September 14, 2016 by peterspetra

Germany: Along the Neckar from Rottenburg to Eberbach

We drive north always following the Neckar… this is the second day of our sunny end summer tour through Germany.

Tübingen? An old university town since 1377? Let us stop here…

Tübingen? It has one of the oldest universities in Europe – founded in 1377. From the Königsparking we climb to the university hospital area to get this overview of the old town with the castle.

The old town and the castle are located between the former defense ditch and the Neckar. This is the Neckar side.

The city is tidy and well kept with half-timbered houses.

The market square is busy. The painted townhall shows that this is a proud town.

The organ is played in the gothic church. We stop and listen.

We are glad to see another of those German towns that have been preserved during the Second World War. Tübingen has a history of resistance: A brave priest and a brave mayor withstood Hitler; both, unfortunately, were killed just shortly before the war ended.

Heilbronn – it was also one of these gorgeous half-timbered towns, but – sorely suffered during the war

Heilbronn has suffered from bombings in the Second World War. Some gems have been rebuilt. This is beautiful townhall with its astronomical clock.

Also the gothic Kilian church has been reconstructed. I particularly like this wood carved altar from the beginning of the 15th century, with Maria in the center and Kilian to her right. I admire that they saved it during the war.

These remains of three sculptures show, how the Kilian church has been decorated inside, before having been attacked in that war that should have never happened. The remains are beautifully arranged, but being deprived of legs and arms they make me shiver as well.

We continue north following the Neckar that works his way north through steep vineyards. I had not been aware of wine growing here and may return for that.

Bad Wimpfen, the largest Kaiserpfalz around 1200

Bad Wimpfen is another gorgeous small town with well-kept half-timbered houses that give shade from the hot end summer sun.

Bad Wimpfen is located on top of a hill. This is the view of the Neckar and the lower town of Wimpfen with the church St. Peter, another gem that we visited later.

Bad Wimpfen was an imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz) of the dynasty of the Staufen around 1200 (well known are Barbarossa and Friedrich II). These Romanesque arcades remind of those days

… and also this small chapel.

The pretty dog is waiting for his master that is just approaching the house: “Maybe he has one of those delicious German sausages for me?”

We visit the church in lower Wimpfen, called “Stiftkirche Sankt Peter”. It has been built in early gothic style in the 14th century. The monastery was dissolved in 1803. Now the Maltese run it as a guest house and as a center for religious exercises (“St. Peter, Bad Wimpfen im Tal”, Schnell+Steiner, 2011).

It is famous for its cloister that we find closed now. I take with me these thoughts.

“Wer nach aussen schaut, träumt, wer nach innen blickt, erwacht” meaning “who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside, awakes.” I found this thought also in the internet: “When we look inside our heart, we discover what we are, who we are, and what we truly believe”. I agree, looking inside is important (perhaps sometimes forgotten), but having dreams, I believe, is also an important ingredient of life.

Along the Neckar to Eberbach

Along the Neckar who winds through the Odenwald, we continue to drive north. We love the soft landscape. We reach Eberbach and settle under the roof of the cosy hotel Karpfen. After a great dinner with fish and a local Pinot Gris we stroll through another gem town with half-timbered houses. This is our hotel in the night (a large rubbish bin served as my tripod).

In the early morning we stroll through the town again. We enyoy the boar that gives its name to Eberbach (literally “boar creek”)

“Auf einen Sprung nach Eberbach” means “for a quick visit/”leap” to Eberbach”, Yes, we can recommend a stop over in the well preserved small town of Eberbach bordering the Neckar…

… that sometimes becomes dangerous, as these flood lines show.

Our next targets will be Speyer and the Pfalz.

September 12, 2016 by peterspetra

On the road again – to Germany: St. Blasien and Rottenburg

There I am on the road again. It is end August 2016. With Ursula I travel to Germany: Neckar, Pfalz, Nahe, Mosel, Mittelrhein and Alsace. No fixed plans – we will stop, when we like it. The forecast is “sunshine, sunshine and sunshine”. Great prospect.

Our first picnic not far from St. Blasien – great view of the Alps

We have lunch on a bench on our way to St. Blasien in the Black Forest. The air has been cleaned by rain two days ago. We see the Alps from the Appenzell to the Bernese Oberland – somewhat in the haze.

St. Blasien – the neo classic dome with its huge cupola

St. Blasien is a surprise in the middle of the Black Forest, far away from any larger town: They have this majestic dome with one of the largest cupolas in Europe.

Inside it has been painted in white. The height and the diameter are 36m.

Maria entering heaven is the nouveau art painting that decorates the cupola…

… and a bright marble mosaic completes the cool and tidy atmosphere.

Why do we find such a large dome in the middle of “nowhere” in the Black Forest? Already in the 9th century, monks lived in this valley. In the 11th century there was a monastery here that took over the Benedictine rules. It became a Habsburgian-Austrian monastery later. It flourished in the 18th century and the abbots were promoted – they were now prince-bishops. They wanted a representative cathedral and had the dome constructed in early classical style; the cupola was the third-largest in Europe. Napoleon dissolved the monastery and gave St. Blasien to Germany. In 1933 the Jesuits bought the remains of the monastery and opened a school. In the late 20th century the dome was renovated (source: “Dom St. Blasien im Südschwarzwald”, Kunstverlag Josef Fink, 2012).

Donaueschingen – the sources of the Danube (Donau)

We continued our way to Donaueschingen that proudly says they own the source of the Danube (Donau).

Well, they do not own the “real” source. The “real” source is in Furtwangen. The Breg originates here. It disappears and re-emerges from the ground in Donaueschingen meeting a second river, the Brigach. I remember that I stood at this second source of the Danube some fifty years ago, with my mum-geologist who taught me about karst formations and underground rivers.

Along the Neckar to Rottenburg

Now we head north to find the Neckar that emerges near Schwenningen. We follow the still narrow river that winds through the hills topped by fortifications and beautiful old cities with timbered houses. We stop at one of these pretty cities, at Rottenburg. We find a room in the welcoming hotel St. Martin and have dinner near the fountain of the Austrian Landsknecht (like St. Blasien, this area belonged to Habsburg-Austria, before Napoleon aligned the possessions around 1800).

Rottenburg has been the bishop town of Württemberg since 1831. The Bishop’s palace is a beautiful modern building – I think it is about to fly to heaven.

A bishop town has a dome… this is the dome St. Martin on the market square (St. Martin was called “church”, until there was a bishop, then its status was raised to “dome”).

The water line of the Neckar with the weeping willows is romantic, also the ducks enjoy the evening.

A poet reads her works at the border of the Neckar – the audience congregates around her under the lamps.

In the morning we go for a short walk. We visit the dome St. Martin…

… and enjoy the morning atmosphere along the Neckar.

Then we drive north always following the Neckar…

August 21, 2016 by peterspetra

Back to some business – mentoring a student at the verge of work life

Recently I have signed up with the alumni organisation of “my” university to participate in their mentoring program for students at the verge of work life. Mentoring – I have done that before and my former mentee is now a good friend of mine.

Let me reflect about what mentoring is and what an effective approach may look like.

What is mentoring?

In the Internet I found this definition of the Alberta Learning Information Service ALIS that resonates with me:

«Mentors are experienced, trusted advisors or counsellors who have successful careers and proven track records. Mentors are not usually paid for their services.

As a mentor, your role will be to:

make a commitment to support and encourage your mentee
encourage your mentee to develop careers that reflect their skills, potential and goals
offer wisdom, knowledge, experience, constructive criticism, connections and resources
focus on the overall career directions like advancement and training rather than on day-to-day concerns of your mentee
set an example for the level of professional conduct and success your mentee hopes to achieve»

In alignment with this definition and with my previous mentoring experience I understand that…

The mentor accompanies the overall career development of his mentee in a one to one setup independent of the current work place. He acts as a sparring partner bringing in his long year experience, with the target to help the mentee find a career path that matches his/her strengths and interests. The relationship is based on mutual trust and confidentiality. The time horizon is longer term and can be several years.
Mentoring is different from coaching. I understand that a coach accompanies an employee at his/her work place – to perform efficiently and effectively according to his potential.

How would I conceive our mentoring process to be effective?

To mentor a student at the verge of work life, I think of these steps for the process to be satisfactory and effective.

Basis: Initiative is with Mentee / Mentor is a responsive sparring partner
From the mentee, I expect that he/she will drive the relationship, invite for meetings and/or ask for support, when he is ready or needs it. As a mentor, I will be the responsive (reachable) and supportive sparring partner bringing in my experience and network. The mentee has to solve his “problem” and he can count on my mentor support. As a mentor, I cannot impose my ideas, I just give suggestions, hopefully good suggestions based on my experience.
Align mentor and mentee / revise relation: Trust and commitment
As a first step, we, the mentor and the mentee will get to know one another, exchange about our motivations and backgrounds and find alignment. The target is to build trust. Trust is indispensable for our mentor/mentee relationship. Without trust it is not possible to proceed and achieve results. Based on trust, we make the commitment to start our mentor/mentee relationship. This relationship is not expected to be short term, and hence it is also necessary to revise it from time to time to verify trust and commitment still exist.
Identify mentee strengths/interests/personality: Profile
As a second step, the mentee will identify his profile, with my mentor support. The profile consists out of his strengths (capabilities/talents/knowledge), his personality (e.g. more a researcher or an entrepreneur) and his interests (what activities turn me on). Useful structures to identify the profile are provided by Tim Clark, Alexander Osterwald and Yves Pingeur: “Business Model You“, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012). They call it “key resources”.
Find targets: Value propositions
Based on the profile or key resources, the next step is to find the activities that are of value for potential customers and that allow my mentee to make a living (earn money) and perhaps harness more personal benefits (such as satisfaction from living his mission or from doing what he likes to do). Tim Clark et alii recommend to find the “value propositions” using their structured “business canvas“.
Sell and apply: CVs, job selection > job
Based on the profile and targets identified, we can act and apply for jobs. The profile will be phrased out in CVs (for media such as LinkedIn and for the “paper” CV that might need adaption for individual applications. As a mentor, I also think of using my network and of coaching the interview process (letter of motivation, what the interviewer may ask/expect or ideas on how to react when being rejected).
Digest lessons: Updated profiles, value propositions and CVs
The experience gained during job applications will help us to loop back and update the profile and value proposition and the CVs (in the media (such as LinkedIn) and in the paper CV. Then more applications may follow – or it is also an alternative to look for options to open a business.
Hand over to work life: Business mentor
Once, a job is found, I will have to retreat. I suggest to find a business mentor for similar support in the new work life. Well, in case our mentor/mentee relation was one of trust all the way through, I might have found another friend that would perhaps come back and ask for ideas and support from time to time.

August 19, 2016 by peterspetra

Basel and the basilisks – following the traces of Baschi Zischer

Basilisks have been known since ancient times, in Egypt, Greece and Rome. Konrad Gessner from Zurich writes about them in the 16th century. They are legendary animals – a mixture between a coq and a snake – and they take on various forms. Sometimes they have the second name “sibilus” = “hissing” or in German “zischen”). Basilisks hatch out of eggs that have been laid by a coq and bred by a snake (well, there are also variations to this). On the 4th of August 1474 a coq laid an egg in Basel and was then killed. So dangerous – imagine, a basilisk could have emerged out of this egg. In a beautiful small book, Thomas Hofmeier describes the various forms of basilisks, their history and their presence, in particular in Basel (“Basels Ungeheuer, eine kleine Basiliskenkunde“, Berlin and Basel 2016).

In the 15th century, Basel started to use the basilisk to hold their coat of arms, the “Baslerstab”, perhaps, because “Basel” sounds a bit like “Basilisk”. Basilisks do not only exist in Basel, but they are very important and omnipresent here. They sit on fountains (Augustinerbrunnen),…

… they guard bridges (Wettsteinbrücke, his brother watches over the entrance to Langen Erlen and he has two more brothers),…

… they hide in the cathedral (Münster, in front of the pulpit)…

… they appear in my mum’s woodcarvings,…

and then there is the small basilisk Baschi Zischer.

Baschi Zischer? He is a small basilisk that gets lost and looks for his home, with the help of Mia (a wonderful children’s book)

Baschi Zischer is a small basilisk. He lives near the water somewhere in the city center and leaves home, because he hears a lot of “bumbum” and “weeeweeee” outside. It is the drums and pipes of the Basel carnival (Fasnacht). Baschi gets lost and Mia finds him in the front garden of her parents’ house near the river Rhine. Anita Siegfried and Nicolas d’Aujourd’hui have written and illustrated the story about Mia that looks for Baschi’s home in the city center of Basel (“Baschi Zischer – ein Jahr quer durch Basel (a year in all corners of Basel)”, Basel 2007).

Always on search for fairy tales, I loved to read the story of Baschi and Mia. On a hot summer day, I looked for the places that they visited, when looking for Baschi’s home. Here are some samples.

The basilisk on the fountain near Mia’s home has no idea where Baschi lives.

The fountain monkey on the Andreas Platz just knows that in earlier times the basilisks lived in the cave behind the Gerberbrunnen (fountain of the tanners).

The historian of the museum of history does not know where Baschi’s home is. At Mia’s school Baschi plays the basketball right into the basket. Baschi slips into the river Rhine and has to be saved by the ferryman. At the old townwall (Letziturm) they meet a group of people disguised as knights that are happy to see a real basilisk. They make a selfie with him.

(When I was here, I did not meet knights, but a group of Chinese – old friends from school, and one of them was a professional photographer capturing the memories).

In front of the Münster (cathedral) there is Knight George who kills the dragon.

Baschi gets angry. What a nuisance, this dragon made out of stone is not dangerous at all.

While looking for Baschi’s home, Mia and her basilisk live through many more adventures in Basel. And as the next Fasnacht starts, yes – just right in time, Mia understands that Baschi lives, where the Birsig enters the Rhine. Baschi disappears in the tunnel and the next Fasnacht starts with drummers and pipers.

A wonderful children’s story, well told and well illustrated. I invite the two girls of friends of mine to follow the traces of Mia and her basilisk Baschi. It is the grils’ first guided tour through a town. The next day we visited the mini golf court in Grün 80 (a green park with play grounds and lakes), and the two girls shouted: “Look, another basilisk fountain!” Yes, right, I have never noticed that there is another one here. Later I notice a basilisk fountain near the central post office… there are many more such fountains in Basel. Let us have a closer look at them.

The basilisk fountains in Basel – a clever design

There are about 25 basilisk fountains in Basel. One of them was on my way to primary school on the Bruderholz. Believe me, I saw that fountain every day, more than 50 years ago, for four years. I knew it was there, always, reliably. But I never looked at it in detail. Now, thanks to Baschi Zischer, I discovered the clever design of these fountains.

This is the basilisk fountain on the water front of the Rhine (Reverenzgässlein). The basilisk holds the “Baslerstab” (coat of arms) and presents “him”-self to the people that may take a photo of the old city line above the Rhine.

The basilisk fountain gives drinking water – to us people, …

and also to our best friends, the dogs.

At the end of the 19th century, Basel started to provide water directly into the houses. The huge fountains scattered over Basel were now in the way. Basel invited for a competition and selected the fountain of Wilhelm Bubeck (see Wikipedia). They installed about 50 of them. Today about 25 are left in Basel, one is in Zurich (perhaps as a sign of friendship, where sometimes “teasing” prevails) and one has even traveled to Moscow. Bubeck has done a great job, I believe, when designing the basilisk fountain for the thirst of people and their dogs.

Thank you, Baschi Zischer, you have opened my eyes. I may take more children of friends and of my family to discover my town Basel based on your adventures.

P.S. Also visitbasel.ch offers guided visits for kids following the traces of Baschi.

August 12, 2016 by peterspetra

Göscheneralp – moor and highmoor reserve above the artificial lake – a photo hike

Would you join me for a photo hike on the Göscheneralp?

My friend Richard asks me: “Would you like to join me for a photo hike on the Göscheneralp?” Oh, yes, of course I would. I have been on the Göscheneralp some fifteen years ago, with Ernst. I would love to see it again and use my new Nikon camera, while benefiting from Richard’s experience. We buy train tickets to Göschenen, Richard reserves seats in the local bus to the Göscheneralp and one night in the Dammahütte (a Swiss Alpine Club mountain hut run by Lydia and Frank). And off we go, taking the early morning train at 6:04 AM in Basel arriving at the dam at 9:30 AM.

What is the Göscheneralp? It is an artificial lake with a nature reserve, a loop path and welcoming mountain huts in front of the Dammastock

The Göscheneralp was covered by an artificial lake in 1960. Water energy from the mountains – this is ecological on one hand, but on the other hand I have mixed feelings about the village Hinteralp that is now under the water – including the church.

May be I am not alone with my mixed feelings. The northern slopes above the artificial lake are now a nature reserve with moors and highmoors.

The loop path leads around the lake. The Swiss love to hike around the lake. Families with their kids (including their grandmothers and grandfathers) master the 3 hour walk on a narrow path going up and down and up and down.

The welcoming mountain huts cater for the hikers. The huts are called Bergseehütte, Chelenalphütte and Dammahütte. The Bergseehütte is managed by Toni Fullin. He is an institution. He is a mountain guide that documents the climbing routes and the traditional dishes that make use of what the mountains of Uri deliver. Such as soup made out of bread and cheese. The Dammahütte is where we have reserved to stay – it is about 650m above the lake level.

The moors and highmoors

We start north of the lake to take pictures in the moors and highmoors. The ponds reflect the mountains…

… and the small chapel.

We also come across a frog,…

… enjoy the view of the Dammastock with its glacier,…

… and play with background and foreground.

The Chelenen Reuss… flowing water… let us play with the shutter time

We leave the moors and highmoors and cross the Chelenen Reuss. Here we practice changing the shutter time – short…

… and longer.

I prefer it shorter.

Up to the Dammahütte in the burning sun – a hearty welcome by Lydia and Frank

In the burning sun we walk up to the Dammahütte, about 2450m above sea level. Lydia and Frank with their daughter give us a hearty welcome. This is the evening view of the Göscheneralp Lake taken near the Dammahütte.

We have an excellent dinner with soup, salad, Spaghetti and pine apple dessert.

Morning at six… the sky is clear

Early at six we look forward to a great and sunny day. This is the view of the morning sky

The sun is still low and gives light to the Dammahütte in front of the Dammastock.

After a tasty breakfast with Birchermüesli and rolled mountain cheese, we talk with the owners of the hut. As they expect more tourists today, the daughter prepares a Schlorzifladen. This is a cake common in Toggenburg near the lake of Constance (Bodensee).

Panorama walk with goats and more water games

We take the Panorama walk down to the lake. Hello goats!

Yes, YOU MUST enjoy the view!

The Damma Reuss – again we change the shutter time from short…

… to longer.

And then I look back with the thistle in the foreground.

Back along the lake catching the 13:30 bus

Now we head down to the lake, join the families on their round walk south of the lake…

and at the dam catch the 13:30 bus to Göschenen. Already around 5 PM we are back in Basel. It starts to rain and then it pours with rain. Lucky we have been having enjoyed two wonderful, sunny days.

July 9, 2016 by peterspetra

From Carcassone through the Causses to Laguiole and back to Switzerland

We made three days to return from Spain to Switzerland. The first day has ended in Carcassone. The second day takes us to Albi, to Espalion and to Laguiole, where we spend another night. On the third day we just “eat up” kilometers on motorways and enter Switzerland on the Pas de Morgins.

Albi – town of the Cathars or Albigienses

In the pouring rain, we reach Albi located on the river Tarn. It was an important centre of the Cathars, also called Albigienses. The old city has mostly been built from red bricks and their cathedral Saint Cécile is made of the same material.

Inside the cathedral is painted in blue which gives it a harmonious atmosphere.

The choir and the stalls are a Unesco world heritage

In the pouring rain we do not feel like more sightseeing in this charming town and continue north.

Espalion – small town with old bridge

We continue north through the Causses plateau mountains. It is a rough landscape that the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela feared – for the wind, for the cold temperatures and also for the robbers.

The cities lie in the valleys. Espalion is one of these. The gothic bridge crosses the river Lot.

The shoreline of this small town is charming and so are the narrow streets, but the only one hotel in town is booked out. And – it is pouring with rain. We decide to continue to Laguiole.

Laguiole – the dynamic mountain village has a lot to offer – a discovery for me

Laguiole is a mountain village located in the Aubrac. The temperatures are now down to 9 degrees – it is chilly, rainy and misty. This is the impression from our evening walk.

Laguiole is famous for its high quality knives. Their speciality are the foldable knives – this is one of them with a damascene blade.

But they also have knives, forks and spoons for the table – beautifully designed by star designers. The village is full of knife shops (called “Coutellerie”). Also tours to factories are on offer.

In addition the Aubrac and Laguiole are famous for their regional “Aubrac” cattle, a robust species that is used for milk and meat production. The cattle is brown with a dark brown line decorating the border of the ears. This cattle enjoys an excellent diet of mountain herbs and delivers AOC cheese and savoury meat. The “Aubrac” cattle is so much valued that it has received a memorial in the village center.

In addition to the products of the Aubrac cows, the butchers also sell white ham and other specialties from pigs.

I bought some of their cooked white ham, and enjoyed it, when back home.

We find a room in the friendly Hotel de l’Aubrac. The house is also an excellent restaurant that serves tasty meals from regional products. We have a menu – this was my beef bourguignon made in wine and gentian liquor.

The people here know, how to make use of their natural products. The meal was authentic and well prepared. The beef was served with Aligot which is potato purée mixed with local cheese which gives it a firm texture. A red wine from Marcillac (some 50km south from Laguiole) was a perfect match with my beef. Ursula liked her pot-au-feu. An excellent choice of local cheese followed as part of the menu: Ecir (cow milk), a regional goat cheese and Roquefort (which originates not far from here). We top our meal with a sweet wine from Pellehaut (Gascogne, west of Toulouse, made out of Chardonnay and Petit Manseng; the latter can mature until December thanks to its hard skin; it is the basic ingredient of sweet wines in South West France and in North Spain).

The two star Hotel and Restaurant de l’Aubrac is a great place to stay – welcoming atmosphere, great dinner, good breakfast and quiet rooms.

Heading back to Switzerland and then to the Pas de Morgins

On the third day we head back to Switzerland – all on highways – and enter our country crossing the Pas de Morgins.

We give back the the apartment keys and thank our friends for having let us stay in their beautiful apartment in L’Hospitalet de l’Infant with its gorgeous view of the pine trees and the sea.

July 5, 2016 by peterspetra

From L’Hospitalet through the Pyrenees to Carcassone

From L’Hospitalet we drive back to Switzerland, first crossing the Pyrenees and stopping at Carcassone. The next day we continue through the rough plateau mountains of Causses and stay overnight at Laguiole. Finally on the third day we take the French motorway end enter Switzerland crossing the Pas de Morgins. Let me start with the first segment from Spain to Carcassone.

Crossing the Penedès with Santa Creuz

Penedès is the wine region south of Barcelona that among other things produces the well-known sparkling wine Cava. Amidst the vineyards is the monastery Santa Creuz. The Kings of Aragon have been buried here, until the monastery of Poblet took over.

Inside the walls there is a small town. The monastery is closed at lunch time. It will be on our list of excursions when coming back to L’Hospitalet.

The vineyards of the Penedès are not as steep as the vineyards of Priorat.

We reach the Pyrenees and drive uphill on a sinuous road. It starts to rain. At the Coll d’Ares or Col d’Arès we cross the border to France. This sign promises great photos here.

And this was the view… it WAS misty here.

Above Prats-de-Mollo, Vauban (the architect of Louis XIV) has built the Fort Lagarde with the bastions typical of his strategy of defense (late 17th century). In the narrow streets the traffic halts for some time, as a lorry got stuck. All cars are waiting calmly.

At Narbonne we take the motorway. Heavy wind makes the cypresses bend. We cross the vineyards of the Langedoc-Roussilon and reach gorgeous Carcassone where we stop for a night.

Carcassone – a fairy tale fortress

Carcassone is located in the Aude plain between the Massif Central and the Pyrenees. It was of strategic importance. The Romans had a fortification here, the Visigoths conquered it in the 5th century and the Saracens defended it successfully in the 8th century. Around 1200 the Cathars used it. In the Hundred Years War it withstood attacks by the English. Until the 17th century it was a fortress at the border between Aragon (Spain) and France, but then the Languedoc-Roussillon was transferred to France and Carcassone lost its importance as a fortress (“Carcassone – katharische Burgen”, Estel 2011).

Tourists love Carcassone. Buses are allowed to to stop here for a few minutes and “download” tourists.

Inside the walls is a city with narrow streets. Many restaurants invite for dinner…

… and many, many shops invite to buy souvenirs (but not to sit down).

The restaurants offer home made cassoulet (fait maison). This meal is more for people who have worked in the fields all day.

I prefer lamb with herbs.

… and then we sleep well in our quiet hotel.

July 3, 2016 by peterspetra

Quiet days in L’Hospitalet de l’Infant

Some of our days in L’Hospitalet are very quiet.We stayed “at home” shopping, swimming, reading, walking and enjoying our balcony. I am not a beach person… but leisure in this “off-the-beaten-tracks” village L’Hospitalet de l’Infant has its charms, especially now in early June, before the season has started off.

In the morning we would watch the sunrise.

In town we would do some shopping – for instance buy fresh fruit or vegetables in the Fruites i Verduras Shop – tasty cherries and strawberries. Or we would buy fresh fish in the Peixateria. They have it from l’Ametlla de Mar, a village not far from Hospitalet. We love their codfish and sole. We prepared it just with butter and some rosemary that we had collected in the hills near Hospitalet. Delicious.

The apartment house has a pool – we would swim in it, sometimes together with the first guests from Spain. One couple is from San Sebastian. Another couple has a baby. And one man has come just with his dog.

Walking…

When temperatures cool down a bit in the late afternoon, we would walk along the beach line of Hospitalet or follow the GR 92 from Hospitalet to climb the hills.

Once we visited the camping site Cala d’Oques. “Oques” is Catalan. It is the plural of “oca” which means “goose”. The emblem of the camping site matches its name. The small restaurant serves excellent tapas – even rated in TripAdvisor. Buen provecho.

From here GR 92 leads up to the Punto de les Rojales (well marked).

We enjoy the view of the sea…

… and of Hospitalet.

The landscape towards the mountains is a harsh contrast to the romantic coast line. There are motorways paralleled by well constructed roads and factories or power stations.

The village beaches are getting ready for July/August… they just start to become populated

The guests are slowly arriving in L’Hospitalet – on our second Sunday the beach was more populated than on our first Sunday, but there is still space left.

The beaches and the water are clean. We frown at these plastic cars and find out, they are pedal boats with a slide.

When back home we will learn that such pedal boats are also in use on the lake of Zurich. We must have missed an important evolution of water games…

Market on Sundays

Every Sunday there is a street market on the quay. We hear Swiss German, German, French, Russian, Spanish… but also much Catalan. Products on sale are for swimming,…

… household,…

… and there are also fresh products on sale – fruit, vegetables, cheese and fish.

It is not just a souvenir market, but also a resource used by the locals.

Rounding off a quiet day

To round off a quiet day, we have a tasty Montsant wine…

or a Vermouth – this is pretty common apetizer here.

Yes, I am not a beach person, but leisure in this place has its charm.

June 29, 2016 by peterspetra

A day in Barcelona – modernism and gothic

Barcelona with its modernist and gothic districts – this is our plan for Friday. We take the train at 6:40, should arrive at 8:11, but arrive more than one hour late at 9:30. Trains in Spain – this is a special rhyme.

Barcelona’s swinging modernism
At the Passeig de Gracia station we leave the train. We refresh ourselves with two very, very excellent espressos and very, very delicious croissants… and then we start to scout for the modernist houses on the Passeig de Gracia and around it. We are in the Art Nouveau Eixample district that was plannend and built in the beginning of the 20th century.

Near the train and metro station is the block of houses that is called “La Manzana de la Discòrdia”. There are four modernist houses here and a fight (discòrdia) about which being the most beautiful of them. Gaudí’s Batlla house surely attracts the most tourists now.

The other three houses have a lively and cheerful decoration that I prefer. This is the Casa Léo Morera built by Lluis Domenech i Montaner. We will meet this architect later in the Paleu de la Musica.

We discover many more nicely decorated modernist houses, not all of them described in the guide books, and I cannot stop clicking:

Even the public benches are a good match to the “swinging” modernist atmosphere here.

The Sagrada Familia – impressive and unfortunately overcrowded
Walking in Carrer Mallorca, we see them already from far: The towers of Gaudí’s unachieved master piece, the Sagrada Familia, point to heaven like slim needles, akwardly accompanied by construction cranes, as this church has not yet been accomplished. (Gaudí had started building it in the beginning of the 20th century, then died and the construction had been stopped for some time during the civil war of the thirties and the Franco regime).

I look forward to the museum that explains, how Gaudí wants his buildings to look like natural trees and flowers. BUT, now around midday, we would have to wait for perhaps an hour (long queue) to buy a ticket that allows us to enter the Sagrada Familia at 4pm… No, not for us. We sit down in the park and study the richly decorated Nativity facade…

… and then continue by metro to the Palau de la Musica.

The Palau de la Musica… a cheerful modernist music palace
The modernist Palau de la Musica Catalana is located in the Barrí Gotic amidst narrow streets. There is a nice cafeteria, where we first recover eating tasty montaditos varts.

Then we join an Italian speaking group (they are the smallest group) to explore the modernist palace of music. The highlight is the concert hall for about 2000 people: The lamp on the ceiling is a window that lets in natural light.

The stage is decorated with muses holding a ribbon.

The main entry is in a narrow street. There are two large gates. The coaches used to enter the first gate, let the passengers out and then leave through the second gate. No longer today. Concert visitors enter through two huge revolving doors built into the gates.

I love this cheerful palace of music. It has been built in 1908 as a stage for the national choir (orfeo) of Catalonia. The architect was Lluis Domenech i Montaner that we already know from the Manzana de Discòrdia. And yes, this music palace has a nationalist purpose for the Catalans, but it has also become a stage for many very different renowned music artists – classic, jazz and folklore.
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Let us switch times – the Gothic Cathedral is not far
Enough Art Nouveau or Modernism. We feel like more modest gothic master pieces. The gothic cathedral is not far and we walk through the narrow streets (“Gässli”) of the Barrí Gotic.

Construction of the Cathedral of Barcelona started in 1298 and lasted until 1450. The facade has been completed in the 19th century.

The nave points to heaven with its high gothic vaults.

The choir is in the middle – for me a heavy design somewhat offsetting the airiness of the gothic vaults. Here are the richly decorated stalls.

“Do you believe these geese are kept appropriately to their species”, Ursula asks me. I am not sure. 13 geese walk and stand on the cloister tiles. If they wish they can have a bath in the fountain. The 13 geese commemorate the martyr Eulalia that died at the age of 13 years.

A lift takes us to the roof. We enjoy a beautiful view to the Mountjuïc and the church Santa Maria del Pi which is our next target.

The narrow streets of the Barrí Gotic and Santa Maria del Pi
We continue to stroll through the narrow streets of the Barri Gotic and at the charming Plaça del Pi we have a drink. A group of musicians plays one tune of about 2 minutes five times – no, not all of them have talent.

The church Santa Maria del Pi is one of my favorite in Barcelona. We sit on the bench and breathe in the harmonious atmosphere.

The windows have been destroyed in the Spanish War of Succession and the Rosette – one of the largest in the world – in the Spanish civil war of the 1930’s.

Yes, the Catalans have been unlucky teaming up with the “wrong” side, and I learn that another problem was that the rich upper class not really supported the Catalan fight for their independence, but cooperated with Madrid. Hence they lost in the War of Succession shortly after 1700 and in the Civil War in the 30’s of the 20th century.

Ramblas and then Plaça Real
We join the crowds on the Ramblas of Barcelona and then turn left to say hello to the Plaça Real.

Santa Maria del Mar – also one of my favourite churches in Barcelona
Santa Maria del Mar has been built rapidly from 1329 to 1370. I love the harmony of the homogenous style. We sit on a bench and enjoy the harmony.

As always when in Barcelona, I say hello to the monument of the Catalans which is not far from Santa Maria del Mar. Yes, the Catalans fought bravely on the side of the Habsburgians in the war of succession in 1713/14 – but it was the Bourbons that won this war.

The Ribera district would be great for dinner or Tapas, but now we head back to the Passeig de Gracia to catch the 19:25 train.

Returning to Hospitalet – not straightforward and again late
How does access to the Renfe trains work in Barcelona? Not straightforward…

Arriving with the metro at Passeig de Gracia we first figure out which metro entry gives access to the trains. We find this entry three cross-streets to the north. Under the earth, we are confronted with automatic gates, but our tickets (sold in the train) do not open them.We ask and are told to press “the” button (a bell) – then someone will open a special gate. Okay, but where is that magic “the” button? Ah, here it is, the rightmost gate has such a button that could be “the” button. We press it to ring. No one opens… But then a man leaves the Renfe train area through the flipping door next to the button and we catch the moment to enter. Uff.

The train leaves precisely on time at 19:25. In Tarragona we are precisely on time. Ursula says: “Look, at 9:15 we will be at home on our balcony in L’Hospitalet.” But then the train stands for half an hour in Salou and loses another half hour, until we arrive in Hospitalet one hour late. No, no… train and Spain ARE not a good rhyme.

With a glass of Vermouth from Gallatrops we finish another beautiful sightseeing day.

June 28, 2016 by peterspetra

Tarragona – From Roman Tarraco to lively Catalan town

Another Tuesday in June 2016. Today we visit Tarragona, the Roman capital of Hispania Citerior (then called Tarraco), the medieval town with its Romanesque-Gothic cathedral and the relaxed Ramblas Nuevas of today’s lively Catalan city.

Train from L’Hospitalet de L ‘Infant to Tarragona – just one left out

The train leaves L’Hospitalet at 8:27, in theory. The next train would leave at 8:55, and this is, when we actually leave. I believe they have just skipped one train. This must be Spain and trains.

Just a few stairs from the train station to the Ramblas Nuevas

It is just a few stairs from the train station to the Ramblas Nuevas. We have an espresso in this nice bar…

… and then stroll along the Ramblas. There is a market. Cloths, handbags and shoes are on sale. I buy a blue beach dress for 5 Euro.

Then we head to the old upper town. I notice that there are many multlingual schools in Tarragona.

No wonder, Catalans already are bilingual to begin with and hence are more open to multilinguality. As compared to earlier visits I have noticed that the Catalan language is much more present – signs in the town are all in Catalan now – just that and practically no Spanish.

The walk along the Roman wall (Passeig Arqueológic)

About one kilometer of the old city wall has been preserved. This makes up the Passeig Arqueológic. We walk along the wall, together with many school classes that are learning about their history. The base of the wall is Iberan – these are the rough blocks of stone. The more elaborated stones have been added by the Romans…

… and some towers have later been fortified to resist gunfires.

The cathedral of Tarragona – a gem showing the transition from Romanesque to Gothic

Built from 1171 to 1331, the Catedral de Santa Maria demonstrates the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. This is the main facade.

Inside visitors are allowed to explore all details, also around the choir. This is the nave with the altar.

The cloister is a place to pray…

… and also a place to smile at the humor of the sculptor who carved the procession of the rats that carry the dead cat.

More Roman reminsiscents: The museum, the circ and the amphitheatre

After some tapas we visit the Archaeological Museum.

Yes, Roman Tarraco has been founded by Scipio Calvus. This is what the town looked like in Roman times.

The museum has been constructed around the old Roman town wall – the wall became part of the exhibition. What I like most are the mosaics.

Cute is the special exhibition about the villa Centcelles with children’s drawings.

Below the archaological museum is the entrance to the old circus.

After having dived into the Roman past, we take a quick step back to medieval times on the Plaça de la Font,…

… and then we visit the Roman amphitheatre with its gorgeous view of the sea.

Back to the Ramblas Nuevas and the tower of people

We return to the Ramblas Nuevas to see the statue of the tower of people (castell). The habit to build such towers is said to demonstrate the will and sprit of the Catalans to cooperate.

The finale: More than three hours for a half hour journey in train

Our train of 19:09 arrives just a few minutes late to take us back home to L’Hospitalet. We leave, we arrive at Salou, we leave Salou, and then we stand… stand… stand… finally we hear this message: “There was an incident ahead, we apologize”…. We continue to Cambrils and stand… and stand… and stand. It is very cold in this train… we stand… and stand… and around ten at night the doors close and the train continues slowly, but pretty steadily. Shortly before 10:30 we jump on to the platform at L’Hospitalet, find our car and drive back to the apartment. Uff. Will I ever again take a train in Spain? Well later I read that today Zurich had similar problems after someone had set a fire to the SBB railway cabling. Perhaps this delay has happened out of compassion with Zurich? But, more than three hours for a half hour train journey is quite a bit a record for me.

Well subtracting the train incident, our excursion to Tarragona was a wonderful experience.

Petra Peters

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