Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Dachau Concentration camp memorial
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps built and a model for all others. A short S-baun ride out of Munich takes you there and it is free to enter the museum. I paid for an audio tour but frankly it didn't add much. You enter into the compound through the doors that the prisoners entered in and in the sole door decoration is the phrase "Work sets you free". This was to go with the propaganda that the prison camp was for re-education of lazy and criminal people.
I took a few pictures but really the place is important for the words and stories. Most of the buildings had been taken down but a few were reconstructed.
This is a picture of part of the reconstructed surround fence area. The green lawn in the compound is the death zone where if a prisoner sets foot there they are shot by the guards in the tower armed with machine guns. This was a way of suicide. Then there is the ditch, then the wire and finally the stone wall.
Also at Dachau were two crematoriums (old and newer and bigger as the deaths increased).
Originally the concentration camps were to hold people, then to kill them and then when the war changed from the blitz to a longer campaign they needed the prisoners to provide the labour, making munitions and to work as slaves to prepare occupied countries for the new Germanic settlers. Also at Dachau they had a gas chamber that was never used for massive executions but was used to kill off small groups at a time.
There was also prisoner experimentation on low pressure and hypothermia and it is just disgusting to think of the doctors (scientists?) being able to continue the experiments. Then again, there were those important psychological studies after the war to investigate how people could allow the atrocities to occur. The general conclusions were that most people could take these roles, it is not specific to the past times and other places. Who amongst us would be the sadistic killer when given unlimited powers and undesirables to deal with. I was also reminded of the phrase Enemy Non-combatants.
I took a few pictures but really the place is important for the words and stories. Most of the buildings had been taken down but a few were reconstructed.This is a picture of part of the reconstructed surround fence area. The green lawn in the compound is the death zone where if a prisoner sets foot there they are shot by the guards in the tower armed with machine guns. This was a way of suicide. Then there is the ditch, then the wire and finally the stone wall.
Also at Dachau were two crematoriums (old and newer and bigger as the deaths increased).
Originally the concentration camps were to hold people, then to kill them and then when the war changed from the blitz to a longer campaign they needed the prisoners to provide the labour, making munitions and to work as slaves to prepare occupied countries for the new Germanic settlers. Also at Dachau they had a gas chamber that was never used for massive executions but was used to kill off small groups at a time.
There was also prisoner experimentation on low pressure and hypothermia and it is just disgusting to think of the doctors (scientists?) being able to continue the experiments. Then again, there were those important psychological studies after the war to investigate how people could allow the atrocities to occur. The general conclusions were that most people could take these roles, it is not specific to the past times and other places. Who amongst us would be the sadistic killer when given unlimited powers and undesirables to deal with. I was also reminded of the phrase Enemy Non-combatants.
Munckin Zoo
My third day in Munchkin I went to the zoo. I also really wanted to check out the science and tech museum but I'm concerned there isn't enough writing I can understand. Zoo's at least don't need a lot of writing (not that I've ever seen one provide much anyway). I might also visit the Berlin zoo which might seem a bit much but it's famous (stupid knut) and big and I really like zoos. In fact, I spent a good 8 hours walking around the relatively small Munich zoo (actually, I walked around it about three times at least) and I have come to the realization that zoos are probably something I must visit on my own. Anyone else with me would go insane if they had to follow my path.
The Munich zoo did not have an echidna so there was a limit on just how awesome it coud be. It wasn't a huge zoo but this turned out to be a benifit as I got to go back to cages (at least twice) to see the animals throughout the day and I got to see most of the animals (even the wolves which I've never managed to see at the Toronto zoo).
The best time for zoos are in the morning and at closing time. The middle of the day must also be spent at the zoo if you want to be there for closing - the best zoo time IMHO. At the end of the day the zoo is emptying, the animals are out and it is cooler. I got most of my best views of animals and different behaviours in the last hour (and the first).
I caught the bus out the zoo and I knew I was going in the right direction because of all the strollers. That's also probably why info panels at the zoo always seem to suck so much. Toddlers were also upset at the zoo but I wasn't confined in small decorative rooms on a tightly scheduled tour with them. Also at the zoo were all the school kids and the sulky teenagers desperate to prove they were too cool for skool and this lame zoo thing. Some things don't change. I wonder if the teen's are as sulky in Asia?
I saw the octopus and he was quite active (only in the morning). I have some videos but that will have to wait till later.
Check out this awesome fish. Yup, fish.
They had a baby orang-utan, he was very cute and was dragged around by his mother like a little doll.
As I said, the middle of the day in the zoo isn't my favorite and I brought my book to read. However, the middle of the day was when there were a lot of feedings so I was still running around to watch. That was when I got to see the big cats up close. My favourite of these was the leopard. I haven't seen one up so close before.
This lioness was eating right next to the glass so i could get some really interesting photos.
Also at the end of the day the Arctic exhibit was very active. The penguins were zooming and jumping out of the water (and as the school kids were gone you could easily see the display). The polar bear had also gotten up and was playing in the water. Here is is eating his vertebrate like a sea otter on his back.
The second polar bear was still lounging around.
Anyway, I have some great videos (including the gorilla picking his nose and checking it out, no wait, was that the kids?). I'll have to upload them back home.
The Munich zoo did not have an echidna so there was a limit on just how awesome it coud be. It wasn't a huge zoo but this turned out to be a benifit as I got to go back to cages (at least twice) to see the animals throughout the day and I got to see most of the animals (even the wolves which I've never managed to see at the Toronto zoo).
The best time for zoos are in the morning and at closing time. The middle of the day must also be spent at the zoo if you want to be there for closing - the best zoo time IMHO. At the end of the day the zoo is emptying, the animals are out and it is cooler. I got most of my best views of animals and different behaviours in the last hour (and the first).
I caught the bus out the zoo and I knew I was going in the right direction because of all the strollers. That's also probably why info panels at the zoo always seem to suck so much. Toddlers were also upset at the zoo but I wasn't confined in small decorative rooms on a tightly scheduled tour with them. Also at the zoo were all the school kids and the sulky teenagers desperate to prove they were too cool for skool and this lame zoo thing. Some things don't change. I wonder if the teen's are as sulky in Asia?I saw the octopus and he was quite active (only in the morning). I have some videos but that will have to wait till later.
Check out this awesome fish. Yup, fish.
They had a baby orang-utan, he was very cute and was dragged around by his mother like a little doll.
As I said, the middle of the day in the zoo isn't my favorite and I brought my book to read. However, the middle of the day was when there were a lot of feedings so I was still running around to watch. That was when I got to see the big cats up close. My favourite of these was the leopard. I haven't seen one up so close before.
This lioness was eating right next to the glass so i could get some really interesting photos.
Also at the end of the day the Arctic exhibit was very active. The penguins were zooming and jumping out of the water (and as the school kids were gone you could easily see the display). The polar bear had also gotten up and was playing in the water. Here is is eating his vertebrate like a sea otter on his back.
The second polar bear was still lounging around.
Anyway, I have some great videos (including the gorilla picking his nose and checking it out, no wait, was that the kids?). I'll have to upload them back home.
Fussen
On my second day in Munchkin I left the city on a slow train ride (2hrs) to the village of Fussen to check out the famous fairy tale castle. The train ride wasn't my favorite as it was so slow with many stops and three transfers. However, the Bavarian Alps rose out of the plains and on these first peaks were two castles. One was the childhood home of Louise (II? argh, not internet to check) and the second was that famous castle that Walt Disney apparently based Cinderella's castle on.
I had originally only wanted to see N* castle as I didn't realize what the second castle was. However, as both were on the same site I managed to change my ticket to include both. First I went to H* (about a 15 min walk up from the lake).
The inside of this castle was painted with many fanciful paintings of the imagined middle ages with knights and maidens. The idea was that Louis II who grew up in this summer palace was surrounded by the fairy tales thus inspiring him to make his fairy tale castle. He was accused of being mad but while he was eccentric, it was his brother who had schizophrenia. Louis II was diagnosed by a psychiatrist as being insane and removed to Munich and the next day both the King and the psychiatrist were dead (the King was drowned in the lake).
Anyway, the visits to the castle was tourism on an industrial scale. Unfortunately, guided tours (the only way to see the castles) were limited to 35 minutes as they had so many guests to show there. There were tickets and times and gates and you never really got the chance to see the castles. However, what I did see was fantastic (though not very big). The art was amazing and covered the walls, there were carvings and tons of swans. Sadly there were no pictures allowed inside the castle so you'll have to take my word for it. Or I'm sure a google search will yield results.
A view over the fields before the Alps.
N* castle was more fantastic (and also a higher hill to climb, ~30 min). Poor Louis II only lived in it for less than half a year before he died. The tour of the castles was filled with little children. Little, screaming, crying, fighting children. I think the hill climb combined with the length of time between bathrooms was a bit too much. Plus if you were coming from Munich it was a good 2 hour train ride and probably an early morning. And while I loved the castle decorations it would probably be pretty tedious for a toddler. Disneyland this ain't.
After the castle tour I climbed a bit higher and had this photo taken from the bridge over the dramatic gorge behind the castle. You can see all the construction. I need to visit Europe again when the other half of the all monuments are under construction.
That evening it was another long train ride back to Munchkin. The hostel has been pretty good actually, aside from the 18 yr old boys the first night it has mainly been University/grad students and we've had nice evening conversations and quiet evenings. If all hostel stays were like this I would say I like travelling better!
I had originally only wanted to see N* castle as I didn't realize what the second castle was. However, as both were on the same site I managed to change my ticket to include both. First I went to H* (about a 15 min walk up from the lake).
The inside of this castle was painted with many fanciful paintings of the imagined middle ages with knights and maidens. The idea was that Louis II who grew up in this summer palace was surrounded by the fairy tales thus inspiring him to make his fairy tale castle. He was accused of being mad but while he was eccentric, it was his brother who had schizophrenia. Louis II was diagnosed by a psychiatrist as being insane and removed to Munich and the next day both the King and the psychiatrist were dead (the King was drowned in the lake).
Anyway, the visits to the castle was tourism on an industrial scale. Unfortunately, guided tours (the only way to see the castles) were limited to 35 minutes as they had so many guests to show there. There were tickets and times and gates and you never really got the chance to see the castles. However, what I did see was fantastic (though not very big). The art was amazing and covered the walls, there were carvings and tons of swans. Sadly there were no pictures allowed inside the castle so you'll have to take my word for it. Or I'm sure a google search will yield results.A view over the fields before the Alps.
N* castle was more fantastic (and also a higher hill to climb, ~30 min). Poor Louis II only lived in it for less than half a year before he died. The tour of the castles was filled with little children. Little, screaming, crying, fighting children. I think the hill climb combined with the length of time between bathrooms was a bit too much. Plus if you were coming from Munich it was a good 2 hour train ride and probably an early morning. And while I loved the castle decorations it would probably be pretty tedious for a toddler. Disneyland this ain't.After the castle tour I climbed a bit higher and had this photo taken from the bridge over the dramatic gorge behind the castle. You can see all the construction. I need to visit Europe again when the other half of the all monuments are under construction.
That evening it was another long train ride back to Munchkin. The hostel has been pretty good actually, aside from the 18 yr old boys the first night it has mainly been University/grad students and we've had nice evening conversations and quiet evenings. If all hostel stays were like this I would say I like travelling better!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Munich
I have arrived in Munich, or Munchkin which I read every time I read the German city name (Munchen). After a restful day in Heidelberg I got a ride to the train station (and instructions on which train) at 3pm - how fantastic. The train ride was long and pretty and the hostel I was booked at is very close to the train station. After I arrived I wandered around the town for a bit, they have some beautiful gothic town halls and churches.
The first night in the hostel was shared with among others, three 18 year old boys from Dublin doing their first tour. It sounded like they had a much better rail deal than me, something about InterRail (?) which meant they had unlimited travel for a month (or maybe a bit more). They did a lot of city hoping and where on their last night. They were all going to University for music or related and were very considerate. One snored but not too loudly.
On my first full day in Munchkin I spent most of the morning dealing with a hostel booking for Berlin. Not only has 2/3 of the S-baun gone out of service but my hostel booking was apparently in the roughest part of town. I learned this from some couchsurfers I've been in contact with and with whom I will hopefully be meeting up for dinner one evening. Anyway, the hostel owner said he didn't do cancellations, HostelBookers said after their initial deal the hostel owner took over cancellations and reservations and the hostel owner spoke only Russian and German. Anyway, by the afternoon I learned it is cancelled but we'll see how much money is still charged to my card. On the advice of the CS friends I booked at another hostel - yeah, dorms for 16 people, this is going to be loud.
After the hostel booking learning experience (that is after all why I'm doing this) I walked around Munchkin. First I climbed the church tower (seems to be a European speciality, see the art museum, climb the church tower) and grabbed some breakfast in the market.
Check out these awesome lions. I think they are the best lions in europe yet! And I've been checking out a lot of lions.
I also liked St. ??? and the dragon. Poor beast with his tongue sticking out. This was in Peterskirche (church).
After the tower I headed into the English Gardens.
Through the garden was running a fairly fast river that was pretty cold. People would ride down the fast current and I would see them walking back, their teeth chattering. But it moved quickly and looked like fun. One of the interesting features of this fast current was that around one of the bridges was a standing wave. There were about 20 surfers out there riding this standing wave. They would line up on the banks of the river, take theirn turn and then be swept downstream and swim to the side to come ack for another attempt. I don't have any pictures, just videos which I will upload when I get back to Canada so the best I can offer is the camera thumbnail.
The English garden was huge, massive, went on and on. I read somewhere it is one of the largest city parks. Lots of people were playing in the fields or relaxing on the bank of the river and the park still felt empty. I only walked 1/3 of the length and even that took a long time.
After the garden I headed to the art gallery - 20th century. At this gallery they had VanGoghs Sunflowers. Plus a bunch of other stuff. I like 20th century. There was also minimal Jesus.
It was getting late so I read Three Musketeers in various gardens on the way home and so far dinner has consisted of yogurt. I need to eat something more...
Tomorrow is fairy tale castle land!!
The first night in the hostel was shared with among others, three 18 year old boys from Dublin doing their first tour. It sounded like they had a much better rail deal than me, something about InterRail (?) which meant they had unlimited travel for a month (or maybe a bit more). They did a lot of city hoping and where on their last night. They were all going to University for music or related and were very considerate. One snored but not too loudly.
On my first full day in Munchkin I spent most of the morning dealing with a hostel booking for Berlin. Not only has 2/3 of the S-baun gone out of service but my hostel booking was apparently in the roughest part of town. I learned this from some couchsurfers I've been in contact with and with whom I will hopefully be meeting up for dinner one evening. Anyway, the hostel owner said he didn't do cancellations, HostelBookers said after their initial deal the hostel owner took over cancellations and reservations and the hostel owner spoke only Russian and German. Anyway, by the afternoon I learned it is cancelled but we'll see how much money is still charged to my card. On the advice of the CS friends I booked at another hostel - yeah, dorms for 16 people, this is going to be loud.After the hostel booking learning experience (that is after all why I'm doing this) I walked around Munchkin. First I climbed the church tower (seems to be a European speciality, see the art museum, climb the church tower) and grabbed some breakfast in the market.
Check out these awesome lions. I think they are the best lions in europe yet! And I've been checking out a lot of lions.
I also liked St. ??? and the dragon. Poor beast with his tongue sticking out. This was in Peterskirche (church).
After the tower I headed into the English Gardens.
Through the garden was running a fairly fast river that was pretty cold. People would ride down the fast current and I would see them walking back, their teeth chattering. But it moved quickly and looked like fun. One of the interesting features of this fast current was that around one of the bridges was a standing wave. There were about 20 surfers out there riding this standing wave. They would line up on the banks of the river, take theirn turn and then be swept downstream and swim to the side to come ack for another attempt. I don't have any pictures, just videos which I will upload when I get back to Canada so the best I can offer is the camera thumbnail.
The English garden was huge, massive, went on and on. I read somewhere it is one of the largest city parks. Lots of people were playing in the fields or relaxing on the bank of the river and the park still felt empty. I only walked 1/3 of the length and even that took a long time.After the garden I headed to the art gallery - 20th century. At this gallery they had VanGoghs Sunflowers. Plus a bunch of other stuff. I like 20th century. There was also minimal Jesus.
It was getting late so I read Three Musketeers in various gardens on the way home and so far dinner has consisted of yogurt. I need to eat something more...
Tomorrow is fairy tale castle land!!
Time to Fill
So between my time in Hamburg and Paris I have a week to fill. I'm getting pretty tired right now, I saw the things I was most excited about and am looking for some place to do very little for a week. I was hoping to hear from my friend in Lyon but it is getting late...
So I ask the few people who read my blog for some suggestions. Here are the details:
1) I can take a train from Hamburg to PLACE, and the PLACE to Paris with my eurorail so distance isn't an issue as I will use my eurorail pass. Far is fine, I like taking the train.
2) My train pass is limited to Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy and it is valid for 24 hours of travel per trip.
3) I could use my eurorail pass to the border and then buy a ticket in another country but I wouldn't want it to be too far away.
4) I don't think there is going to be another town on par with Rome, Paris or Berlin. Consequently, if I am looking to relax I'm looking to pay less rather than more.
5) One option is to visit relatives in Holland, then to Paris, than to see different relatives in Holland.
So crowdsourcing... ^_^ any suggestions?
So I ask the few people who read my blog for some suggestions. Here are the details:
1) I can take a train from Hamburg to PLACE, and the PLACE to Paris with my eurorail so distance isn't an issue as I will use my eurorail pass. Far is fine, I like taking the train.
2) My train pass is limited to Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy and it is valid for 24 hours of travel per trip.
3) I could use my eurorail pass to the border and then buy a ticket in another country but I wouldn't want it to be too far away.
4) I don't think there is going to be another town on par with Rome, Paris or Berlin. Consequently, if I am looking to relax I'm looking to pay less rather than more.
5) One option is to visit relatives in Holland, then to Paris, than to see different relatives in Holland.
So crowdsourcing... ^_^ any suggestions?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Heidelberg
I have found it! Toast and Peanut butter!! I must admit, I haven't been looking forward to the rest of my trip as much, now that I don't know people and have seen most of the stuff I was really excited about (Holland, Rome, Pompeii, Roman ruins, swiss mountains, just the Louvre left really). I'm sure I'll find stuff to be excited about, just I was focussing on interviews in Switzerland and kinda forgot about planning the next step... Luckily for me, Andrea had two good friends in Heidelberg who let me stay at their very lovely apartment. Man it is so much better staying with friendly people than a hostel. I think I've always been too old for a hostel.
First the train ride to Heidelberg, I met this lovely lady who was a retired diplomat for Switzerland! She said her two focuses of her career were getting Switzerland to join the UN and women the right to vote. In Switzerland, women only got the right to vote in 1971! The lady said it was because Switzerland is such a democracy, nothing gets passed unless of majority vote. In other countries women were allowed to vote because of constitutional challenges, but in Switzerland it only happened when more than half the men voted to allow it. Anyway, it was fantastic to talk with this woman, she talked a bit about negotiations and how you learn the skills and that she was in Berlin when the wall was going down, and in Cairo and Stockholm. It was all really interesting!
Then in Heidelberg I met up with Andrea's friends. We had a lovely glass of wine and chatted. They are both psychology PhD students.
The next morning I was given use of one of their bicycle and rode it into town. It had a crazy lock on it that was difficult to operate. That morning we were having a discussion about pigeons that would show OCD when they were given random events (good or bad - the pigeons would be obsessed on a behaviour to try and control the event). Trying to unlock that bicycle lock felt a bit the same, I would just try everything and sometimes it would work...The city gates on the old bridge.
I went to visit the castle ruins and took the self guided audio tour. You can see most of the grounds including the grassy terraces that used to hold the gardens for free, but it was 3 euro to get into the courtyard.
The castle was pretty impressive and very lovely as part ruins.
I liked this lion, he's look up and kind of rolling his eyes.
In the gardens was a pond and in the pond where these strange newt? creatures that I've never seen in the wild before. Perhaps they are a transition stage for salamanders?
They also had a museum devoted to the apothecary. In the museum were old pharmacies that had been moved to the museum and it also had the old lab equipment. Here is a centrifuge. Man, and I'm bored in modern times when I have to wait for the thing to brake. Here you have to crank by hand.
This is the roof of the University library that is located close to old town. Heidelberg isn't very big but very lovely and busy. The first night as I was waiting for a bus it was full of young teenagers all out to get drunk. Apparently all the local kids from surrounding villages all come down to Heidelberg because it has the reputation of being the party town.
Next up in Munich! This time I am more or less on the ball and I have a hostel booked.... yeah for dorm rooms!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Finally on to Germany (I think)
Well, I'm not in Germany because I didn't have a place to stay. This is in keeping with my attempts to not plan every detail of the trip as is my habit.
My second day in Geneve was nice, I toured the UN buildings which was fantastic. I had to have my photo taken for a visitor badge. I also found in the park a free museum devoted to scientific instruments. The building was beautiful and the instruments were fascinating. Too bad they were in French as I didn't understand the technical words.
Also, found this on Boingboing, now that looks like the fun way to do it.
My second day in Geneve was nice, I toured the UN buildings which was fantastic. I had to have my photo taken for a visitor badge. I also found in the park a free museum devoted to scientific instruments. The building was beautiful and the instruments were fascinating. Too bad they were in French as I didn't understand the technical words.
Also, found this on Boingboing, now that looks like the fun way to do it.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Lausanne
So yes, the snoring was annoying at 3am. At midnight I was up because I was worried - earplugs would mean better sleep but then I would miss my important alarm. The girls came back to the room around 1 am and at 5:30 am I was woken by the sun. Clearly I didn't get a lot of sleep. I got up shortly after 6am and you would think that would be plenty of time to make it to Lausanne for 9am but that wasn't the case. I suppose it would have been faster if I had already purchased tickets, but every time, I missed the first bus/train because I had to stand in line for a ticket. It was good that I had done a dry run of campus using Google maps and knew what I was looking for because I made my meeting with 10 minutes to spare.
After my meeting I headed into Lausanne for some lunch and to check out the fantastic gothic cathedral.
Yes, I am Jesus'd out after Italy but it was still interesting, plus I had a great view of the city and the lake.
Then I walked to museum of L'art Brut, outsider art. Like outsider music (as I learned from that fantastic and now gone podcast Ongoing History of New Music) outsider art is made by people with no training, they are social outsiders, can be mentally ill and they make their art soley to please themselves. The museum was fantastic. The art had the appearance of 'modern' art but I guess I liked it more because it was made by people who just made it because it looked good, not because they had some grand story to tell or some comment on the human condition.
The first artist was a man who had invented a machine to automate vine grafting and when he forgot to renew the patent one year, other companies took it over and he never made any profit from it. This drove him to deep depression and into an institution where he would construct fanciful machinery 'lubricated with his own excrement'. Those were not on display but his paintings were. Some of the art was quite stunning, one man ate copious amounts of seafood so he would have enough shells for his art. In the museum were these stuning diorama's of his shell art, multicoloured and very intricate reefs of corals and fish. Certainly what characterized most of the art was the sheer amount of time that went into it. For example there were careful fine ink drawings that went on for meters, or the one man confined to a narrow room with wooden panelling who carved it using his sharpened spoon for years.
Many of the artists I noticed were committed to institutions after or during a war. It seems like the shock of the war and going off to fight was so great it was a turning point in many people's lives. I wonder about the robustness of people, if circumstances changed, who would come out with their head straight. There were also many examples of people who developed schizophrenia in their 30's and 40's. How's that for life. In the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper I'm the Ant. I try hard to prepare today for what is coming tomorrow but my difficulty comes in that you can't do that with happiness. Life doesn't end when you find the job/man/home and now you are stuck on happy (ever after). So even these people who were more settled at one point - married perhaps with kids, they then develop schizophrenia or are called off to war and lose it. Who knows what is coming up in life. Of course, this is sadly what happens when Carly is alone in her thoughts for merely two days, way too much existentialism. When I settle with my next job I'll have to make friends quickly so I have people to talk to! A boyfriend would be nice too. But then again in life a SO could cheat, your children could be disappointments, but your true place of contentment could be creating structures lubricated with your own excrement.
After the Outsider Art I caught a bus with a street name I thought I recognized - excellent, I ended up at the train station. I took the tram down to Ouchy (yes, that's the name and I can't pronounce it). This is a lovely suburb? continuation of the city? on the water. I walked along the water to the Olympic museum and (free pass yeah! only 387 museums to go!) went inside. They had a display of all the Olympic torches which started with Berlin as the Nazis used it as a tool for rousing national unity and pride. There was stirring music playing continually, and videos of the torch relay playing constantly on background televisions. Lausanne is the headquarters? of that favourite committee, the IOC hence the museum. I skimmed through the museum but the gardens outside were very lovely. Damn, I need to buy a book. Or talk to someone. Where's a frenchman with an offer for coffee when you need him!
After my meeting I headed into Lausanne for some lunch and to check out the fantastic gothic cathedral.
Yes, I am Jesus'd out after Italy but it was still interesting, plus I had a great view of the city and the lake.
Then I walked to museum of L'art Brut, outsider art. Like outsider music (as I learned from that fantastic and now gone podcast Ongoing History of New Music) outsider art is made by people with no training, they are social outsiders, can be mentally ill and they make their art soley to please themselves. The museum was fantastic. The art had the appearance of 'modern' art but I guess I liked it more because it was made by people who just made it because it looked good, not because they had some grand story to tell or some comment on the human condition.The first artist was a man who had invented a machine to automate vine grafting and when he forgot to renew the patent one year, other companies took it over and he never made any profit from it. This drove him to deep depression and into an institution where he would construct fanciful machinery 'lubricated with his own excrement'. Those were not on display but his paintings were. Some of the art was quite stunning, one man ate copious amounts of seafood so he would have enough shells for his art. In the museum were these stuning diorama's of his shell art, multicoloured and very intricate reefs of corals and fish. Certainly what characterized most of the art was the sheer amount of time that went into it. For example there were careful fine ink drawings that went on for meters, or the one man confined to a narrow room with wooden panelling who carved it using his sharpened spoon for years.
Many of the artists I noticed were committed to institutions after or during a war. It seems like the shock of the war and going off to fight was so great it was a turning point in many people's lives. I wonder about the robustness of people, if circumstances changed, who would come out with their head straight. There were also many examples of people who developed schizophrenia in their 30's and 40's. How's that for life. In the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper I'm the Ant. I try hard to prepare today for what is coming tomorrow but my difficulty comes in that you can't do that with happiness. Life doesn't end when you find the job/man/home and now you are stuck on happy (ever after). So even these people who were more settled at one point - married perhaps with kids, they then develop schizophrenia or are called off to war and lose it. Who knows what is coming up in life. Of course, this is sadly what happens when Carly is alone in her thoughts for merely two days, way too much existentialism. When I settle with my next job I'll have to make friends quickly so I have people to talk to! A boyfriend would be nice too. But then again in life a SO could cheat, your children could be disappointments, but your true place of contentment could be creating structures lubricated with your own excrement.
After the Outsider Art I caught a bus with a street name I thought I recognized - excellent, I ended up at the train station. I took the tram down to Ouchy (yes, that's the name and I can't pronounce it). This is a lovely suburb? continuation of the city? on the water. I walked along the water to the Olympic museum and (free pass yeah! only 387 museums to go!) went inside. They had a display of all the Olympic torches which started with Berlin as the Nazis used it as a tool for rousing national unity and pride. There was stirring music playing continually, and videos of the torch relay playing constantly on background televisions. Lausanne is the headquarters? of that favourite committee, the IOC hence the museum. I skimmed through the museum but the gardens outside were very lovely. Damn, I need to buy a book. Or talk to someone. Where's a frenchman with an offer for coffee when you need him!
Geneve the first night
Well, Geneve has recovered some of its charms. Wandering around the streets of old town on the hill was lovely and as I came around a corner, there was the fountain! Sorry, water jet! I made my way down to the water and discovered you can walk out right beside the jet. Of course I had to go, and I got soaking wet for my troubles, first on my right side on the way out, and the left side on my way back. I guess if I lived here I could have waited for a day when the wind was blowing the other direction.
After the soaking, I sat around in the last rays of sunlight to dry off. Good thing I was wearing all quick drying yet unattractive clothing! I then continued to wander and there was a festival going on by the water. There was a Brazilian band playing and lots of people were out enjoying drinks and snacks. As I left some man (40's?) approached me and started saying something in French. I said I didn't understand and then he asked me for coffee. Well, I didn't get this in Italy but lucky me in Geneve. My clothes were dry by this point. Anyway, I turned him down (cruel girl), I wanted to get back and prep for tomorrows meeting. I have an early morning.
I also heard about the snorer in the room. Hopefully it won't be too bad... I have earplugs and now an mp3 player. After this I don't know what to do. Start paying more for single rooms? Buy a tent and start camping?
After the soaking, I sat around in the last rays of sunlight to dry off. Good thing I was wearing all quick drying yet unattractive clothing! I then continued to wander and there was a festival going on by the water. There was a Brazilian band playing and lots of people were out enjoying drinks and snacks. As I left some man (40's?) approached me and started saying something in French. I said I didn't understand and then he asked me for coffee. Well, I didn't get this in Italy but lucky me in Geneve. My clothes were dry by this point. Anyway, I turned him down (cruel girl), I wanted to get back and prep for tomorrows meeting. I have an early morning.
I also heard about the snorer in the room. Hopefully it won't be too bad... I have earplugs and now an mp3 player. After this I don't know what to do. Start paying more for single rooms? Buy a tent and start camping?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Geneve
After my long day on the train yesterday this morning started a bit slower. Eventually I got on the train to Geneve but first I stopped off in Lausanne. My intent was to take the boat to Geneve but I didn't realize it was going to take 4 hours... I should have checked that out before I left. I checked out public transit in Lausanne because I will be back on Tuesday and then caught another train to Geneve. Then I found the hostel which took a bit of looking because I didn't have the address. I should have checked that out before I left also.
Anyway, I checked into the hostel, so far it is full of teenage girls which hopefully means no snorers. I'll udpate about that later. Then I left to wander around Geneve. Well, talk about the ugly big cousin of all the other cities I've seen in Switzerland. I realize it's supposed to be international, but it looks like any big city in the world transplanted. I'm sure it has it's charm somewhere, I just didn't know where to look. Of course, it doesn't help that I got into town after the museums have all closed so I just wandered the streets. Plus the fountain wasn't running. Downtown Geneve was interesting for about 10 minutes (oh, look, they have Chanel here too). So I decided for an adventure in public transit and caught the buses (2) out to CERN.
CERN, the home of antimatter and apparently Popes, was everything I was expecting and it was fantastic! It is a big campus that seems to combine all the ugliest elements of UBC, even the public art is ugly. It was way out of town which was nice, I like taking public transit as a way to see the layout of the city. I wandered around the buildings for about half-an-hour. I even got the English tour I so wanted. I followed these two guys into the campus as one was explaining to his guest:
"The synchrotrons are on the left and the *mumbles* are on the right"
"Where's the big one"
"Right under our feet and heading off into France"
I left at this point, there is a limit to my stalking behaviour, though I still wonder what was on the right. Despite the empty campus maybe I should have walked closer to my unofficial guides.
In my wanderings I found the vineyards that CERN is next too and I also found the cafeteria! I think anyway. If I wasn't so chicken I could have maybe had dinner inside. I was wondering why campus was so busy on a Sunday but I had forgotten it is Monday already! Time is going quickly here!
Finally, I am posting this right now on a lovely terrace overlooking... some rather bland escarpment with ...holy crap that's a lot of a paragliders. Anyway, posting this as the village of Geneve provides free WiFi! Now that's some charm.
Anyway, I checked into the hostel, so far it is full of teenage girls which hopefully means no snorers. I'll udpate about that later. Then I left to wander around Geneve. Well, talk about the ugly big cousin of all the other cities I've seen in Switzerland. I realize it's supposed to be international, but it looks like any big city in the world transplanted. I'm sure it has it's charm somewhere, I just didn't know where to look. Of course, it doesn't help that I got into town after the museums have all closed so I just wandered the streets. Plus the fountain wasn't running. Downtown Geneve was interesting for about 10 minutes (oh, look, they have Chanel here too). So I decided for an adventure in public transit and caught the buses (2) out to CERN.
CERN, the home of antimatter and apparently Popes, was everything I was expecting and it was fantastic! It is a big campus that seems to combine all the ugliest elements of UBC, even the public art is ugly. It was way out of town which was nice, I like taking public transit as a way to see the layout of the city. I wandered around the buildings for about half-an-hour. I even got the English tour I so wanted. I followed these two guys into the campus as one was explaining to his guest:
"The synchrotrons are on the left and the *mumbles* are on the right"
"Where's the big one"
"Right under our feet and heading off into France"
I left at this point, there is a limit to my stalking behaviour, though I still wonder what was on the right. Despite the empty campus maybe I should have walked closer to my unofficial guides.
In my wanderings I found the vineyards that CERN is next too and I also found the cafeteria! I think anyway. If I wasn't so chicken I could have maybe had dinner inside. I was wondering why campus was so busy on a Sunday but I had forgotten it is Monday already! Time is going quickly here!
Finally, I am posting this right now on a lovely terrace overlooking... some rather bland escarpment with ...holy crap that's a lot of a paragliders. Anyway, posting this as the village of Geneve provides free WiFi! Now that's some charm.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wuthering Heights
Ok, I really should be packing for Geneve but Wuthering Heights is sitting right in front of me. I'm going through the classics I always meant to read on this trip, mainly because those are the easiest to find in English. Anyway, man was Wuthering Heights a disapointment, I was hoping for something like Jane Austen but there didn't seem to be as much wit. If anything, it reminded me a bit of Twilight - now I see why the author made it Bella's favorite book.
First off, all the people in the book are assholes with few exceptions. Second, it's this passionate love between Heathcliff and Cathy, but same as in Twilight we are just told they love each other passionately. Blah blah blah. He's such an asshole and she's stupid and self absorbed. And then when they aren't together they just decide to ignore the world and slowly die. They are isolated in the Moor and they are just as isolated from humanity. Maybe this sucker gets better with more readings but I'm not counting on it!
First off, all the people in the book are assholes with few exceptions. Second, it's this passionate love between Heathcliff and Cathy, but same as in Twilight we are just told they love each other passionately. Blah blah blah. He's such an asshole and she's stupid and self absorbed. And then when they aren't together they just decide to ignore the world and slowly die. They are isolated in the Moor and they are just as isolated from humanity. Maybe this sucker gets better with more readings but I'm not counting on it!
Zermatt (Matterhorn) and Bern
To make the most of my train pass I used my first day for a huge train trip. First I went to see the Matterhorn from the village Zermatt. I took the longer train through Interlaken which is part of the Golden Pass. This is the scenic train route and Interlaken is a big tourist area. It was certainly very pretty, villages on grassy slopes below mountains (no snow, not high enough). The train was very slow and there were lots of stops. The train going to Zermatt was very full and climbed fairly steeply (the train needed cogs for certain parts of the trip).
Going to Zermatt showed higher snow-covered peaks in the distance. It has been raining for much of the time in Luzern but the weather was lovely. I could even view about 1/2 of the Matterhorn which was amazing.
The village of Zermatt also hosts a large ski area (like whistler) but it is much more picturesque. There is lots of green and the hills are undeveloped, and in Whistler they would be covered with condos.
Of course, this probably means only the very rich have access to those properties (ok, Whistler too, but there was a time when more normal people bought..). The houses on the way to Zermatt were also different in that they had slate? stone roofs. Some were very mossy and irregular and hinted at a long history.
I walked around Zermatt for about 2 hours, I wandered up some of the trails and through the backstreets of the town. This is clearly where lots of people come to go hiking, they all have mountaineering boots, two hiking poles and a short ice axe. You can access the backcountry using the ski lift but man there aren't any deals. At whistler they charged ~$26 for backcountry access but in Zermatt they charged ~$100 Swiss Franks for three days (no less) and much more for every other day you were in the backcountry. However, the winter skiing seemed reasonable and I would love to come back here and ski for a day. Certainly there were people skiing even now and they were taking the train back to Bern (with their skis on the train - that was interesting to see).
After visiting the Matterhorn I took the train to Bern. As it is Sunday, no stores were open but I wandered around the streets.
There were more stone buildings here and the old part of the city was high up above the river (on a peninsula/promontory). It was lovely to walk around for a few hours. Far off in the distance I could finally see the big mountains. They rose up in the distance like Baker does over Vancouver but there was a whole chain of them. However, I could only see them through the distant clouds so I didn't get to appreciate the chain. You think you see the mountains (dark line) in this photo but if you zoom in you can see the first bank of clouds is also mountains. Those are pretty impressive peaks!
I will be going to Geneve and Lausanne next so hopefully I will get better views. I should also be able to see vineyards, talk about a combination!
Going to Zermatt showed higher snow-covered peaks in the distance. It has been raining for much of the time in Luzern but the weather was lovely. I could even view about 1/2 of the Matterhorn which was amazing.
The village of Zermatt also hosts a large ski area (like whistler) but it is much more picturesque. There is lots of green and the hills are undeveloped, and in Whistler they would be covered with condos.
Of course, this probably means only the very rich have access to those properties (ok, Whistler too, but there was a time when more normal people bought..). The houses on the way to Zermatt were also different in that they had slate? stone roofs. Some were very mossy and irregular and hinted at a long history.
I walked around Zermatt for about 2 hours, I wandered up some of the trails and through the backstreets of the town. This is clearly where lots of people come to go hiking, they all have mountaineering boots, two hiking poles and a short ice axe. You can access the backcountry using the ski lift but man there aren't any deals. At whistler they charged ~$26 for backcountry access but in Zermatt they charged ~$100 Swiss Franks for three days (no less) and much more for every other day you were in the backcountry. However, the winter skiing seemed reasonable and I would love to come back here and ski for a day. Certainly there were people skiing even now and they were taking the train back to Bern (with their skis on the train - that was interesting to see).After visiting the Matterhorn I took the train to Bern. As it is Sunday, no stores were open but I wandered around the streets.
There were more stone buildings here and the old part of the city was high up above the river (on a peninsula/promontory). It was lovely to walk around for a few hours. Far off in the distance I could finally see the big mountains. They rose up in the distance like Baker does over Vancouver but there was a whole chain of them. However, I could only see them through the distant clouds so I didn't get to appreciate the chain. You think you see the mountains (dark line) in this photo but if you zoom in you can see the first bank of clouds is also mountains. Those are pretty impressive peaks!
I will be going to Geneve and Lausanne next so hopefully I will get better views. I should also be able to see vineyards, talk about a combination!
Hergiswil
Train travel in Switzerland is expensive. However, if you don't live in Switzerland you can buy a Swiss Pass (even when you arrive in the country) for either first or second class. I have been told (but not checked it out yet) that you can also buy the Eurorail passes for multiple countries while in Europe. Furthermore, it's a bit of a money maker - in Canada you can only buy first class but in Europe you can buy the cheaper pass for second class. But in Canada they don't sell the second class passes.
Anyway, with the Swiss Pass I get one month of free access to over 400 museums and that has been great. I also get 1/2 price on train tickets that I purchase (not including in my three days of 'free' travel). The one month pass costs ~$250 Swiss Franks but there are other variations.
Anyway, with the 1/2 fare deal I took the train to nearby Hergiswil to see the glass factory. They have a very good museum/experience and lots of stuff to see. The factory had a huge furnace with the molten glass. It was a combination factory/craftshop with three items in production and about 2-3 men working on each item.
After Heriswil I met up with Andrea and we went to see Harry Potter, or as Vancouverites call it, Harry Potter 90210. Yup, it had all the teenage drama. It was a bit awkward how they tried to touch on so many plot points from a complicated book. I wouldn't say they were that successful, I was glad I had read the books but then again, that's probably going to be the case. Oh yes, the movie was in English with German and French subtitles.
Anyway, with the Swiss Pass I get one month of free access to over 400 museums and that has been great. I also get 1/2 price on train tickets that I purchase (not including in my three days of 'free' travel). The one month pass costs ~$250 Swiss Franks but there are other variations.
Anyway, with the 1/2 fare deal I took the train to nearby Hergiswil to see the glass factory. They have a very good museum/experience and lots of stuff to see. The factory had a huge furnace with the molten glass. It was a combination factory/craftshop with three items in production and about 2-3 men working on each item.
After Heriswil I met up with Andrea and we went to see Harry Potter, or as Vancouverites call it, Harry Potter 90210. Yup, it had all the teenage drama. It was a bit awkward how they tried to touch on so many plot points from a complicated book. I wouldn't say they were that successful, I was glad I had read the books but then again, that's probably going to be the case. Oh yes, the movie was in English with German and French subtitles.
Zurich
Zurich had a fantastic natural history museum (National Museum?). Anyway, they had artifacts from the stone age to current times but I was really interested in the stone to iron ages. Fortunate for me they had an excellent English guide for all the items in the collection that I was interested in. Well, first I went through the exhibit reading the French (I see that some of my elementary school French has stuck with me because I certainly got more from the French than the German info panels). Then I went through the exhibit a second time after lunch to take photos. The third time I went through was when I had the book.
They had the oldest stone tools found in Switzerland as well as fire starter kits, wooden doors and the world's oldest wheel (from 3500-2700 BCE).
Anyway, the descriptions of how tools were made and used was fascinating and I was glad to find a museum with such old items. Sadly the rest of the museum didn't have the wonderful English book guide so I didn't get as much from it.
After Zurich I took the train to ... some small town outside Lucern to meet up with Andrea and her coworkers on the beach. We had a BBQ and a relaxing time. I was so hot in Zurich and tired after the walking it was just nice to sit and try and cool down. Sadly after Zurich the weather got colder and wetter.
They had the oldest stone tools found in Switzerland as well as fire starter kits, wooden doors and the world's oldest wheel (from 3500-2700 BCE).
Anyway, the descriptions of how tools were made and used was fascinating and I was glad to find a museum with such old items. Sadly the rest of the museum didn't have the wonderful English book guide so I didn't get as much from it.After Zurich I took the train to ... some small town outside Lucern to meet up with Andrea and her coworkers on the beach. We had a BBQ and a relaxing time. I was so hot in Zurich and tired after the walking it was just nice to sit and try and cool down. Sadly after Zurich the weather got colder and wetter.
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