More from Basel

In Basel, I stumbled on a few moments and places that had a little bit of magic in them.


In the plaza next to the cathedral, I watched as a group of old men played boules, and a group of young boys played with a bowling set, as autumn sun shone through the horsechestnut trees.


Some of the streets in the old city were so quiet and charming, they could have been in a village far away, instead of in the middle of a cosmopolitain city.








That day, the afternoon sun was so warm, that people flocked to the sunny steps beside the Rhine. When I arrived there was a small group, but as the air warmed the crowd grew.

le weekend chez nous

Last weekend I stayed close to home: cleaning, cooking, and watching the long fall shadows.

Marktplatz, Basel

It took me awhile to find the walking "center" of Basel. It certainly was not at the train station, or the nearby bus station-- walking from there seemed to lead to a "nowhere" of large vehicular roads and near-deserted streets. On the second day I made it to the old town and began to really see the city on foot.


One of the iconic buildings in Basel is the Rathaus, painted bright red. Limited by my lack of German, I did not learn much about it! What interested me more was the Marktplatz square in front of the building, which had the lively and beautiful character of a successful European plaza. What makes this place what it is? The architecture on its edges is varied and handsome. The Rathaus is an icon, and a slow stream of visitors passed to and from. People also sat in sidewalk cafes, as did I, and came and went on the trams that frequently pass along the opposite side of the square. I also noticed the subtle effect of the paving pattern in the square, where two large floral patterns mark the center, almost like on a rug. People were drawn to walk toward the floral pattern, stand on it, or walk through it. Just a simple paving pattern seemed to define a space for people to orient themselves and their movements within the square.

Basel BackPack

Last weekend I visited Basel, in the northwest corner of Switzerland where it meets France and Germany. I stayed in a hostel called BaselBackPack, located in a former factory (not sure what type) that now houses a diverse mix of artist workshops, a primary school, cafe, restaurant, etc, all aligned around generous interior courtyards. The cheery post-industrial aesthetic is irresistible. It seemed that they used every type of of recycled container imaginable to fill the courtyard to the brim with growing things, including vines ascending in the air and on walls. Signs located throughout explained various sustainable features of the building, including a rainwater harvesting system.

Lausanne, sous la pluie

Two weekends ago I went to Lausanne, the nearest big city in the canton of Vaud. It rained most of the day and was quite cold, but the city somehow felt cozy, like there was a holiday spirit in the air. Perhaps it was the crowds of people bustling through the street market, perhaps the smell of roasting chestnuts?

The courtyard entry to the Art Brut museum is quite simple and still a striking space:


An old gate from the Lausanne city hall:


I had a great lunch at this decidedly old school restaurant-- when I first entered, a bit on the early side for lunch, it was just me and several groups of older folks gathered over coffee or a drink. Soon, though, every table was either full or reserved. I had my first raclette, a regional dish that consists of melted cheese on a plate, served with a potato, cornichons, and bread. Delicious!


In front of the cathedral, this area looks over the city to the south:


I was fascinated by this tall, weathered farmer selling the smallest, sweetest roses. I watched him for awhile until he finally had a customer.

l'Automne à la Cure

One week ago, Craig, Cristina, Jack and I harvested the apples from the two trees at the Cure. This week, we will take them to the local school to be pressed into juice.


This morning, there was frost in the garden:

Gruyeres

Three weekends ago (what?) I took a daytrip to Gruyeres. Yes, the land of the famous cheese, spelled without the "s." My guidebook described it as a fairytale place, and this charm shone through even the throngs of tourists gathered to admire it. It was a beautiful warm day, and I did what one is meant to do in Gruyeres: sit on a terrace and eat fondue, then visit the castle, and finally buy some cheese and meringues to take back home-- it was simple, really!

From the train station one ascends a curving path up the hill to arrive at the old town heart, a striking wide and long plaza paved with light-colored stones with a fountain in the center. The stone-paved plaza was lovely and gave the place a strong character; later I found out that it had until recently been paved in asphalt! It turns out that the archaeologist father of one of the other interns here worked on the recreation of the medieval character of the stone pavement! When I was there, I imagined that the plaza was a contemporary version of a bustling medieval village marketplace-- it was an incredibly active place.

There is a strong connection between Gruyeres and Rougemont; the Count of Gruyeres gave land in what is now Rougemont to Cluny monks in the 12th century to build a church there. While not the same structure, the church in Rougemont stands today, two minutes' walk from chez nous.

This is the crane (la grue), the heraldic symbol of the Count of Gruyeres, which also appears in Rougemont and neighboring towns like Chateau d'Oex.



Inside the castle

Le jardin, la cuisine

We have an office garden, as well as an office kitchen. What brilliant ideas-- this way we can harvest whatever we need, and cook together during lunch and dinner.

I made blackberry pie with berries from the garden, and shared with the office:


Simon making fresh pasta:


lunchtime:


harvesting a pumpkin for soup:

la randonnee a Rougemont

Two weeks ago Amy, Nuno and I took a hike from Rougemont up the mountains north of home. I realized that what look like gently rolling pastures are actually quite steep! We ascended part of the way through a sunken path in a spruce forest, and arrived finally at an open pasture with a view to the mountains to the west. We saw some beautiful wildflowers like bird's foot trefoil and silver thistle.

Unfortunately, the trusty yellow path signs were not so helpful this time, and we lost our way a few times-- on the way down, we navigated past some friendly cows and over some not-so-friendly barbed wire fences.

Amy caught a wayward chicken and returned her to her pen


Amy brought a special present: banana nut muffins, from Mom + Sonia's muffin 'zine!


Walking in the pas des vaches


Spruce forest