rolling hills

I have heard the phrase “rolling hills” a lot.  but I don’t think I really had an idea of what that meant until I was in Switzerland.  I was transfixed looking out the window in the car.  it was so green.  shades of green I had never imagined before.  what was even more incredibly amazing than the color was how high up houses were built into the mountains.  you can’t get electricity up there and, gasp!, internet but they sure were beautiful.  J told me that a lot of times when you live in those houses there aren’t even roads and you have to climb up each and every time.

dinner on the river

we drove with MF in the car back towards his house in Langenthal.  on the way back we stopped for dinner in Luzern.  we walked by the Jean Nouvel concert hall, admired the incredible cantilever, and had some dinner.  we ate at a beautiful little cafe right on the Reuss River and the lights were twinkling and reflecting.

after dinner MF walked us around old Luzern and showed us around a little.  we walked across the river on the Kapellbrucke, or Chapel Bridge.  it is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe!  it is a covered bridge that has incredible paintings of different times in Luzern history.  its original use was to protect Luzern from attacks.  it had flowers all around it and it was beautiful in the evening light.  this bridge and the water tower connected to it are the most famous landmarks in Switzerland.

on the way back to the car we also walked quickly through Santiago Calatrava’s rail station.  I love traveling with architects.

not all play!

we stayed overnight in Langenthal, which is a small town in Switzerland near Basel.  the neighborhood that MF lives in is very cool.  almost all the buildings are older farm type structures that have been converted into apartments, houses and even some businesses.  it was gorgeous.  D and J and I walked around a bit on Friday morning to scope out the area.  we saw this incredible Oriental barn (?) just covered in amazing details.

we consulted with MF for a while during the morning on our competition entry and then went out to see the progress on a villa that has already begun construction.  I got to wear a hard hat and some big boots.  going to see the site was especially cool for me because this is the same villa that E and I were designing a wine cellar and wardrobe for so I was fairly familiar with the plans.  it was so neat to see it really come to life!  I can’t wait to begin construction on my very own designs.

basically, everything I saw was delightful.  I love Switzerland.  if only it weren’t so darn expensive.