburg is a bit spread out and it would've been so easy to miss a lot of the stuff we saw. 

One place in particular really struck me, which was the building that used to house the offices of the man who created and promoted Zyclon B. Now of course, it is a totally nondescript office building, completely anonymous except for one bronze plaque on the wall outside, and an empty Zyclon B container on a pedestal within. On the plaque, besides a historical note about the building and former occupant, is a quote reading, "...un nit varnicht die schlechte ojf der erd, soln sej varnichtn sich alejn!". At first I just figured it was some old-form of german I wasn't familiar with(although some of the words were familiar) until the guide explained that it was Yiddish. The translation is: Do not destroy the wicked of the earth, let them destroy themselves! I'm not exactly sure what about it struck me so deeply, but it reminded me of the story of the Dachau concentration camp survivors who came back years later to protest the living conditions of the people who had once imprisoned them. It is this idea of forgiveness that is neither passive nor permissive; a forgiveness that recognizes that people who hurt others hurt themselves so very much more in the end. It is an idea that aligns very closely with my own views on non-violence. It has nothing to do with being weak or overly-optimistic, rather it seems to me that harming people who do violence is superfluous--they harm themselves with every violent act they commit. Like Voldemort ripping apart his soul through murder, the salvation or strength gained through violence and hatred is only temporary, and always unequal to the cost. 

Later we went to the St. Nicholai memorial, which is the haunting ruins of Hamburg's gothic cathedral that was destroyed by bombing in 1943. Although they've cleared away the rubble, the skeleton of the church, including its tower, remains and now houses some beautiful sculptures as well as an information center. One of the sculptures is especially beautiful. Its named the Earth Angel and the inscription says "take my hand and let me lead you back to yourself" in five different languages around the base. I like that, too. It seemed to me that around every corner in Hamburg I found fascinating and beautiful and haunting places, graced with words. This city has reminded me why I believe so strongly in the power of words, and why I feel somewhat naked and unprepared when I haven't been able to write in a while. 

Both yesterday evening and this one I went down to the Sternschanze district, which is the University district, and ate at a really great little Italian place with good chianti, lit by an electric chandelier missing a few bulbs. It was nice to sit someplace beautiful, people watch and let the evening slip by. 

Today I ran some errands, bought my train ticket, and then went to the large park in the middle of town and read in the sunshine for awhile. Its nice, now that the countdown to the end of my trip has begun, to be able to relax and read a good book(I'm currently working through the german version of the 3rd Harry Potter as well as a hilarious novel I picked up called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which is EXACTLY what it sounds like)

Oh, I almost forgot! Hamburg is on the banks of the Alster and Elbe rivers, right before they flow out into the North Sea. Its crisscrossed with all these beautiful little canals, and absolutely covered with shorebirds. In fact, all of the swans on the Alster are protected by law. It is illegal not only to kill, eat, or beat the swans but also to insult them, which is a little difficult considering how large and pushy they are, being used to friendly tourists feeding them...

Prague

I'm almost done traveling--less than a week and I'll be arriving in Bamberg and beginning a new chapter of my life. Looking back on the past three months, I feel like I've done and seen so much, that its easy to forget things--to let them blur into the background, become part of an endless stream of colors and shapes. Travel is beautiful and disorienting, uncomfortable in the best sense. Uploading the pictures from my camera today of Hamburg, I realized that I'd completely forgotten to mention my short stay in Prague. 

Since I already visited there a few years ago and did the "big stuff"--the castle, the cathedral, a boat cruise down the Vlatava-- this time around I wanted to try and visit some of the more out-of-the-way corners; to see things I might've missed the first time around. I also wanted my pace to be a little slower, to give myself time to relax and stretch out instead of rushing to try and see and do as much as possible in the little time I had. What I found was wonderful.

I met quite a lot of fascinating people there--both in my hostel and the one night I went "out on the town" including quite a few Australians, a Canadian Air Force pilot, an international Narcotics agent from Holland, and quite a few locals. I love the opportunity that traveling alone provides to make friends. Because you aren't with a comfortable group of friends, you are forced to go out and talk to people, to connect in ways you might not have if given the chance to sit back inside your comfort zone. 

On the one full day I had there to see the city, I went to the John Lennon wall which is this beautiful, ever expanding, graffiti mural dedicated to Lennon and the Beatles, which began when he was killed. While wandering around the back streets of Prague trying to find it, I happened across a fence, looking out over the Vlatava, covered in padlocks. I might've mentioned the tradition before that lovers, when they come upon a particularly lucky or romantic spot, lock a padlock around an iron fence to make their love stay. Anyways, there's not a lot more I can say that pictures couldn't say better, so...

My few days in Prague reminded me that what I really love about traveling is not being able to see the big flashy stuff-- the Eiffel Tower, the Berlin Wall-- but rather finding places and people and moments where I connect despite cultural and language barriers. It is so easy see the "sights" without really seeing; I am as much a culprit as anyone else. Yet sometimes I find something at it reminds me that there is an essential difference between vacationing and traveling. One vacations to sit on a beach or at a bar or in a hotel world and make the world's comforts come to you; one travels to step out beyond the easy or the known and find something real.

A few photos of Dresden...

Here are a few photos of beautiful Dresden. That's the newly renovated Frauenkirche, both inside and out, and me looking out on the Elbe river...

Dresden

Wow, what a jam=packed few weeks its been! I barely know where to start, now that I have a little time for reflection and reliable internet...

The week I spent in Dresden was absolutely amazing. The city itself is very beautiful, and I can only imagine what it must've looked like before the fire bombing destroyed so much. The Frauenkirche, Dresden's largest protestant church, was turned into a pile of rubble during the bombing and they only finished restoring it a few years ago. For many years during the Soviet occupation of East Germany it staid as a pile of ash and rubble in the middle of the city--perhaps as a reminder of the price paid, perhaps because the soviets simply didn't have the money or motivation to rebuild it. It is now, again, absolutely breathtaking. I can't wait until I can post of some of the pictures, because the restoration job they did was really wonderful. 

The other historic buildings in Dresden, especially the Palace and catholic cathedral along the Elbe River, were simply breathtaking. I'm a pretty big sucker for architecture but this absolutely blew me away. I had heard Dresden was beautiful but I really had no idea it would be so lovely. 

Of course, much of the city is home now to big block apartments, graffiti, convenience stores, and skyscrapers. It was so thoroughly destroyed that they simply couldn't rebuild everything and so instead chose to try and make something new. The contrast between the beautiful old buildings and the chunky, utilitarian new ones is striking and sad. Many other cities in Germany, such as Frankfurt and Munich, who were heavily bombed, were able to navigate their reconstruction better, perhaps because they were larger or in American controlled territory. Frankfurt chose to become entirely new, and it is now a very nice modern-looking city. Munich on the other hand, chose to restore absolutely as much as possible, and allows no sky scrapers within the inner-city. Dresden, perhaps because of economic and political reasons, is sort of stuck in the middle. Although it wasn't as uniformly beautiful as some other places I've been such as Paris and Prague, something about its disjointedness made me love it more--perhaps for very human it seemed. We are none of us either as modern or beautiful as we would like to be. Always in the middle, a little awkward, like Dresden.

While there, however, we did get to see the incredible 17th and 18th century jewel collection, which includes the largest green diamond in the world. Again I was simply amazed by the artistry and craftmanship of the jewelers, however one thing in particular really stood out to me. One of the most famous court jewelers of the 18th century in Dresden was famous for making miniature statues out of precious stones and metals. He was praised for his realism and attention to detail. His favorite subjects were homeless people, war veterans, and dwarfs. The museum had this incredibly large collection of tiny statues, perhaps 2 inches high, of blind men made of pearls, veterans wearing jade and ruby clothing, propping themselves up on ivory crutches, and beggars holding out delicately gnarled gold hands. It was...shocking. Shocking that it was so detailed and yet so detached. That a man could look at people in such poverty and pain, take the time to note their facial expressions, the misery in their eyes, and create portraits of them made out of jewels with no thought to the contradiction. Art can dehumanize as easily as it reaches out and pulls at our souls. It can turn us into impartial observers who ooh and ahh over the artistry and detail while we turn our cheeks to the poverty it not only illustrates but exacerbates. Art can make us blind.

My brain needs to be defragmented. I have simply seen and done too much for one post--I can't decide what to write and not write. I imagine all the tiny blinking squares of data(the sun glinting off golden church spires, neo-nazi graffiti, chocolate torte, walking in a rainstorm on slippery cobblestone streets) being slowly put into its proper place, collated and coordinated. I'll try to write more soon, once my brain is a little clearer on exactly what it wants to say. I hate not being able to write for an extended period of time--it drives me up the wall! I can't think right without words.

On my last night in Berlin Paula and her partner and I eat caviar and pickled herring on toast,salad with kalamatas and fresh mozzerella, drink red wine and tell stories. I've never had caviar before, or anchovies, but now I have. A good time for first things. 

Tomorrow is Dresden-- I'm so excited! I've somehow managed to completely lose my US power converter, so my camera is STILL not charged, and I'm seriously considering buying a disposable, because this is just unreasonable! I need to start paying more attention to my possessions. Its all well and good to see people and experiences as more important, but at some point you have to slap yourself around and say, Emma, being a good steward means remembering where you put things! I don't even have old age as an excuse!