Culture in Basel

Day 4

Well another jet lagged night left me up until 3.30 a.m., but luckily I have my friends in the U.S. to keep me "company" online when I can't sleep. But today was another good day.

I ventured out late in the afternoon to a museum called "Foundation Beyeler." Apparently it's a pretty famous museum that brings amazing exhibits to town (link as follows). They're currently showing the standards (Monet, Rousseau - does nothing for me!, Picasso, etc.), but the treat is close to 100 paintings / lithographs by Edvard Munch (munk), most would recognize him as the "Scream" artist. I spent about an hour inside and then sat on the grounds which were absolutely spectacular (photos as follows). It's about 20 minutes by tram from downtown Basel right on the border of Germany. I walked around the little village, had lunch, and took in the sites. I'm still not sure about the difference between Expressionism and Impressionism, but Munch was apparently the father of Expressionism. Although some of his stuff is a little dark for me, there were a few that just jumped off the wall. And I didn't know that a lot of his replicas were actually lithographs which was apparently cutting edge back then. He also incorporated rudimentary photography into his artistic creativity. And by the time he was 32 he'd lost both his parents and younger brother and sister. Which also had a tendency to come through in his work. One of my favorites was of a little blonde girl around 5-years old with piercing blue eyes called "Sad Child." It was absolutely haunting and the crystal clear blue eyes jumped off of the canvas.

http://www.beyeler.com/fondation/index_language.html

Afterward my new boss took me to the best French restaurant in town (she's French via London) and we sat outside for three hours enjoying great food as the weather dropped into the upper 50s with no humidity. It was a little warm today, but with no humidity. If the rest of the summer is like this, I will survive for sure. The hotel / brasserie where we ate was delish! Here is a link to the restaurant and B&B. http://www.au-violon.com/index.cfm/SE-9AA6AD43/?&lang=en


For those of you that will be around in NY June 5 to 10, I will be back in NYC to visit. I will be in Chicago and will fly back via NY! I can't wait! :)

My air shipment arrives tomorrow afternoon which means I will have my pillow, lots and lots of pillows, duvet, sheets, more shoes, food staples. I am SO thrilled. I've felt like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock with my molecules spread around the universe!

Please do keep in touch. I'm six hours ahead here but phone calls are always welcome. If you're dialing from the U.S. it's 011.41.61.361.8020 and you can get pre-paid phone cards very cheap! Next week I will e-mail my work contact information and then my permanent mobile phone form work when I receive it.

Miss everyone bunches!