Hello again!
Sorry, it's been a while. I was maxed out with work before taking myself off for a quick visit to Oban in Scotland (photos of that trip later). I went to see a friend before she takes herself off on a six-week voluntary stint at an orphanage in Malawi, Africa. How cool and committed is that?! Travel safely, M.C., and have a great time. I look forward to swapping notes once you're back.
But now, a look back at the first day of this year, which saw me and my English friend M.B. -- yes, I do have a lot of friends and family members who share the same initial M. for our first names -- taking a bus out to Zentrum Paul Klee.
We got off the bus one stop early, which is where the Alps and the three parabolas of ZPK can be seen to their best advantage. Here is M. taking a photo of the view. The weather was quite misty, pretty cold, too.
An old barn "decorated" with graffitti; the first "hill" of ZPK rises bottom right. In the background, left, the Bantiger with its communications tower.
A pretty dismal day, the Alps not very visible on the horizon, and the sun struggling to penetrate the cloud layer.
Later, M. and I took the train up the the Aare valley to Münsingen. That's where one of my brothers lives with his family. My lovely sister-in-law, M.A., is Colombian by birth, and she had some of her family visiting. Absolutely wonderful people, whom it was great to see after quite a long time.
Here are some photos of the sky at sunset on January 1st, 2008, above the floodplain between the railway line and the Aare river at Münsingen. Stunning, or what?
Impressions of an exquisite spread laid on for us. Fantastic finger food "a la Colombia-Suiza", presented by the hostess and her daughter, my lovely niece. My friend is speechless ... ;)
Dessert:
Wabern, photo © Li.So., , Dec. 16, 2008
Thalmatt, photo © Ch.Sch., Dec 17, 2008
Hello again
The Bundesplatz sported a small ice field that proved to be extremely popular. Bundesplatz is a fairly big square enclosed by the Federal Parliament Building (above, at night), the Swiss National Bank (below, left)
... the cantonal bank of Bern (below, left) ...
... and one large regional bank (below, right), as well as an upmarket restaurant (the white building with green shutters in the photos above and below) . The rink came with all the necessary infrastructure including a pavilion for a small restaurant, lockers and skate rental. Skating was free!
This was fantastically accessible, unlike the ice rinks at KaWeDe and at BEAExpo so I found my old skates in the attic and had a go. Could I still do it after at least thirty years off the ice? Well, it was great fun, both in the daytime and in the evening.
Here's Yours Truly looking silly but feeling happy, ...
... and my good friend, H.P., who joined me on one of the last nights before they took the rig down.
We got off the bus one stop early, which is where the Alps and the three parabolas of ZPK can be seen to their best advantage. Here is M. taking a photo of the view. The weather was quite misty, pretty cold, too.
An old barn "decorated" with graffitti; the first "hill" of ZPK rises bottom right. In the background, left, the Bantiger with its communications tower.
A pretty dismal day, the Alps not very visible on the horizon, and the sun struggling to penetrate the cloud layer.
Impressions of an exquisite spread laid on for us. Fantastic finger food "a la Colombia-Suiza", presented by the hostess and her daughter, my lovely niece. My friend is speechless ... ;)
Dessert:
It just so happened that a bus marked 'bermuda' passed when I pressed the button on my camera. Happy travels, folks!
This is what I woke up to this morning! It's only 'industrial snow', fallout from the nearby garbage incineration plant, but pretty nonetheless.
It was still quite dark just before 8 AM, but the days are already growing longer again. :)
An hour later, the sky was lightening with the rising sun beyond the cloud layer (and yes, if you must know: the sun did come out in Bern today!).
