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On the Road with Fast Eddie
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On the Road with Fast Eddie |
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| Hi everybody: Many months ago I did a couple of nice weekend trips I haven’t commented on yet, so here goes... One was to Strasbourg, France. This is in a part of France called Alsace-Lorraine in the southeastern part, a short distance from the German border. One point of interest for me there was that ancestors on my father’s side of my family emigrated from this area to the U.S. nearly 200 years ago. So now, having also visited the part of the Czech Republic formerly known as Bohemia where my mother’s parents came from in 1888, I have patched together a kind of half-assed “roots” journey - certainly nothing Alex Haley would rave about. Since Alsace-Lorraine was fought over by France and Germany many times over the last few hundred years and has changed hands often, there is a significant German influence there. There are as many Weinstuben lining the streets and squares as there are patisseries. The major point of interest for most visitors in this city is the Cathedrale de Strasbourg, an ornate, Gothic structure that soars upwards, towering over everything else at 142m (465 ft.). It was built between the 11th and 15th centuries and is quite spectacular. Inside is the Horloge Astronomique, a remarkable 16th century Swiss clock, which at 12:30 pm has all the apostles strutting around its face while a rooster crows to greet St. Peter - not something you see everyday. Because I was there in late November, the square laying in the shadows of the cathedral was home to the seasonal Christmas fair known as Weihnachtsmarkt; booth after booth chocked full of loads of goodies to fill Christmas stockings with. Or at least that seems to be the main point of going there. It’s a great place to wander through and shop, and I did just that while also sampling the classic drink Gluehwein, a hot wine with special herbs that definitely goes down easily on a chilly day, even though it was generally too sweet for my tastes. One was enough. I did a lot of exploring despite cold, rainy weather there. There’s some very nice architecture, a few noteworthy museums and a park called l’Orangerie, which was designed by the same man who did Versailles near Paris. Strasbourg is a pleasant, reasonably interesting and attractive city, and though I cannot say it’s really worth venturing far out of your way to see, it’s certainly a nice place to spend a day or two if you’re in the area. And there are some excellent white wines to found there, if that’s your pleasure. I also spent a “long weekend” in Switzerland, having received an invitation to visit a friend of mine who lives there. Albere was also an English teacher in Stuttgart when I was first there, and he now lives in Zug. A transplanted Aussie, he claims he now resides in near-heaven, and was quite eager to show off a part of his newly adopted country. As you might know, Switzerland has an Italian, a French and a German region. In the southern part, I was in “Die Schweiz” and I not only spent an evening in Zug, but also had a day in both nearby Zurich and Lucerne. Switzerland is prosperous, expensive, orderly, conservative and home to both lovely lakes and the magnificent Alps (called by John Ruskin “the great cathedrals of the earth”). Both Zurich and Lucerne boast their own picturesque lake, plus have Altstadts (Old Towns) with cobblestone streets and medieval architecture which are certainly attractive. Well-dressed Swiss strut here and there looking quite wealthy and efficient, which no doubt they are. Lucerne is particularly well-known for the 660-year-old Kapellbrucke, a famous wooden-roofed bridge decorated with Swiss historical scenes which was partially damaged a few years ago when a nearby barge caught fire, the flames thereby spreading to it. “No Smoking Allowed” on the bridge now. Down river just a short distance is the covered Spreuerbrucke, wonderfully adorned with eerie paintings. I liked both bridges enormously. I spent a day walking through Zurich and also found it to be quite lovely. The Grossmunster, a Romanesque cathedral built by Charlemagne, has looming twin towers that definitely impress. And then there’s the 13th century Fraumunster, with stained glass windows by Marc Chagall that are magnificent. In both cities, the streets are clean, life seems methodically well organized, and everything seems just a bit sterile to me. It was hard for me to picture the likes of James Joyce and Vladimir Lenin ever living there, which they did. I was not enchanted with either, but the fact that it was cold and dreary and the lakes were fogged in probably didn’t help my impression of them at all. And Switzerland is so bloody expensive... a big-time budget buster! In no time at all, you will easily find yourself going through money like a drunken sailor. London and Stockholm are wallet-bleeders too, but they have a magic and charm about them I just didn’t find in the cities of Switzerland. And it was easier to find ways to enjoy myself in London and Stockholm without spending money (most of the museums in London are free, for instance). But I think Albere summed it up well when he commented, “Switzerland is a great place to go outdoors and do outdoor things.” And to be fair, I’m sure it is much nicer in the summer when the cafes and parks are bustling, filled to the brim with people having a rollicking good time. However, one city in Switzerland I did fall in love with was Solothurn. Situated west of Zurich, it’s a gorgeous Baroque town that was recommended to me by a friend and fellow teacher, and I’m sure glad I went there. In 370 A.D., the Romans built a fort (remnants are still there), and since then various historical influences have blended to create one of the most unforgettably charming places I’ve ever been. The city straddles the Aare River, and walking around it you’ll soon discover sections of the medieval wall and arched gates, fountains, statues, residences of old ruling families with shuttered windows, the Cathedral of St. Ours (1439) and Jesuit church - plus much more in the way of stunning architecture and monuments. The cafes and public market are superb, as well. I derived great pleasure from sitting in classically quaint squares, slurping coffee drinks and wolfing down sinfully scrumptious German cakes. Solothurn is small with a population of only 16,000, but the range of culture is surprisingly wide. For example there’s an Ensemble Theatre, the Solothurn Film and Literature Festivals, the Classic Openair with well-known opera stars, an annual jazz festival, and numerous art galleries holding exhibitions. There are also several excellent museums and frequent concerts, one of which I attended while there. For this, I went to Grosser Konzertsaal Solothurn where Stadtorchester Solothurn performed works by Handel and Dvorak. These included a violin concerto (A Minor, op 53) by Dvorak, the soloist being a Slovak named Henrich Tatar, who stunned us with musical gymnastics and dramatic flair that would have done Paganini justice. He had more than a few of the women swooning! Apparantly Solothurn also has the most beautiful hostel in all of Switzerland... Unfortunately, despite it having 92 beds and it being mid-November (not exactly peak season), it was full when I got there shortly after noon. So I checked into a hotel called the Kreuz that was the cheapest in town according to the Tourist Info people: "only" $31 for a single (shared bath), but still not exactly fitting into my budget. The Kreuz has a sizable and lively bar, so after the concert I stopped for a nightcap and ended up talking with an old-time local resident who enjoyed telling me about his life in the Yukon many years ago, living off the land, fending off grizzly bears, etc. He was quite a character to say the least, and also shared his opinion that Swiss German is “a gross aberration of high German”, a rough translation lacking proper grammatical structure - a statement most Germans would readily agree with. At 12:30 a.m., I decided to call it a day but found to my dismay that being two floors above the band, with paper-thin walls in my room, getting to sleep was an impossibility, even with a nightcap and earplugs! Shortly after 1 a.m., the music mercifully stopped, but by then I’d discovered one reason the Kreuz was the cheapest hotel in Solothurn! So the bottom line is: go to Switzerland “to go outdoors and do outdoor things”, and definitely go to Solothurn anytime you can. But don’t stay at the Kreuz if you want to go to sleep before 1 am. And... don’t forget plenty of cash! |
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ To read Fast Eddie's adventures from the beginning, go here ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ CURRENT NEWS: ALL
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