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tumblr is too advanced for me.
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i haven’t been doing real posts because i’m short on time, and trying not to spend what time i’ve got left here in front of the computer, but here’s another little sampling. today, we went to the studio of publisher lars müller (of the book “helvetica: homage to a typeface,” and many other design books) at lake hallwil. we dined on usual swiss fare: meats, cheeses, and bread, and of course, wined. afterwards, a few of us went down to the lake, and had an amazing time swimming. the water was warm and clear, there was a slide, and swans. it was pretty ideal and picturesque. talk about not wanting to come home.
tomorrow, we’re renting a car to visit le corbusier’s notre dame du haut in ronchamp, france. i also just realized it’s bastille day there, so that should be something worth experiencing!
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Went to the Papermühle Basel, an old, still-functioning papermill. Needless to say, it was one of my favorite places I’ve visited so far.
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Sorry.
I’ll admit it, I’ve been bad at posting. But the moment classes started up, I feel like I’ve been going non-stop without a second to breathe! I still have days 3-10 (have I been here that long? It seems like a lot longer…) to write about, and there is soooooo much to tell. Tomorrow, typography workshop begins with THE Wolfgang Weingart, so everyone in the class agreed to be well-rested and not hungover for at least five days. Ha!
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Happy Fourth, friends! Wish I could be there to see fireworks and eat sausages with you.
xoxo
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Getting Lost in Basel : Day 2
Today I woke up pretty early, with plans to go to the zoo. About an hour after I woke up, I konked out pretty quickly for a few more hours, so going to the zoo was out of the question, since I had the orientation for my program at 5:30. Instead, I decided to walk and see what the Rhine was all about…it does, after all, split Basel in two.
I stood by the river, and watched the ferries going across for awhile. I had heard about them, but wasn’t sure exactly how they worked.
This rod is attached to this cable, which is attached to another cable that is stretched across the river (kind of like a clothesline). Whichever way the captain (HANS STEINBRÜCKE VON STEIGEL BON) flips the rod, the boat will go and be carried across the river by a current. Awesome and ingenious!
After the minute-long ride, I was on the other side of Basel, Kleinbasel (or lesser Basel; I’m staying in and the school is in Grossbasel). It was like College Spring Break 2009 over here! My side of the river (we’ve all staked claim) was surprisingly quiet compared to this other side.
A thing that the kids do here for fun is drift down the Rhine. They have these waterproof bags that they put their clothes in and double as floatation devices. They let the river carry them (and it goes very fast!) upstream for a ways, and then they get out.
Kleinbasel is nice, and has it’s own shopping area called Claraplatz. And of course, there are fountains everywhereeeee.
This is called Mittlere Brücke, literally, Middle Bridge. It’s the center of three main bridges that connect Basel city. I walked back to Grossbasel to get to the orientation.
Took a detour through old Basel, and stumbled upon a bunch of old houses, and the Natural History Museum, which I just learned yesterday is having an extra wing added on by architects (of the Bird’s Nest in China) Herzog & de Meuron.
Kept walking like I knew where I was going, but actually getting lost, and found Münsterplatz, home of Basel Münster, a big cathedral.
Under construction now, as all beautiful things are when I visit. The roof is probably my favorite part of it anyways, it has such a cool design on it!
Had pistachio ice cream (of course!), which was sooo good, to calm my nerves before meeting all the teachers and classmates.
Orientation was at Restaurant Kornhaus, very close to the building (the old art school library) where our classes are held. In the garden, we had wine and small appetizers, like meat, cheeses, olives, and pickles. Afterwards, all the students gathered and went to ring in the month together with some beers at a river side bar. Trés European!
Next time on this exciting adventure…Back to School: Day 3! Will Diana get drunk before the first day of class? Stay tuned.
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My first chocolate in Switzerland! Delicious, as presumed. Don’t be deceived though…the wrapper is empty.
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Basel : Day 1
I went out today with the intention of getting a SIM card for my cell phone. While I successfully found the shop to get it, they weren’t able to register the card, so that part of the day failed. Instead, I went and explored the old part of Basel (downtown, if you will), and it’s definitely as charming as you’d think an old city in Switzerland is.
I live about 10 minutes away from Spalentor, which is the ancient city gate. Walking through (or around it), you’re suddenly in the narrow, hilly streets of old Basel. There are the cute houses, with their cute shutters, and of course, the window boxes with red geraniums.
I walked around for a bit, and stumbled into Marktplatz (literally, Marketplace), a little farmer’s market they have everyday (!) in the city center. It’s right in front of Rathaus, which is their city hall.
Cute shops and cafes!
I got a crepe as my first Swiss lunch, and bought a small bag of cherries to take home. By this time, my jetlag was catching up with me, so I headed back towards home, and stopped by Coop (the local grocery store) and bought some rations for the next few days. I didn’t know you had to buy the bags there, so I ended up at the bagging part (where you bag your own groceries) with no bag and had to get back in line. Oops! Oh, I also caught this picture of the cheese section in the market, which is totally an indication of how seriously the Swiss take their cheese.
In the evening, after a really long nap (4 hours?), I went out to meet Ellen, one of the girls in the program, who is from Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
It turns out she does yoga too! A bit more advanced than I am, but at least I have someone to go with now. We got some dinner, and went to a couple bars before we each headed home. Tomorrow, orientation and meeting everyone else!
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The view from my bedroom window. I have a little balcony, and there’s a tram stop right outside!
Theme: Linear by Peter Vidani
