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| Tram, Basel |
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| Town Hall, Basel |
The train arrived in Basel just before midday, 1 1/4 hours late! I was here for the next leg of the trip - to visit the Museum fur Volkerkunde and catch up with Anthropologist Sylvia Ohnemus whom I had met while she was researching Pacific cultural material at the Australian Museum. the previous year.
I had a reasonable trip but still arrived pretty tired so I booked into the relatively inexpensive Hotel Greub. Basel seems quite nice for Switzerland - I had previously spent time in the French portion of the country which had an entirely different atmosphere.
After a nice hot bath I slowly made my way to the museum - no time to waste. I met Sylvia Ohnemus who was very welcoming and after a short discussion we went to see Peter, the photographer engaged by the anthropology department. I talked to him for the rest of the afternoon, sharing experiences and knowledge about object pkotography.
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| Sylvia Ohnemus |
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| Peter, Photographer |
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| Setup for small objects |
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| Photo studio |
Later I went for a walk in the town. Basel seems to be more like Australia than Italy, more multicultural, atmosphere and food - it's hard to describe. There are lots of big department and chainstores as opposed to the small ones I saw in Italy. It was not too cold only 9°. I ate dinner at the "M" Restaurant, a self service part of the shopping complex and it was OK.
Friday, 5 February
The next day, Friday, I spent the morning viewing the oceanic exhibition and then had lunch with Sylvia, Christine Schmd-Kocher and Bridget Obrist which was very good. I also had an informative discussion with Christine about computer cataloguing, something I was interested in starting at the Australian Museum. I also met the highly energetic Maria Arria from Brazilian who was sorting and mounting old prints from the Americas. In the afternoon I talked longer with Sylvia and then Barbara Frey about conserving and cataloguing photo collections. She promised to give me some information on Monday. I tried in vain to find a cheap place to eat and ended up at Harveys Bar for some curry and rice with salad.
Saturday, 6 February
I didn't sleep too well, I think I'm getting a cold or maybe just run down. Anyway I went to the museum and looked at the rest of the anthropology exhibitions and came back to the hotel for a bread roll and a rest. At 2 PM I went back to the museum and looked at the natural history exhibition. It was okay but I thojght the presentation was a bit dated in sections. I had a bite to eat back at the hotel and then a walk and an ice cream.
After a late start I went to the Katzen (Cat) Museum – it was an old mansion chock-full of paraphernalia with a strange woman in charge and smelt like cat piss - ugh. I then visited the toy museum nearby, interesting, before going to Catherine and Kary's house on the edge of town. We talked for an hour or so until their friends Christine and George arrived. Catherine and Kary invited me to stay there while in Basel which was very generous. In the afternoon I went to the Kunst Museum which was fantastic – didn't see it all but I must go back.
The first photos are of paintings by Bocklin and the woman and the landscape were by Holder, 1902.
Monday, 8 February
I rang Qantas in Zurich to confirm my flight for the 22nd back to Australia which would give me a full week in Switzerland. I spent most of the day with Sylvia and Michael, looking at the Oceania store and discussing collections. I had dinner at Sylvia's place which is nicely furnished one bedroom flat in the suburbs of Basel. I went back to Catherine and Kary's place and crashed out - my throat was quite sore.
Tuesday, 9 February
I definitely have a cold – I feel really run down. I stayed at home most of the day except to go to the bank (300 SF on VISA) and the post office. I was invited to dinner with Christine and George. I started reading The Colour Purple which is really great and I just want to read it straight through to the end. Christine and George live in Reihen so I walked to their place which was a bit tiring but had a great dinner – chicken cooked in a broth with vegetables and rice. I went with George to feed his brown sheep in their barn and then back to Catherine and Kary’s for some more wine. We talked until midnight which did my voice no good at all.
Wednesday, 10 February
I took it easy this morning and mainly read. I rang Dani to tell her my changed plans and get Michelle's phone number in Lutry near Lausanne. I had lunch with Bridget and Caesar (a political refugee from the Philippines) he gave a talk at the Institute of Anthropology which is next to the museum where the anthropology students have classes. Christine Bridget and some students and I discussed the talk, anthropology and life in general for a couple of hours and then I went back home. Catherine made some nice spaghetti al Pesto before they went off for a sauna.
Thursday, 11 February I feel pretty ratshit but there’s lots to do. After making phone calls in the morning to organise a few things I went to the Cartoon Museum and met and talked to Susp the cartoonist as well as half of the museum and had a great talk about cartooning and promised to send him addresses of cartoonists in Australia. I rushed to meet Barbara Frey for lunch to discuss the finer points of her report and just converse which was enjoyable but then I was late to meet Wolfgang Suter (natural history photographer) who was confused about what I wanted, as was I. He only spoke French and a bit of English, but after while things warmed up and we talked for over three hours altogether. I promised him a photo of mine (he does a lot of landscape photography) and copies of photographs I took. Catherine, Kary and I went to the Akropolis, a Greek restaurant in nearby Germany for dinner which I shouted at 80 SF that was good food and good fun.
Friday the 12th of February I spent the morning farting around helping Catherine prepare for her English exam. It was a foul day, raining a bit of snow. Eventually I got going because Sylvia rang and said that the Australian Museum had rung and would ring back. In fact it was Dani who wanted to know if I was going to teach – yes. I talked to Christian Kaufmann while I was there, mainly about Firenze University Museum and then bought 45 SF worth of postcards from the Museum shop. That evening Catherine, Bridget (her friend) and I had dinner at the Martech (a brand of Swiss beer) Restaurant where the locals have their own table (this is normal here in Reihen. Very good pizza. I am learning a bit of Swiss German but it's different to German and closer to Alsacian. I went to bit early because I still felt a bit crook.
Saturday, 13 February A beautiful clear and sunny day. Although I got a bit of a late start I was feeling slightly better. I first went to Marketplatz and wondered around. It was really nice buskers, sunny day, people shopping and had an attack of loneliness. I then want to the Montefiori car museum (8SF) which is good for cars enthusiasts, but at least had a few interesting bikes. Then I went to the Goetheanum in Dornach which was very impressive. I had another great pizza in the Martech Restaurant with Catherine and Jenna talked about Swiss attitudes, travelling, etc. which was quite pleasant.
Sunday, 14 February I help Catherine with the English again this morning which took up most of the morning. I went to the Kunst Museum again which was still overwhelming before going to Allschwil for their Fasnacht where I took about four rolls of film. It was quite overwhelming and exciting although I imagine at night in Basel it would be even more so. It was too late to revisit the cartoon museum and had coffee with Sylvia (she plans to come to Australia later this year) which was quite a bit sad realising that I was leaving soon. I had dinner with Christine and George and Catherine and Carrie (farewell dinner) which had the same feeling, exciting, but sad to be leaving Basel.
Friday, 5 February
The next day, Friday, I spent the morning viewing the oceanic exhibition and then had lunch with Sylvia, Christine Schmd-Kocher and Bridget Obrist which was very good. I also had an informative discussion with Christine about computer cataloguing, something I was interested in starting at the Australian Museum. I also met the highly energetic Maria Arria from Brazilian who was sorting and mounting old prints from the Americas. In the afternoon I talked longer with Sylvia and then Barbara Frey about conserving and cataloguing photo collections. She promised to give me some information on Monday. I tried in vain to find a cheap place to eat and ended up at Harveys Bar for some curry and rice with salad.
Saturday, 6 February
I didn't sleep too well, I think I'm getting a cold or maybe just run down. Anyway I went to the museum and looked at the rest of the anthropology exhibitions and came back to the hotel for a bread roll and a rest. At 2 PM I went back to the museum and looked at the natural history exhibition. It was okay but I thojght the presentation was a bit dated in sections. I had a bite to eat back at the hotel and then a walk and an ice cream.
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| Catherine and Kary |
The first photos are of paintings by Bocklin and the woman and the landscape were by Holder, 1902.
Monday, 8 February
I rang Qantas in Zurich to confirm my flight for the 22nd back to Australia which would give me a full week in Switzerland. I spent most of the day with Sylvia and Michael, looking at the Oceania store and discussing collections. I had dinner at Sylvia's place which is nicely furnished one bedroom flat in the suburbs of Basel. I went back to Catherine and Kary's place and crashed out - my throat was quite sore.
Tuesday, 9 February
I definitely have a cold – I feel really run down. I stayed at home most of the day except to go to the bank (300 SF on VISA) and the post office. I was invited to dinner with Christine and George. I started reading The Colour Purple which is really great and I just want to read it straight through to the end. Christine and George live in Reihen so I walked to their place which was a bit tiring but had a great dinner – chicken cooked in a broth with vegetables and rice. I went with George to feed his brown sheep in their barn and then back to Catherine and Kary’s for some more wine. We talked until midnight which did my voice no good at all.
Wednesday, 10 February
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| With Catherine and Kary |
Thursday, 11 February I feel pretty ratshit but there’s lots to do. After making phone calls in the morning to organise a few things I went to the Cartoon Museum and met and talked to Susp the cartoonist as well as half of the museum and had a great talk about cartooning and promised to send him addresses of cartoonists in Australia. I rushed to meet Barbara Frey for lunch to discuss the finer points of her report and just converse which was enjoyable but then I was late to meet Wolfgang Suter (natural history photographer) who was confused about what I wanted, as was I. He only spoke French and a bit of English, but after while things warmed up and we talked for over three hours altogether. I promised him a photo of mine (he does a lot of landscape photography) and copies of photographs I took. Catherine, Kary and I went to the Akropolis, a Greek restaurant in nearby Germany for dinner which I shouted at 80 SF that was good food and good fun.
Friday the 12th of February I spent the morning farting around helping Catherine prepare for her English exam. It was a foul day, raining a bit of snow. Eventually I got going because Sylvia rang and said that the Australian Museum had rung and would ring back. In fact it was Dani who wanted to know if I was going to teach – yes. I talked to Christian Kaufmann while I was there, mainly about Firenze University Museum and then bought 45 SF worth of postcards from the Museum shop. That evening Catherine, Bridget (her friend) and I had dinner at the Martech (a brand of Swiss beer) Restaurant where the locals have their own table (this is normal here in Reihen. Very good pizza. I am learning a bit of Swiss German but it's different to German and closer to Alsacian. I went to bit early because I still felt a bit crook.
Saturday, 13 February A beautiful clear and sunny day. Although I got a bit of a late start I was feeling slightly better. I first went to Marketplatz and wondered around. It was really nice buskers, sunny day, people shopping and had an attack of loneliness. I then want to the Montefiori car museum (8SF) which is good for cars enthusiasts, but at least had a few interesting bikes. Then I went to the Goetheanum in Dornach which was very impressive. I had another great pizza in the Martech Restaurant with Catherine and Jenna talked about Swiss attitudes, travelling, etc. which was quite pleasant.
Sunday, 14 February I help Catherine with the English again this morning which took up most of the morning. I went to the Kunst Museum again which was still overwhelming before going to Allschwil for their Fasnacht where I took about four rolls of film. It was quite overwhelming and exciting although I imagine at night in Basel it would be even more so. It was too late to revisit the cartoon museum and had coffee with Sylvia (she plans to come to Australia later this year) which was quite a bit sad realising that I was leaving soon. I had dinner with Christine and George and Catherine and Carrie (farewell dinner) which had the same feeling, exciting, but sad to be leaving Basel.
