We toured two middle schools in Switzerland, one by Botta. It was pretty awkward wandering through a school full of early pubesant kids with our cameras and backpacks… No one seemed to mind though. We’re not in the states anymore. No stranger danger?
After, we spent 4 hours up at Castlegrande where we rolled down grassy hills and sketched to fill time.
Larry stopped by a deserted bar and picked up the key to unlock this museum in the middle of nowhere. It felt more like a concrete bunker but it had such a nice light quality from above.
Our bus had quite a hard time making it up this hill. Glad it did. Beautiful view beyond Zumthor’s small but powerful chapel.
PS- the cold spring Alps water was tasty. Lucky Alps cows.
Heaven on Earth exists high up in the Alps of Switzerland. Though the bus ride was treacherous, terrifying, tortuous (and probably many other T words) the baths made up for it with the most beautiful views I have probably ever seen. The variety of baths was the best part: flower bath, lemon sauna, fire bath, ice bath, outdoor pool… Never wanted to leave.
The cube-y building was our hotel. The slug was a local.
We made a special trip to Austria to see this little gem. I didn’t love the architecture exhibit, but the building lived up to my expectations. Each floor is lit by natural light from the frosted glass tiles above. Like a big cloud hangin above my head.
O, and then we were obnoxious and fed the cranky geese old bread. He posed for me though.
Six story outdoor park structure in Zurich. Vines and plants and people climbing everywhere like an adult playscape.
In Lusanne, Switzerland it’s hard to compete with the perfect landscape of the Alps and houses on rolling hills. This building tried real hard… And it was definitely fun to be around. The inside… Not so much. Dull grey carpet and huge wasted spaces on inclines so steep that they’d be laughed at in the states.
After, we bussed over to our new residence, Zurich were we had spaghetti bolognese for dinner.
Rudolf Steiner’s building from the 1920s. It felt more like a modern day, facetted castle; intimidating and beautiful. Pretty sure it’s my favorite building I have ever see in person, but oddly we have never learned about it in school… This confuses me.
The other buildings on the campus were also very interesting. Notice the tree-like building.
A bunch of starchitects got together and designed the Vitra Furniture workshop, museum, and store. Let’s see, Gehry, Siza, Ando, Herzog, and Hadid. We knocked out the big names in one trip across the border to Germany. Unfortunately it was raining, so not many photos from the outside…
The store was a vertical IKEA store on steroids (prices included).
A little kraut would help too.
A ride through the villages in and around Bad Staffelstein.
Le Corbusier’s catholic chapel in Ronchamps, France. We caught a Sunday mass with beautiful singing that reverberated through the whole space. It lived up to its legacy.
Our one day in this nice German city just south of the Black Forest. Also, home to the pope, I guess that’s why most people were there…
We were there for the… Mini Golf! Every hole was themed after a different country. Alex won by 2… I had two holes-in-one however.
I also bought a real rabbit coat. Will keep me warm in Paris winters.
Started our free day at the Kuntz Museum. Large collection. My favs were (predictably) Dali, Picasso, and Butler.
Even though the Rhine river is a huge means of industrial transportation, it doesn’t scare the locals away from swimming in its fast current. The water was Alps Mountain Cool and full of its share of broken glass and metal. It was amazing.
Sorry to be out of order. Going back to Prague posts… This was an unexpected day of climbing and, well, crying. We climbed lots and lots and lots of stairs up to the Prague Castle and cathedral, where we were met with even more tourists than there were stairs to get there. Watched the guard change, snuck into the cathedral without paying, went through some castle building, meditated in a courtyard bla bla bla.
Lunch consisted of great brews, homemade at the monastic brewery. Europeans pour their beers with extra foamy head. Cheat in me of my beer, that’s what I think!
After sustenance our climb up an even steeper hill began. This time through forest. Alex fell. I laughed. The destination was a 1:5 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower which then we also had to climb. Great views of Prague though. After, we swang and played on a cool kids playground. Still in the mood for climbing I guess.
On our first day of “class” we we bussed around to see more off the map buildings. Unfortunately we didn’t get to go in any of them… Not my cup of tea exactly. In the evening we split dinners since one can’t even buy a kebab for less than 11 bucks in Switzerland. There was a youth music festival happening outside the square by our hotel. We spent a while observing white Swiss rap and dance?
