Today's options were to hike over a mile up a steep valley to see a chapel, or to go with those who wanted a "nature day" to see a glacier. Either one would have been pretty cool, but either one required me to carry all of my things with me as there are no lockers at the respective train stations. I packed lightly for this field trip; all of my things fit into one backpack, including my purse and day bag. However, it's still fairly heavy, and even when I am not laden down I have trouble keeping up with my group. This made the hike very much unappealing due to the fact that I would probably only have about 10 minutes to observe/enjoy the chapel before turning around to head back down. Also, those who chose to go to the glacier instead are the fittest of our group, bikers and backpackers who keep their bodies in pristine condition through everyday routine. Keeping up with such bodies of steel really is a rather daunting idea to me, and asking the whole group to slow down for my sake would just be rude. Therefore, I decided to return to Scudellate today since the town where we will all meet tonight is near here. This makes today my first rest day in 3 weeks (much needed), and allows me a chance to update this blog and shower in a real shower (which I did first). The itinerary made the first day of the trip a travel day, indicating to meet up first thing in the morning the next day in Zurich. I, along with most of my group, decided to take the 7am bus from Scudellate instead of spending money on a hostel that night.
Day 1 - Zurich
(Every city seems to have a lake - this one is Zurich's.)
We spent the first day in Zurich, where we "rented" bikes for free and toured the city. With a 20-franc deposit, you can check out a bike for the day and get your deposit back in full when you return your bike by the end of the day. It's really quite wonderful.
I had to check in to my hostel between 3:00 and 3:30, so I missed the first thing the group saw. As I was riding my bike towards the side of town where my group was checking out said building, I passed a trio playing music. Knowing I wasn't going to make it down there before they turned around to come back, I stopped to listen. Two of them had instruments, the third was watching. I clapped at the end of the song, and asked the third if he plays music. He's a pianist, and it's rather difficult to bring a piano to a lake-side walk. I said he should be dancing if he's not making music, and he said, "Well then would you dance with me?" I asked him what style of dance he knows. It's amazing how much fun it can be to dance with someone who doesn't know how.
My group caught up to me while I was dancing with this young man from Zurich. Some of them took pictures, so don't worry friends and family, you'll be able to see them at some point. I'm curious as to how they turned out; the only pictures I have of myself dancing are part of a photo shoot with my boyfriend, quite different.
After we turned the bikes in, I went with my teacher and three other students to find a famous (in some circles) hole-in-the-wall cafe where ideas and inspiration have been discussed throughout history. It was, like all the rest of this trip, hot enough to make you sweat even inside. We had an interesting conversation, those three students being three of those in my group for whom I have a decidedly strong sense of respect. After the cafe, we turned in our bikes, went to a grocery store, and went our separate ways. I ate at my hostel, made friends with a man from Australia, and met a woman who was born in Mendrisio, which is between Scudellate (where we live) and Lucarno (our project site), and who goes to school in California.
Day 2 - Dying Lion of Lucerne
(Mark Twain saw this and called it something like the most moving and most saddening piece of stone he'd ever seen.)
I met the group at the train station at 8am in order to go to Lucerne, half the country away from Zurich. There we found a lot of interesting things, including an intervention that was done on a train station, and therefore relates to our design project. Then half the group went to a different city to see a museum, which I skipped because it would have cost me over 60 Swiss Francs (over $50) each way for the train, plus the cost of entry to a museum. Instead, I stayed in Lucerne long enough to see the famous Dying Lion of Lucerne, then went back to Zurich, where I had booked 4 nights at my hostel, seeing as our teacher made Zurich the central hub of this part of our field trip.
In Zurich I went to the Coop, which is a chain of grocery stores in Switzerland with relatively good prices. I found peanut butter for my first time in Switzerland, bought a jar, and have been snacking on it since, hoping it will stop me from continuing the weight loss I've been experiencing since my arrival. When I went back to the hostel, I found kindred spirits in two young men from New York state. They had just finished high school and are touring Europe before starting complicated majors at impressive universities. It is interesting to me that, despite being such an intuition-based person, I have more in common with engineering majors than I do with architecture majors. Hanging out with this pair was just as refreshing as spending an evening with my friends from back home. Much needed, much enjoyed.
That night there was a pretty great live band playing in the courtyard below the hostel, so I taught one of the pair how to blues right there in the hostel before we went down to dance in the courtyard. Two very drunk girls soon joined us, followed by a hunk without a shirt. They don't exactly dance the same way I do...
Day 3 - Rolex Building and Jazz Festival
(Rolex Building)
The next morning we met at the train station again, this time heading to the opposite side of the country, the very western end, to see the Rolex building. It is a polytechnic school, and is one of those buildings that makes me point and say to my teachers, "See?! I told you it's build-able!" The Rolex building is built like a curved plane. Picture a piece of paper with large round holes in it. Now imagine pushing up parts of that paper so that it touches the ground in some places, but not others. That is the Rolex building. It slopes gently up off the ground to go smoothly over people's heads and back down to the other side. The holes are spaced so that natural light reaches all areas. The outdoor space under the building is the perfect temperature in the summer, which is truly saying something in this climate. This is the sort of thing I would design, and be immediately told that it's impractical, un-build-able, a waste of my time; Ishould move on to realistic things. I think, after seeing this and other buildings on this trip, that perhaps my designs are not all that unrealistic, and that going away from designs I believe in could have contributed to the recent death of my passion for architecture.
("Shiny Shoes," live in a public park)
When we left the Rolex building, we then headed to a nearby town where there is a jazz festival. Live music in the park, more in a large room in an even larger hotel. The band in the park was very fun to watch. I felt that I had been momentarily moved to a prior era, and was thoroughly enjoying myself. Each song began to sound like the last, and I had no one to dance with, so when my teacher and one other student decided to head for the indoor jazz, I went with them.
I heard a woman make her voice sound like a jazz horn.
That moment alone was enough to make me feel that the 3 hours of trains back to my hostel were worth it. She had the most amazing female voice I've ever heard in jazz. I didn't get to stay long, because I wanted to make it to the Coop in Zurich by the time it closed at 10, but what I did hear will stay with me forever, and that is priceless.
I doubt I shall ever again travel without a dancer. Call-out to my boyfriend: You are coming with me next time.
I missed the Coup by five minutes because the train was 15 minutes late, something unheard of in Switzerland. It was due to a power outage in the main Zurich station. Prior to this, the latest train I've ridden in Switzerland was two minutes late, and I've been riding trains nearly every day, often more than once. Luckily I had back-up food with me, and didn't starve, but I sure had a big breakfast the next day.
Day 4 - The Day of One Building
(garden in Ronchamp, France)
Yup, you guessed it - we really did spend an entire day on one building. This one was in France, so our Swiss passes only got us to the border. I spent 48 Swiss Francs and 15 Euros (total is about $70 or so) in train tickets just to get from the border to this place and back to Switzerland again. Not happy, but glad to see one of my favorite buildings from architecture history: the chapel at Ronchamp.
We met in Zurich at 8am, and got to Ronchamp at about 1:30. This is due to multiple hour-long waits for trains at various connecting stations. We all missed Swiss efficiency that day.
We spent roughly and hour or a little less hiking up to the chapel, where we would have five hours. Yes, five. To look at one building. Most people took a nap or two, including myself. This time delay was due to the train schedule; there was no way to get back sooner. I feel, however, that our time could have been put to very good use had our teacher used an hour or two of this time for another watercolor lesson, something which is part of our curriculum and far less annoying than taking a third nap in the same afternoon when no one is ill. I did not, unfortunately, get this idea until I had already walked most of the way back down to the town, where I spent over an hour looking for a grocery store, finding one, getting some food, and walking back to the train station. It was a fabulous hour. I got to see gargoyles in person for the first time, which I love in a way similar to arrow slits in castles. I found a beautiful stream, a gorgeous bridge, and some very cheap food. Food in France seems to be much cheaper than here. I got a 1.5 liters of apple juice for 70 cents in Euros (about a dollar), something which would have cost a good 2 or 3 francs (or dollars) in Switzerland. The smart ones did grocery shopping at the last stop in France on the way back.
(Oh yeah!)
Day 5 - Today
I've already told you how and why I ended up at the ostello. What I didn't tell you is that, while writing this blog, I missed the last bus of the day to get out of here. I knew what time the last bus was, I saved what I had written to post later, and I was all packed up and ready to go right at 6:35 like the bus driver had said through a woman who knew English. Either she misunderstood my question, he misunderstood her, or she miscalculated the time (they use "military" time here) when she translated to English. There was no bus at 6:35, and the locals say there are no more today, and that even if I walk to Muggio there won't be another bus to Chiasso. That means I'll miss the Opening Day party at the Peter Greenway exhibit in the museum where our site is. I was looking forward to this more than anything except the baths at Vals. Good thing I haven't booked a place yet in Lucarno, or I'd be out the money.
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