Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving


This is the same image I have on my Hart & Soul post as a way of saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Actually, it's the same image but in full color, instead of muted.

I was lucky enough to see this Münster reformed protestant church in Basel, Switzerland, when we were there a couple weeks ago. I was amazed at how accurate the time was on the sundial. I took the picture at 10:45 a.m. (click image to enlarge)!

Anyway, Thanksgiving best wishes to one and all! It's ALWAYS time to give thanks, no matter what our situation. Isn't that the key to happiness?!

Donica and I fly to Phoenix early tomorrow morning and then will drive to Sedona on Friday for a long weekend in the Red Rocks till Tuesday. We've always wanted to experience the vortexes there! I'll let you know if we come back as new/renewed women. :)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Basel and Bloggers FIRST

As I mentioned in my last post, Donica and I flew to Zürich, Switzerland, last week and worked (Donica) and played (me). Actually, Donica played, too, when she wasn't working!

Her main business was in Zürich, where I took most of my pictures (still working on them!), but she had to take the train to see her boss in Basel on Friday, so I tagged along and was out on my own all day, walking my feet off. In my own heaven!



Within yards of the train station, guess what I first saw! Yup. Starbucks! It was still too early to be open but I sure did take notice! They're everywhere, even in Europe.



Eventually, I tackled the old town, bordered on the east by the St. Alban gate (1400) above and the Spalentor gate (1370) on the west, below.



All the churches in between became my target for the day!
I'm such a glutton for them.



The first one was near St. Alban's gate and is called (of course) St. Alban's church (above)! I liked the coziness of all the trees on the grounds, with the old walls (below).





And there was the landmark Münster Church (above) with its cloisters (below) where I spent most of my time.



Then there were churches I saw from afar, while standing at other churches, not yet figuring out their names. I didn't care what they were called. They called me and that's what was important.







This one is Peterskirche (above), which I do remember because I was able to go inside (below).



I knew from the get-go that Donica and I would end up around 5:30p at the Town Hall to meet up with bloggers Canadian Swiss (Sandra) and husband Orange-X (Mark). But by then, it would be dark, so I had to get my pictures earlier in the day. It's one of the most colorful town halls anywhere in the world. Trust me!





By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was one tired puppy and was so ready to see Sandra and Mark, again. I had already met them in Amsterdam last March!



We met for before-dinner drinks across from the Town Hall.
Then we walked to our dinner restaurant at the Besenstiel = Broomstick. It just so happened that a couple hours earlier, I had coincidentally captured this image (below)!





Then it was time to say Good-Bye to some of the best of bloggers anywhere and walk to the train station for our one-hour ride back to Zürich.



At this point in time, we're talking about midnight! No wonder I was so tired. But it was that GOOD tired, of course, full of happy memories I'll never forget.

And that was just one day out of four! Hold your horses while I get to work on Zürich. It, too, was wonderful! In the meantime, here's the Basel Album.

Garderen Sand Sculptures 2025: "Amsterdam 750 Years"

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