Expats at Home

I have been living in Switzerland for over fifteen months now. The culture shock is long past and I am very comfortable here. (This does not mean I do not miss Canada, by the way).

The tour begins. Here I give a lesson about watching for trams. Otherwise they can kill you.

On Parents' Weekend, I volunteered to lead a guided tour of Bern for any visiting family members as well as students who wished to come along. I ended up in charge of a group of thirty! Such is my comfort level in Switzerland's capital that I knew exactly which route to follow through the city, and, without any notes, I was able to explain a little local history. Bob was a valued assistant that day–he knows Bern even better than I do–and he acted as our photographer.

Charlotte's sister and Lauren's dad try to capture the view from the Bundeshaus.

I won't bore you with too many details of my tour. Instead, I will let the photos tell the story.I have described Bern in several earlier blog posts; suffice it to say–it is a beautiful place.

Grace and her mom happily together.

We had a couple of moments of serendipity: I had forgotten that the Saturday market was so charming, and that delayed us just long enough that we were in place in front of the Zytglogge (clock tower) at noon, when its performance is at its best.

Watching the clock with Nicole's mom and grandmother

I enjoyed chatting with the parents as we explored Bern together. The students this year are very good company and I could see where their lovely manners come from.

The group on the main street.

I also enjoyed seeing the families reunited over this weekend. How joyful it must have been for them to be together again after two months apart!

The garden below Munsterplatz in Bern

A view over Bern

Bern put on a lovely face on this fall Saturday. There were still sufficient leaves on the trees to add golds and oranges to the landscape but enough of them had fallen to the ground to give us clear views over the city.

Lorenzo and Dan pose for Bob

Family time.

I was pleased to see that the Bear Garden had been reopened since my last visit, although there was only one bear in residence. Better than none.

On the way to see the bears

The last stop of the tour was the Rosengarten overlooking the city. Only about half of the group followed us there, but  most who did so also stayed for lunch, where again we got to know each other better.

Fred and his dad on their way to the Rosengarten

From that point, individual families were on their own for the rest of the day, as were Bob and I. We made time to shop at the English bookstore before we headed home.

What a great view over lunch!

A week later, Bob and I were off to Basel, a city much less familiar to us, although I had visited it twice last winter. It was now November, but we were blessed with absolutely beautiful weather for our 27 hours in the city.

Basel is beautiful too.

Coincidentally, this was the weekend of Herbstmesse, an autumn carnival which brought out families looking for food, games, and rides. This added to the atmosphere of the place.

Ferris Wheel at night

Another ride

As we usually do, Bob and I tackled Basel on foot. It is well-known for its museums and galleries. Our first stop was a church which had been turned into one of these. With attendance at services dropping drastically in Europe, this might become more common in the future.

Church turned art gallery and Tinguely sculptures

Just around the corner, we came upon the Gallery of Modern Art with whimsical Tinguely sculptures in motion in a fountain in front of it.

The Herbstmesse at Barfüsserplatz

Not far away was the first site of the Herbstmesse, in front of another transformed church, now a Museum of History. It was here almost a year ago that I had visited the Basel Christmas market.

The Munster

A short walk away, we arrived at Munsterplatz, and more rides. The contrast between the colourful and noisy carnival and the stately church was striking. Still, it provided Bob with some intriguing photo opportunities.

Great contrast of the old and the new.

The view from the cloister.

The Munster looks over the Rhine river, which was our next destination. An old-fashioned cable boat ride is the best way to make a crossing. It takes only a few minutes and costs very little. From the other side of the river, we had an even better view of the Basel.

The view from across the Rhine

On the cable boat.

As we made our way back toward our hotel, we stopped at the Basel Rathaus (city hall). It is a remarkable building, in large part because it is a shocking red. Its walls are very colourful as well, festooned with art in the Swiss German style also popular in Lucerne.

The Rathaus at dusk

Inside the Rathaus

The next morning, on another glorious day, we headed to the outskirts of the city to visit another expat at home in Switzerland (hence the title of this post). Theresa is a former student of mine who, with her husband and family, has been living in the country as long as I have. She had invited us for a delicious brunch.

Theresa, husband Tom and baby Kieran. Fiona was camera shy.

The weather was so inviting that we headed out for a walk shortly afterwards to the Wasserturm near her home, a water tower that offers fine views over the surrounding area. From the top, we could see to France and Germany in the distance.

The Wasserturm and a dinosaur too.

Nearby, we stopped to gather some flowers at a community garden which runs on an honour system. The flowers stood proudly in the sunshine on this day and the bees were busy at work. This was a very charming spot. It seemed uniquely Swiss.

In the garden

A perfect Dahlia

Back at the house, we enjoyed some play tme in Fiona's room–I was given the honour of hiding with her in the secret hideaway–before we headed back to the centre of the city, and shortly thereafter, back to Neuchâtel.

Fiona and her lego castle

It has been twenty-five years since I taught Theresa but our common experience of moving to Switzerland has brought us together after all this time. We Canadian expats from Woburn C.I. can always find common ground.