The Kaserne in Brugg
The Casino Brücke (bridge) over the Aare in Brugg. The yellow building is - actually all the buildings are - part of the army barracks here. A view from over on that side appeared here last March (20080306 Newer bridge in Brugg).
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6 comments:
Life does not seem to be as busy over there as here. Our roads are almost always crowded - even in the middle of the day.
Did you get a closer shot of the Casino?
That's a really good view of the highway and the buildings in the background. Glad to see that the road isn't bumper to bumper.
I am enjoying the square images.
The road isn't busy because everyone is inside the kaserne doing their obligatory national service. A concept coming rapidly to the USA, land of monthly half million unemployment increases.
It's true that traffic volume levels are different beasts here from that in the US. By the way Conch, many of the exercises keep the soldiers in the woods and near the river where they practice building temporary bridges and whatnot. I've come across groups during my walks in the area. In the evenings sometimes one can see the fellows (they're all male -- although I think I've seen one female in uniform once) at the restaurants and other establishments in Brugg. But anyway, the system as it stands now wouldn't be of any use against unemployment: between the ages of 20 and 36, Swiss men must spend only 260 days in the service. Vegans are exempt (I'm not kidding, see here).
Another aside: public support for the compulsory national service has been waning over the last decades. Here are a couple of links to swissinfo articles on the topic:
2008 Army tradition loses more ground
2005 Swiss split on compulsory military service
2004 Debate heats up over Swiss army system
Baron: The 'Casino' building houses a restaurant serving Italian food. It is a pretty structure and I'll try to get a good photo when the light is right.
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