Black and Sunny

The Black Forest conjures up images of Hansel and Gretal lost in the woods. Or maybe the Big Bad Wolf. Or better yet, a slice of tasty Black Forest cake. Yet the forest is anything but black when you ride the Schauinslandbahn tram to the top. Today was bright and clear, with just a slight chill on the air.

Egyptian Garden Gnomes

I've loved Egyptians artifacts since I was a kid. I've seen the gamut - mummies, jewelry, fifty foot tall statues, and even a mummified cat. But I have never seen anything like this. The placard was in German, so I have no idea what this really is. But it looks so like the garden gnomes at my local nursery that I have to wonder.

Antiquities Museum, Basel

Spring Salad in Winter

My friend in Switzerland told me about her sister's exotic vacation to America. She asked where they should eat in Monterey. I told her Black Bear Diner, of course. They serve hearty portions of great food, including breakfast all day. I'm a frequent visitor all over California.

This visit I enjoyed a Sweet Garden Harvest Salad with dried fruits and pecans, tossed in a tangy dijon dressing and topped with fresh strawberries on top. The sharp, spicy tang of the dressing complements the sweetness of the fruit. The pecans add a crunchy treat.

Rock Hounds in the Bathroom

I hate to admit it now, but Earth Sciences was the most boring science class I took in high school. And I flubbed the practical exam where the instructor asked us to identify a bunch of rocks. Hey, they were just rocks, right?

Since then my love of geology has never approached the level of professional excellence like my professional friends at Falcon Geodetic  or the scientific expertise at Geology.com. But I know a pretty rock when I see one. And this museum had cases and cases of pretty rocks from all over. Marble, malachite, quartz, and many beautiful varieties of each.

And what thought comes to mind when faces with so many pretty tiles? Why, a custom tiled bathroom, of course.

 

Antiquities Museum, Basel

The Well Dressed Egyptian Woman

I love diamonds when the jewelry store shines their special lights and make them sparkle. But for daily wear semiprecious stones like jade, lapis lazuli, malachite, amber and turquoise have the power to brighten up the wardrobe. Just like me, the Egyptian women found this jewelry essential for a well dressed afterlife.

Antiquities Museum, Basel

Egyptian Common Jewelry

Not all Egyptian jewelry was made of gold. This necklace, though made of common materials, has a certain elegance in the way the beads are strung. It could also provide protection from the hot Egyptian sun. 

Antiquities Museum, Basel

Nyummy Gnocci Time

I enjoyed gnocci (pronounced na-yoe-kee) twice in Switzerland. Each dish was delightfully different from the other. Gnocci are small potato balls boiled and drenched in a delightful sauce. This dish was a mild curry with a saffron accent.

Pottery to Die For

Death, though rarely welcomed, will always be with us. What changes through the ages are ceremonies and traditions. During Hellenistic times the ancient Greeks honored their dead with funerary urns. These were four feet tall an painted with elaborate scenes from life and mythology.
Courtesy if the Museum of Antiquities in Basel.

Antiquities Museum, Basel

Amazon Battle Urn

Before the online store, Amazons were fearsome bands of warrior women. While Xena Barbarian Princess wore shapely leather armor, the Amazons of history wore armor comparable to the Greek soldiers of the time. In battle they gave as good as they got.

Antiquities Museum, Basel

The Horse's Necklace

When I came across this in the Museum's weapons room I admit to being puzzled.

Perhaps a belt? But that wouldn't work with the body armor.

Arrowheads? Some are too round and the sizes are all different.

Then I found a description if the exhibits. This had been part of an Etruscan warrior's horse barding. The horse must have looked magnificent in his necklace.

What the Well Dressed Gods are Wearing

Las Vegas showgirls are known for their elaborate headpieces. But why should girls have all the fun?

But could a mere mortal man carry himself with the grace and poise such headwear demands? Oh no, only a god could pull this off.

Antiquities Museum, Basel

The Lady's Hair

The women in the classic Star Trek TV show wore fabulous elaborate hairdos. Perhaps Yeoman Rand's hair was styled after this ancient beauty.

Antiquities Museum, Basel

Beautiful Bruschetta

Fresh bread, firm tomatoes, and just the right seasoning. The proprietor of this Swiss Pizzeria spoke no English , but we communicated in the language that is universal.

Classic Cars in Basel

This beauty Is three times the size of your average European subcompact. The lines are different from the classic American cars I'm used to, but breathtaking nonetheless.

Eating Greek in Switzerland

In Basel, about halfway between Messeplatz and the Rhein, is the largest department store I have seen in Basel. Upstairs you'll find fine women's clothing ranging from the conservative dark blazer to the stylish jacket and pretty skirts. Downstairs is a large upscale grocery store. Among the offerings is a case of remade salads.

Rembrandt in the Flesh

In high school and college classic art and history held about the same level of appeal to me. Boring timelines and pretty little pictures, but no space ships.
Things changed when a saw a life-size portrait of George Washington at a traveling Smithsonian Museum exhibit. Seeing full life-size Rembrandt paintings at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam had the same life-changing effect on me.
Rembrandt only used a pallet of 16 colors, but he created those pigments himself by grinding up things like carbon black in a mortar and pestle and mixing in just the right amount of oil. Any paint not used that day was stored in pig's bladders to be used tomorrow. and despite what seems to us crude techniques, he created masterpieces with the power to capture our emotions hundreds if years later.

Traveling With Other People's Cildren Part 2

The train from Zurich to Basel, Switzerland is about an hour's ride.
When a father and his four year old daughter sit in the seat across from you , one holds one's breath wondering what the next hour will bring.

This strong-willed, self-confident little girl was a delight. Watching her play with her Daddy was both entertaining and heart warming. When the train ride ended she even spoke a few words of English to me. As I handed her the tippy cup she turned away from she said "Oh, I almost forgot!"

Traveling with Other People's Children

A common trans-Atlantic traveller's fear is that crying baby who keeps you up the entire 10+ hour flight. As my flight from San Francisco to Zurich began my fear was realized. The toddler two seats up began to howl.
Sigh...put in the earplugs and hope for the best.
To my surprise the howling stopped a few minutes later and the toddler and his older brother played happily and quietly for the rest of the flight.

Until the descent into Zurich. That's when I realized the poor little guy's ears must be hurting because of the cabin pressure changes.

Lessons in love come in many forms.

Stay 3 weeks and the Candy is Frer

Switzerland is famous for it's chocolates and rightly so. Lad each is not only beautiful and tasty, but poetic as well. "It is like a walk through the Black Forest" and other fanciful phrases describe each chocolate. A welcome reward after a long day with my client.

Shotcha - Frame That Travel Shot

When you are traveling and something catches your eye, snap a photo. You can bore your friends with it when you get home. But how do you make that photo capture them the way the scene caught you? Take a picture that tells a story. Consider this photo and what it says to you. Park art? Big round thing? Rusty old piece of junk? Or a representation of oneness crippled, and carried on the shoulders of no man?

 

 

 Frame the shot a little differently and it tells a different story. The simple park, the small earth, dwarfed by the works of man.



The wagon wheels of the worker who, slaving under the hot sun, looks longingly at the manor house with the hope of a cool drink and dinner when the day's labor is done.

 The child's toy rolls out of control toward the warning barriers. 






So give it a try. The next time something catches your eye, look at the things around it and decide what story you want your photo to tell.