Another flower seen on a walk around the village. I suppose they are some sort of bush rose.
Daily Archives: 24/08/2017
Daily Prompt: Let’s sychronize
We have a team of builders working on our 13 appartment building. After 20 years someone decided it was time to have an overall renovation. Only 20 years, yes, that is what I thought, but there were some that know it better: new building norms, bad isolation and a new roof of course. It is OK, we are Swiss, we have money, and why not. Our buiding will afterwards stand out in the village as the best and most perfect with its new vibrant green sun blinds which will absolutely not suit the surroundings and of course the coat (not two coats) of very light green pain. Yes the others will be green with envy. Basically our building was in an almost perfect condition, just a few signs of aging, but not end of the world atmosphere. It could have lived on for the next 20 years. Then I will be 90 years old and Mr. Swiss 100, so who cares.
However, let us not be silly. Every day I have a new experience for my camera: sometimes boring, sometimes exciting and now and again something completely different.
We are now at the final two months, or is it three, no-one really knows exactly. The facade is more or less insulated and now is the time to prepare for the final stages, before the artists move in with the paint. This morning I happened to be outside with the camera when Hans called from above “fertig”, meaning “ready”. Wolfgang called from below “OK” and then a roll of network was dropped from the top floor to the bottom (see photo). Wolfgang held the netting in place, pulled a little and then Joachim (OK I don’t know their names, but they were all speaking high German) who was in the middle began to paste over the netting.
Wolfgang at the bottom followed and I assume that Hans at the top was doing the same. This was building synchronisation.
Here we see Joachim kneeling on the upper level doing his pasting and Wolfgang below synchronizing his pasting work with the others. That is co-operation.
The whole building work has been synchronized from the beginning up to now. You cannot paint something that not yet exist. Everyone knows what to do next. Our complete building front is now encased in a net, two layers of net to be exact. It seems to be necessary before applying the final paint which will follow in two weeks according to those with the prefix “chief” before their names.
However, the weather does not always concentrate on synchronization. This afternoon a storm appeared with gale force winds and torrential rain. The buiders had fixed a plastic sheet to our windows to protect them from the pasty substances being used on the walls, but the weather gods found this an insult to their purpose and within five minutes the plastic was no longer fixed to the window. However, the workers had finished their job, and were already preparing to call it a day, so perhaps they did have a direct line to the weather gods and there was some sort of mystical arrangement. This could be the idea for a new book by Stephen King “Builders Weather Prophesies”. OK, just an idea.
Good Morning
We did it. After so many years gazing up at our local mountain Weissenstein from our back yard we decided it was time to again conquer the slopes and arrive at the top of its 1,395 meters above sea level. No we did not walk, we took the new gondola. When the kids were kids and Mr. Swiss and I young parents, we would now and again make an excursion to the mountain. Sometimes we even walked to the top (a day’s excursion) and ride down. We had also driven to the top with the car as it has quite a reasonable road for a mountain.
It used to be a chair lift to the top, but even chair lifts have signs of age and today it is a modern gondola railway. The basis station is quite a modern building We could park the car at the basis and enter to get our tickets. There is even a perfect lift to the ticket office as I am not so good at climbing stairs. The lady at the ticket office was an old friend of mine, a coincidence. She even looked that the gondola we were taking slowed down nicely for me to climb into with my stick. And so we were on our way.
The cabins are quite comfortable with room for at least 6 people. It was just Mr. Swiss and I and a young man that asked politely if he could join our cabin. He had his bicycle with him and was dressed accordingly with all the bike gear. The cabins are made so that you can just hook your bike to the outside. He left us at the middle station, Nesselboden, to do his bike exercises to the top. We were very comfortable and I was naturally snapping away with the camera most of the time.
After 20 minutes we sighted the restaurant and hotel at the top. From ground level you can see its outlines at the top of the mountain, but today we were within reaching distance. It is also a favourite place for glider people to start their journeys, although today we saw no-one. The weather was perfect, sunny and pleasant temperatures. There was no clear view of the alps however. I had my camera with the “normal” lens but also took my 300 zoom lens – you never know. Mr. Swiss was an ideal lens carrier. You have to have this boys with you when you are on safari.
We made ourself comfortable on the terrace of the restaurant with a wonderful view. As it was already afternoon, we did not bother with food, just a drink to keep us alive.
I was surprised with the result of this photo looking down on our town of Solothurn. You could even see the cathedral in the middle as well as the railway station – the wonders of modern lens techniques.
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I also captured the River Aar as it meanders through the Solothurn countryside with its little island in the middle. The island is farm land and the farmer now has problems with the development of his farm. The state are not giving permission for various extensions that he wants to make and he will probably move away eventually. I have been on the island and it is paradise. Groups can book the island for a day with food bar-b-q and places to relax: even take swim around the island.
Another rewarding view is of the Lake of Biel, which is about 30 kilometers by road from where we live. From a height everything seems so near. Here you can see the lake with the St. Peters peninsula in the middle. On the other side you can see the lake of Murten.
After a little more than an hour we decided on the descent. Actually we are quite near and decided to do this more. About 10-15 minutes to the basis station from where we live, and 20 minutes ascent was not so long. Mr. Swiss said it is also a wonderful place in Winter, although I am not so sure that I would manage so well walking on icy surfaces.
Here we are entering the station on the descent. Unfortunately the photo has some reflections from the sun light, but you get the idea. You can see the parking spaces below where we had left our car. On busy days you would be lucky to find a space for anything. I am not keen on long journeys, but this was feasible. We were back home in no time. I spent more time on processing my 150 photos in the evening that the actual visit, but it was worth it and we will be back. Of course more will follow of this memorable afternoon but now I should do other things like housework.
Again I am spared with window cleaning because we have no windows. The workmen are covering them with plastic to protect them from being plastered with resideue from the walls which they are smoothing down.
Have a nice day everyone, I will be back.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 