More creatures

20090425

Creatures large and small

20090425

Boating on the Aare

We were at the Schifflände establishment in Stilli to quench our thirst when this noisy object came by.

20090425

Georgia on my mind

I saw this car with US license plates from Georgia in Baden a few days ago. Proof of Baden is the BrownBoveri-strasse sign to the left of the traffic light. Brown Boveri were the founders of the engineering firm BBC that merged with ASEA around 1988 and is now known as ABB. Headquartered in Baden.

20090418

Wisteria starting to bloom

20090421

Tulips in a trough

20090421

From Uetliberg III: Residential blocks

Different styles of buildings, coexisting peacefully.

20090413

From Uetliberg II: Allotment gardens

Allotment (English Wiki link here, Schrebergarten Wiki link here) gardens in Zürich. Quite popular among apartment dwellers.

20090413

From Uetliberg I: Path

There's an observation deck one can climb up to and have a look around.

20090413

On the way up to Uetliberg III: Attack cat

Caution! Attack cat! Though the figurines tell a different story.

20090413

On the way up to Uetliberg II: Trees

20090413

On the way up to Uetliberg I: Water

20090413

Weird lampposts on Uetliberg

Uetliberg in Zürich is a nice place to visit. We hiked up from Triemli, had lunch at the Uto Kulm and then took the little train down.

I wonder what the story is behind these lampposts.

20090413

Toblerone lines near Rein

Grave reminders from the past, incorporated into the landscape. Perhaps more commonly known as dragon's teeth, this type of anti-tank construction was used in many parts of Europe (visit the Wiki entry at the link below to read more). I'm not sure when in Switzerland they were first referred to as the Toblerone lines.

Article on swissinfo.ch, though not about the line in our region of Switzerland: Toblerones.
Wikipedia article on this manner of fortifications: Dragon's teeth.

20090411

Alpacas in Rüfenach

A bunch of Alpacas hanging out in their mobile home in the neighboring village of Rüfenach.

20090412

White cat on a rock wall

This kitty looked a little awkward on the wall, but I'm sure she was able to make her way home just fine.

20090412

Without supports

Grape rootstock or such; it's strange to see them without the usual wire supports.

20090412

A carpet of flowers III

In Burgdorf near Bern.

20090410

View from Rein

A view of Villigen from the courtyard of the church at Rein.

20090411

Vegetables and eggs for sale

Direct sale from the farmer. This one sells various types of vegetables, potatoes and eggs. I haven't a clue what the first line used to say.

20090407 Nikon Coolpix 990

At the start of Spring

The progress here is slower than I expected (see 20090405 Just before Spring) which is actually good because I would have missed it otherwise.

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A carpet of flowers II

A walk through the woods is especially rewarding this time of year.

20090407 Nikon Coolpix 990

Duet

I thought this might be Ranunculus aconitifolius but I'm not sure. The leaves look about right, but the blossoms have too many petals and look different.

20090406 Nikon Coolpix 990

A carpet of flowers

20090405

Gnome in a bin

Update: Retitled Rough time for the Gnomes of Zürich. Credit goes to my reader Local Insider. - 10 April 2009

(I think this is a photo in search of a caption. What's your contribution? The one to make me laugh the longest will receive a postcard from Villigen).

20090405

Just before Spring

Thought I should get this posted before all the trees burst into leaves. Um, I think they already have... must check.

20090317

Biking Hauptstrasse

20090228

Three for the road

20090331

Ten francs, reverse side

I mentioned in yesterday's post that the reverse side of the note has the German and Rumantsch labels. The impressions of the text on the front can also be seen in this photo. Two of the motifs here are the Hall of Justice at Chandigarh in India and a depiction of Corbusier's Modulor scale of measure which is based on the Fibonacci series. Here are a couple of old posts mentioning the Fibonacci series: 20070310 Too pretty to eat and 20070201 Fibonacci sequence at the Zürich Hauptbahnhof).

Do you see the creases that divide the note into quarters? Many Swiss (mostly female, now that I think about it) fold their notes in this fashion and stuff them into their Portmonnaies. Now I've started to do the same... crikey!

This series of banknotes is the eighth in Swiss history and it started in 1995. A new series is in the works. A competition was held in 2005 and the outcome was rather controversial. The first place went to a design that was widely disliked by the masses. The upshot is that the design of the second place winner has been selected as the one with which to go forward. Apparently there will be additional changes to the initial designs but you can get an idea of them here: Swiss National Bank Competition Results.

20090402 Nikon Coolpix 990

Ten francs or yellow

As the first of the month, today is the City Daily Photo theme day and while I didn't sign up for it, I wanted to acknowledge it anyway. Please visit the community webpage to see what the participants have put up. Click here.

Pictured above is the ten Swiss franc note (CHF 10) featuring the architect Le Corbusier (an old post mentioning him is here). This side of the note is labelled in French and Italian. German and Rumantsch appear on the reverse side.

20090401 Nikon Coolpix 990