Switzerland Tour

[Vevey] 

Sept 24 - drove a 32-person bus for 16 students, 1 professor, and Lucy Ferrarri (founder of the school and amazing tour-guide--also 75 years old); drove through the Alps on mountain roads- unbelievable views; went to a Da Vinci museum; explored Chateau de Chillion - castle formally used as a prison; enjoyed Vevey's city + lake in the evening

[Bern]

Sept 25 - tour of USM furniture factory in the morning; outstanding 4-course lunch provided by USM (fish, salad, white wine, veal, red wine, dessert) - the best meal of my life; went to the Bern bear pit in the city and fed the bears; walked around the town and arcades that line the streets; ran through the fountains in the middle of town

Sept 26 - toured Naef factory (hand-made toys); visited the Paul Klee museum by Renzo Piano

[Solothurn]

Sept 27 - walking tour of Solothurn (Lucy's hometown); sketched around town

[Basel] 

Sept 28 - walking tour of Basel via Frank's architect friend; visited Herzog and deMeuron brain-injury recovery clinic, some other Herzog projects, as well as a Gehry and Diener&Diener project for a college in Basel

Sept 29 - art exhibit at Foundation Beyeler; Schaulager building + the train switching station (Herzog projects- their firm is based in Basel so a lot of their works are here + they're one of my favorite architecture firms)

Sept 30 - went to the Vitra campus (Vitra reproduces designer chairs once the designers no longer manufacture - there are also many buildings that are by well-known architecture designers (Herzog, Gehry, Zaha Hadid, and others); we toured the compound, some of the buildings, and show-room/museum; drove to the Tingley museum (artist that uses many components and mechanisms to make his junk pieces interact) 

[Ronchamp, France --> Zurich]

Oct 1 - sketched and visited Notre Dame du Haut in France (Corbusier's well-known chapel)

Oct 2 - IWC Schaffhausen watch factory tour; private showing at the Kunst modern art gallery with exhibitions by Sol leWitt, Bruce Naumann, and some other cool artists from the 60's until now; what was especially cool was the fact that some of these paintings (directly onto the wall) or exhibitions have been there since the 60s and will now move from their position as the world changes around them

Oct 3 - walking tour of Zurich via Lucy (in the rain); walked around Zurich to see a few buildings and see the Freitag factory store (company that recycles shipping bags into side bags, wallets, etc; ate an amazing turkish kebap (which the guys lived off of while we were traveling) - better than Greek food

[Bregenz, Austria -->Vals, Switzerland]

Oct 4 - Kunsthaus by Peter Zumthor for a ridiculously perverted art installation (we did not know about); visited a sweet waterfall on the way to Vals;

drove on barfy winding roads and I got wicked carsick and put my head on the seat the entire time; reached Vals Thermal Baths (Peter Zumthor project); went into the baths (which are tucked away in the Alps) until a 4-course dinner at 9 pm

Oct 5 - awoke at 7 am to go into the baths for a few hours (the baths consist of--for example--a lavender bath, a fire bath (107 degrees F), an ice bath, a meditation room, open showers with different heads, and a bath that goes outside with jets places; it was basically the most romantic, relaxing, and absolutely fantastical place I've ever been; it was a crazy feeling being in the water in the outside bath and outside in 40 degree weather IN the Alps with snow all around us; relaxingly drove to Sumvitg on the way back to Riva to see a chapel as well as more of the Alps countryside; the day was perfect and it was one of the best views yet on the trip; I found a patch of sunflower plants and spent some time relaxing on a rock

drove home through the Alps again...beauty at its finest.