jw

A second volume, perhaps, to reduce the time it takes for our slow computers to download the Part I Thread? J.

Ursula

Thanks jw for starting Part II.<BR><BR>Just adding again the page for news from Switzerland (English window from the Neue Zuercher Zeitung):<BR>http://www.nzz.ch/english/index.html<BR><BR>Last weekend, I went to see the fantastic Monet exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen. It was outstanding. The museum is a definite must, if you should ever be in that area, i.e. Basel.<BR>www.beyeler.com

Ingo

Thanks jw.<BR><BR>I decided to save part I in a WORD .doc on my computer.<BR><BR>A pity, it will sink down quickly.<BR><BR>Ingo

Terra

To those who love Switzerland--<BR><BR>My company wants to relocate me to Luzern-- any comments? I haven't been there yet (or ever to Switz). What would you say are the positives and negatives? I think I am going to check it out next week sometime (I currently am an American expat in Amsterdam). <BR><BR>Thanks! Also, feel free to email me any commentary.<BR><BR>Terra

s

jw -- Thanks for this new start! Getting into the old one seemed chore-like!<BR><BR>Ursula -- Thanks for suggesting the new thread!<BR><BR>Ingo & jw & all -- American TV had a reality-TV-type show last night ("The Mole") set in the Engadine. The first hour was set in Scuol and the second hour in St Moritz. I must say the scenery in the show exceeded even your highest praises, Ingo! The mountain heights looked equally stunning as those in the BO, and there was fall-weather-fog at the treetops adding some inviting drama. The river (unnamed ???) as well as the lake at St. Moritz (St Moritzer See I assume) looked almost brilliant turquoise -- like a liquified glacier (duh) exactly like a liquified glacier. I was already convinced to add the Engadine to my list, but now the wish is a yearning.<BR><BR>Terra - Take me with you!!! Who do you work for?? I bet they need me too!<BR><BR>Sadly stuck here --<BR><BR>s

Terra

S-<BR><BR>I work for a Swedish company called EF Education.... The CEO is retiring to CH and making us all go with him. <BR><BR>So far I have been very reluctant to go, but people are cheering me up about it. <BR><BR>Thanks!

Ursula

s:<BR><BR>The river running through the Engadine Valley is the "Inn". (I think in Romantsch it is "Enn" that's why Engadine for the valley).<BR><BR>The lakes -- there are 4 or them - would be:<BR>St. Moritzer-See<BR>Champferer-See<BR>Silvaplaner-See<BR>Silser-See<BR><BR>Terra, I am absolutely sure you will like it here. Depending on where you find an apartment in Lucerne, you will be able to go to work by bike. If not, public transportation in Lucerne itself and in the suburbs is excellent. Don't worry. But of course, Switzerland isn't as flat as Holland and biking is a little more difficult.

Go for it!

if my co. wanted to relocate me to luzern, i would be there in a heartbeat!!! it is such a nice city - not too big, not too small - good cafes, nice pedestrian area, right on a beautiful lake with the mountains in the background, good area for hiking, doing cultural activities, shopping - GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!

s

Ursula,<BR><BR>Yes, I know the Inn (well, from the map only . . .), but this one on tv looked smaller than I thought the Inn would be. Narrower, I mean. Are there any tributaries or smaller rivers in the area of Scuol? The contestants were challenged to do a bungee jump from a large metal-framed bridge over this river -- it did seem to be running pretty fast.<BR><BR>The contestants were in their St Mortiz hotel, from which I could see a lake, so that's why I'm assuming it was the St. Mortizer See. I think the show's host said they were staying at the Hotel Schweizerhof at St. Moritz, so is that at the St. Moritzer See?<BR><BR>Well, thanks to you & Ingo, I'll know the Engadine geography before I even get there! Oh, one more question -- to be a polite visitor, should I learn some Romansh? Will German do? Or Italian? <BR><BR>I can't wait to find out for myself! Oh, and can you tell that I watch tv to catch glimpses of Europe and Switzerland in particular? Don't ask me what the plot is -- I just look over the shoulders to check out the view. <BR><BR>ah me.<BR><BR>s

Ingo

It must be the river Inn (Rumantsch: En) and I guess it must be the pedestrian bridge over this river connecting Lower Scuol with Gurlaina quarter (tennis courts, Indoor Ice field, footpath to Vulpera and village+castle Tarasp). You have a fantastic view from this bridge of Lower Scuol with the church right above the river on top of a rocky hill.<BR><BR>The area around Scuol is famous for its wild water (rafting!).<BR><BR>Yes, the southern rooms of Hotel Schweizerhof offer great views of St. Moritzer See (Rumantsch: Lej da San Murezzan). But in my opinion the other lakes are more beautiful.<BR><BR>English is widely spoken in the area around St. Moritz (Upper Engadine, Rumantsch: Engiadin'Ota). No need to learn Rumantsch or so.<BR><BR>Hmmm ... I am planning to go to the Engadin in early July ...<BR><BR>Ingo

dee

I haven't found a town or village in Switzerland that I could hang a negative on! My husband and I have vacationed there twice and it would be one of our first choices again. We love Lucerne madly, but Gstaad is also breathtaking. The people are friendly and helpful, the air give meaning to "fresh air". It must be that it is so close to heaven.

jw

Hi y'all. I'm glad you've energized the Part II thread. I'm afraid I've been a little down lately -- happens at this time of the year when I don't have Swiss travel plans; I'll just have to buck up(don't know what that means) and stop feeling sorry for myself -- with your help of course. Maybe I'll try cooking some of the foods that 'take me there'. The trouble is that I always try to make them low-fat, and the results are less than memorable.<BR><BR>About the Part I -- I know it will, as you say, sink fast. But will it drop off the end? Is there a time limit after which it will be trashed? I have not copied it yet. I've enjoyed reading some of your contributions more than once or twice. Affectionately, J.

jw

Hi, you'll notice that I topped the old thread just because it made me sad to see it fade away. Melancholia has overtaken me. Do you ever travel alone? I am seriously considering it. But to give your opinions some perspective, can you tell me 1) age? 2)male/female? 3) job? Thanks. J.<BR><BR>

s

Hello jw,<BR><BR>Here we are again! <BR><BR>Yes, I travel alone and wonder what on earth would cause you to hesitate? The only thing that affects my vacations is money! If you've got the time & the money, just go!!<BR><BR>When are you thinking of going? Where are you going? <BR><BR>I am planning to go to the Classical Music Festival in Luzern this September -- staying in Weggis. Of course, I'll be in Montreux for a few days before! If you want to travel at this time and don't want to be alone all the time, feel free to contact me for a get together or a few days of companionship.<BR><BR>Sure wish there was more traffic here.<BR><BR>s

Don

Hi,<BR><BR>Perhaps this thread can help me locate or recall the name of a hotel I stayed at in Neuchatel back in 1982. Planning a Swiss visit and might like to stay there again.<BR><BR>As you face the water it is to your right. There was a movie theater on the corner of the main street before turning to walk towards the water.<BR><BR>There is also a hotel on the left which is not my interest.<BR><BR>Thanks, Don

jw

Hi y'all. <BR><BR>s', it's the story of aging family --responsibilites and worries that if I'm not here, something terrible will happen and I'll feel guilty the rest of my life. You know, little stuff like that. By the way, I can't remember if you are male or female -- with ref. to the traveling alone subject. Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.<BR><BR>Ursula, if you're around, maybe you'll write a little more about the Monet exhibit? If I recall correctly from my visit to the website awhile back, the emphasis is on his contributions to abstraction and the abstract artists of the 20th century. That would be a good educational perspective. I hope they addressed the aggravating premise that I hear so often: "well you see, he was losing his sight, so that is why his paintings became more and more abstract." I get so angry when I hear that, because it is like saying that he wasn't making the conceptual or artistic decisions for which I think he deserves so much credit. <BR><BR>Sorry to turn this post into a soapbox.<BR>J.

Phil

jw:<BR><BR>Although I have not been able to visit the Monat exhibition (shame, as it is just a trolley ride away), I can tell you that the staff at fondation Beyeler has tried to put Monet's paintings in context to the development of abstract art. In my opinion, you will not likely find comments like Monet losing his sight..<BR><BR>By the way, there is another temporary exhibition at three other museums in Basel: It is called "Paintings on the move" (Kunstmuseum, Kunsthalle and Museum f&uuml;r Gegenwartskunst). This exhibition, organized by the new director of the Kunstmuseum, places in context paintings form different styles but dating from the same periods, some kind of Chagall meets Kokoschka meets Picasso meets Juan Gris. Maybe you would be interested in that one as well...<BR><BR>Enjoy your travels.<BR><BR>Phil

s

jw,<BR><BR>I’m sorry if I sounded glib in my response to your heartfelt question. I didn’t intend to minimize your situation or circumstances! Unfortunately, I am intimately familiar with how family circumstances impact one’s dreams and outlook, not to mention one’s plans. In fact, one of the reasons why I retired early (exactly at 20 years -- not one minute more) was to spend time with my sister, who had survived four strokes. I was lucky I did that -- she only stayed with us for six months after I retired. After that, I helped my mother care for my father, who had a terminal neurological disease.<BR><BR>Yet even in those days, I still traveled. Maybe I needed to travel even more. Every professional health-care person in the US will tell you that care-givers need to pace themselves and renew themselves. Every time I visited Switzerland, I felt that I could breathe freely and fully, and I carried that breath back to sustain me between visits. Of course, my visits were very short, usually six or seven nights only. I used to sit on a bench at the lakeside promenade in Montreux - day after day after day - and breathe in fresh energy.<BR><BR>Even if you're not the primary care-giver, you need to renew your strength for the emotional demands you face daily -- those fears and that guilt.<BR><BR>If you are the primary care-giver, I’m sure you know about respite care? Many nursing homes will care for your loved ones for short periods of one week or ten days, primarily to give the care-givers a break. You may want to look into this.<BR><BR>Once I asked my sister (racked with guilt as I was) if I should go on one of my planned trips. She fixed me with uncharacteristically hard eyes and insisted, “Go. You don’t know when you’ll get sick and won’t be able to go. Go now.” And even now, every time I’m in an airplane in the clouds, I imagine I’m visiting her!<BR><BR>I was very lucky to have known her and especially to have spent the last few months of her life with her. Maybe I'm rationalizing a decision I still feel guilty about, but I think the few days that I wasn't there don't count as much as the lifetime that we shared together. I think it's the big things -- or ironically the little things of daily life -- that make the difference.<BR><BR>Anyway, I’m an f. The first time I traveled alone was to Mexico. I was planning a scuba trip with one of the supposed Mr. Rights when we broke up. I decided not to waste the plans. I’ve been going solo ever since!<BR><BR>Best of luck.<BR><BR>s

Ursula

jw: I really did enjoy the Monet exhibition. Main focus are still the Monets (La Cathedrale de Rouen in some 4 different shades, Le Bassin aux Nympheas, the Basel an the Zurich version), some beautiful paintings from the Giverny garden. Next to that, some nice Pierre Bonnard's. <BR>The rest is more modern, of course, till that "digital impressionism" which you may like or not. I did, because I really love modern art. Whether it is correct to put it into a context with Monet's, hm... difficult to say. The exhibition is a huge success. Up to some 2000 visitors on certain days.<BR>I particularly liked the video installation of the Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist called "Sip my Ocean" in the basement.<BR><BR>Phil: The Monet-exhibition is on till August 4. Still plenty of time. I suggest you go after 6 pm. This is what I did. Cheaper entry (CHF 12.-) and,m above all, less people. <BR>And "Paintings on the move" is another must for me just like "Art Basel" starting next week. A definite must for me.

Mr. Go

I already love CH, and I've never even been there! We are currently preparing for our 11-day Swiss/Italian adventure in August. Hotel bases will be in Luzern, Grindelwald and Menaggio, and all travel by car (and sometimes boat, I suppose).<BR><BR>Does anyone know...how long to drive from Grindelwald to Menaggio?<BR><BR>Does anyone else plan to be in these areas Aug. 15 - 26? I'll buy you a drink.