Looking back - jazz at the zoo, spring at ZPK

Hello again!

Still looking back but hoping to catch up with what's been happening in the more recent past, soon.

Here a couple of impressions of my last Sunday in Bern, which was a gloriously beautiful day. In the morning, I attended a traditional jazz session at Berne's Daehlhoelzli animal park (or zoo), where some of my long-standing jazz friends were playing. The Wolverines Jazz Band have been together for over 45 years! What an accomplishment.
The occasion was also the celebration of my friend Jeannette's doctorate -- congratulations, once again, dear Jeannette, on obtaining your degree! And thanks again for your generous invitation and the fantastic "apéro riche" at your beautiful home.

In the afternoon, after a quick dress-change at my own home, it was a bus ride out to Zentrum Paul Klee (ZPK) decked out in spring finery of the Magic Garden kind ...
... for a concert by the St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra.
I wasn't too impressed with their first piece (ever since 2007, when Mozart's 250th birthday was celebrated up and down Europe and you could scarcely get anything else on the radio, I have really had it with his music) but really enjoyed the rest of the concert.
The occasion was one of my longest-standing friend's birthday. We five girls -- well, girls at heart -- had a great time.
Seeing this photo makes me miss my friends, but I can already look forward to visits from some of them, quite soon! :)

A Winter Tour of Switzerland, Take Five – A visit around Bern and a trip to Münsingen

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:

A winter weekend in Berne

Hiya

If you've been wondering what's been going on here, I have been very busy indeed, but not all of it has been work. Last weekend, for example, two friends and I went on a gallery walk organised by Kunsthalle Bern -- very interesting tour of the current exhibition there (Jutta Koether -- an in-your-face self-made artist who has managed to overcome many inhibitions. Not necessarily stuff I'd hang on my walls but definitely powerful and, in its own way, beautiful). This tour was followed by visits to two private galleries. Most inspiring.

In the evening, I saw the film Blood Diamond. Powerful and moving, but far too much violence and gore. Too Hollywoody. At times unbearable to watch, especially because I could never think "this is just a movie": too much violence of this kind is going on all over the world. The message is fine, though, and if this film helps make people aware of how much violence and blood is attached to jewellery, it'll have achieved its goal. But I doubt it. And I'd have liked to see a note saying that half of the proceeds of the film would go into rebuilding the lives of child soldiers, for example.

Sunday saw me with another old friend taking a long, leisurely walk in the cold sunshine to the traditional Rosengarten park with its stunning view of the old part of Bern (a bit tricky against the sun) ...
... and on to Zentrum Paul Klee with its three waves sitting just below the horizon beyond the snow-covered field:

Here's yours truly outside the stunning wave-shaped museum (it's just been nominated for the Best Museum of Europe Award):

We took in a cup of strong coffee and a sweet at the airy, sunny café before looking at Klee's works in the Main Gallery. They've re-hung many of them, showing a lot of paintings I've never seen. Later in the afternoon, the Camerata ensemble performed a concert at the auditorium: Mendelssohn (Swiss Symphony in c minor), Toshio Hosokawa (Voyage VI for viola and strings -- excellent piece by a modern composer, b. 1955 -- I'd love to have this to listen to very frequently), Britten (Lachrymae -- beautiful and sad) and Dvorak (String Serenade in E major -- very familiar but always uplifting). The encore was Lachrymae by John Dowland -- heartbreakingly beautiful.


Just heard that January 07 in Switzerland was 3-5°C warmer than the long-term average and the warmest January on record, despite a very cold spell these last few days. Some rooftops still have patches of snow, leftovers from late last week.

Nuff said. Peace, Happiness!