IrishOboe

I continue to push Mom and Dad to their limit as we fill the days with fun activities.  Today to the surprise of everyone they slept in until after nine, and I had the morning to do some planning.  We made it out the door around 10:30 and headed to the Kunstmuseum.

To European minds it might not be the most impressive art museum, but to us, there was plenty to keep us occupied.  We saw a number of the big names, Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Warhol, and many more but I know little about art so I’m sure I enjoyed it only superficially.  I did enjoy seeing the impressionist paintings up close since I never knew they painted with so much paint.  The texture is of thick, multi-colored brush strokes.  This was a fascinating discovery, but it sent the Swiss museum police after me for being too close.  I spent the rest of the time paranoid because there was no indication of what “too close” was since it was all controlled electronically from some mysterious place like the ceiling.

Anyway, after an hour or so there we walked down to the Rhine and looked at a part of the old city wall.

We then went to the Paper Museum, which was really quite well done.  It’s actually more like a living history museum and we were able to watch the mill pound the rags into pulp, the workers sift the pulp into sheets and press them, and various other processes having to do with printing and sealing, etc. 

2007-04-03 Paper Museum mill and workers.mpg

[This picture is for Grandpa Wightman.  He made those felts (well, maybe not these particular ones) and he understood those machines and traveled all over the world helping paper factories out. Hurray for paper machine clothing!]

What we didn’t see live we saw on a video which was interesting with or without German language skills.  We didn’t make any paper ourselves, but I enjoyed watching the kids have fun pressing and printing and writing with quill pens.  We also got to watch a man molding by hand the letters used in movable-type print.  It was mostly made of lead which caused my mother great concern.  Surely they wouldn’t have a public museum with lead fumes around if it were dangerous, would they?

There were lots of other interesting mini-exhibits on writing and printing from other lands, their relation to one another, and so forth.  We spend a very enjoyable hour or so there and in their gift shop.

I then made reservations for dinner and we took the ferry across the Rhine and enjoyed a walk along the Rhine in Kleinbasel.

The weather was balmy and the sky blue with puffy, white clouds.  We sat down for a romantic coffee/tea/hot chocolate at a café on the Rhine and the sun promptly disappeared.  We managed to finish with only a few drops bothering us and in fact it never did rain as far as we knew.  We grabbed some pretzel dough balls and took the bus to the Tinguely Museum.  There is now an artist I am especially fond of.  Considering how little appreciation I have for modern art, you might find that rather surprising, but somehow Mr. Tinguely’s art resonates with me.  He’s a mad mechanic with an eye for scrap metal, a wild imagination and a heart for experiential play.  The first mechanical sculpture you encounter is a massive mix of climbable metal.  That’s right, we got to climb over the museum piece!  Most of the other mechanical sculptures were connected to a big read button on the floor that screamed in every language “PUSH ME!”  Push we did, and what an amazing variety he creates with moving bits of scrap this and that.

2007-04-03 Tinguely fountain.mpg

I also really liked the building that houses his fascinating art.  It’s modern, but not sterile; simple and spacious, yet warm and inviting; minimalistic, but not mind-numbingly repetitive.  I bought a few post cards that represent what I like about artist and building, but of course I can’t post them here.  Ask me about them sometime.  Challenge of the day: Decipher the Jean Tinguely quote “Spielen ist Kunst – infolgedessen spiele ich.”

Once again we were blessed with perfect timing (today went amazingly smoothly besides the rough start in the morning decided which of the many museums to see) and we finished the Tinguely just in time to head to the Baracca Zermatt where we had reservations for dinner.  We only had a little trouble finding the tucked away spot, but it was well worth the effort.  Here’s a great big thanks to my German teacher who suggested it.  Check out their website to see the charming wooden lodge atmosphere.  You know you’ve found a local place when they claim they don’t speak English.   We made out just fine with a little help from my electronic dictionary (I always forget the word for garlic!).  We had a set menu with all sorts of interesting bits for appetizers, then the most amazing cheese fondue followed by a meringue with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.  My, what a tasty feast!  Aside from the fact that European restaurants don’t keep you supplied with lots of water, it was a top notch meal in every respect.  If you’re ever in Basel and wish to splurge on some excellent local food, be sure you try it.

Despite the fact that our reservations were at their opening time (7pm) we didn’t finish until 9:30!  We walked exhausted but happy to the tram and crawled into bed.  Oh how I wish.  Mom and Dad crawled into bed and I’m writing this update and doing laundry.  Mom did laundry for me for 16 years and Dad paid for dinner so it’s the least I can do.

We have one more day of Basel fun left then we leave for Paris.  I will come back to Switzerland a year old and a year wiser.  If you had asked be growing up where I’ll be at 25 I would not have said Paris.  I would not have said Europe.  I don’t think I had any idea, though I think I assumed that by that “old age” I’d be married and have a family, because naturally you meet your mate in college.  I don’t think anyone ever told me that, I just assumed it was how it worked because I saw it so often.  Can you tell I’m waiting for the laundry to be done?  God has his own perfect plans and I must say turning 25 in Paris is not bad. ;)  I wouldn’t mind a little speeding up of the washer at the moment . . .

What do you expect at midnight?  Over and out.