“There is no such thing as development in general; there is only the development of the one or other or third or fourth or thousandth person. There have to be as many developmental processes as there are human beings on the earth.” Rudolf Steiner
Spent a wonderful day in Basel with Ruth, Walter and Rowenna. I don't know if Basel is listed among the top 100 cities in the world to visit, but if not it should be. This was my second visit to Basel and I truly love it. It's a beautiful old city, full of rambling cobblestone streets, vine=covered rock wall and lovely architecture. I must say too that it felt good to be back among that which is familiar and feels like home: familiar faces, food, music, culture.
Ruth and I met up with Walter and Rowenna at the train station after shopping around stores looking for “gummiesteifel” (rubber boots) for our upcoming trip to Finland. We headed then directly to the restaurant for Pizza. I'm stil suffering from sticker shock around here. Not only is everything more costly than in all the countries I've been traveling in, it's even significantly more costly than in the US. Lunch cost $20. That's per person. That's no drinks, no salads, no frills. Just a good pizza. Okay. Onward.
After lunch we wandered around Basel, shopping for boots and enjoying the culture. We finally found some reasonably priced boots, sandwiched in between two concerts at the Music School.
Oh, the wonders I have seen . . . .
A kinetic ferry across the Rhine. A cable stretches across the river which is attached to the prow of the ferry. By turning the rudder one way or the other and pointing the ferry upstream, the ferry will be pushed by the force of the water as it crosses the river.
An environmental education art show to raise awarenes of the importaince of not littering. The display Rowenna is pointing to uses a play on the German word “Grullt” which means “rubbish” but remove the double “l” and it means “to rest” or “to relax”. The sign says, “Rubbish by the Rhine” or “Relax by the Rhine.”
Here Walter points to the sign standing by each display which gives directions to the nearest trash can.
Beautiful fountains all around the city.
Great street performers. Drop a few coins in the hat and the Golden Man and his dog will come alive. The dog begins to bark and the man toddles to his feet as if his bones are old and aching, googles his springy eyes at you, opens a pocket on his chest that reveals a large plastic heart, and blows you a kiss. Then he carefully sits back down and pats the air above the dog to quiet him down. The best franc spent all day. :o)
Whimsical fountains. I must include 3 photos here. This is a pond in one of the central parks with a set of whimsical, mechanical fountains. First is a close up of one of the pieces, a machine with a sieve which eternally scoops up water and lets it drain out. Second a photo of several of the machines working. And last, the wonder and fascination it engenders in observers (Ruth and Rowenna).
Beautiful architecture everywhere you look.
A concert in the park to raise money and awareness for all the refugees (fluchtlingstag) who have been forced to flee their homelands and find save haven in Switzerland. This was a really good Basel raggae band. They gathered quite a crowd and had every jumping.
On Sunday afternoon, Ruth and I attended a 4-hour production of the Magic Flute put on by teachers, students and residents of a nearby anthroposophical school/community for children and adults with special needs. This was a remarkable performance in all respects: the costumes, stage settings, and performances where all near professional quality. Most remarkable of all though was to see the community members, those who are learning to cope with such challenges as down's syndrome and autism, in the performance. Really, really remarkable. This school/community houses some 50 residents, has a school for children, many of whom live at home with their families and come to school for the day, and has workshops and gardens. They have a bread bakery, a pottery shop, a bio-dynamic garden and farm animals. Bread, vegetables and pottery are created for their own use as well as for sale in the community at large.
No comments:
Post a Comment