5. Water cooler bottle

Water coolers are really rather rare over here, so I was a bit surprised to find this guy sitting out in Stilli. Can you see the carved face, with the red hat, near the top, left edge of the photo? Also very strange.

4. P for parking

This parking spot doesn't seem to get much use.

Evening sun on the Aare

20090831

Boating on the Aare

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

20090425

View from the bus

A view of Besserstein from the bus that goes to Villigen from Brugg. From the location where I shot this, the bus first stops in Stilli and then in Villigen Post before heading off to the PSI and beyond.

If you're going to zum Hirschen (as has been the case for several visitors I've noticed on the bus), then get off at the Villigen Post stop. You'll be standing on Hauptstrasse. Walk in the direction in which the bus drives off. The hotel/restaurant Hirschen is a couple of minutes on foot (after Gasthof Schlossberg) on the right.

20070915

Achtung überall Kinder

Caution children everywhere. This sign has always amused me as I have a mental image of kids popping up like prairie dogs all over the place.

20070812

Schifflände from across the Aare

A follow-up on yesterday's post. By the time I got around to taking this photo yesterday afternoon, the high waters had receeded quite a bit. However, some trees that are normally not submerged are still in the water, and the water is a lot muddier than usual.

For a look at the restaurant and how it's oriented with respect to the hill, Besserstein, in Villigen, visit my overflow blog:
Schifflände with Besserstein in the background

20070812

Restaurant Schifflände in Stilli

Restaurant Schifflände in Stilli is great in the summer for its riverside terrace. They specialize in simple fish dishes and we like to go there once in a while. I took this July June photo from the bridge across the Aare at Stilli. Right now the river is very high from all the rain we've been having and I'm waiting for the weather to clear up a little to take a new photo.

Stilli is a neighboring village which has been a part of Villigen since January 2006. I don't go over too often, but I have a collection of photos that I've been meaning to show. Did you catch the painted hydrants in Stilli?

20070617

Barefoot in Stilli

Last year, I noticed one or two young women (always women) walking around barefoot at the bus and train stations. This one here is the first I've seen this year.

20070608

The bridge across the Aare at Stilli

This is the pedestrian and bicycle lane on the way to Stilli over the Aarebrücke (built in 1903, currently being renovated). To get to Villigen, take the second right after the bridge. That'll put you on the road that becomes Hauptstrasse. To go to Brugg, turn left instead. (Map, 47.51,8.23)

The Gde on the sign is short for Gemeinde, meaning community. The sign says that Stilli is part of Villigen.

Addendum. A couple of readers have commented on the green sculpture on the right. I've put a photo of it, from a different angle, at the overflow site. Click here. When I have more information on it, I'll update that post.

20070617

Cherries!

Cherries have been ripening around the region and they're on the market now. Our local produce stand has had some, and I bought 2 kilos of them on a whim. Cherry pie recipes, anyone?

20070617

The white goat

Several days ago, Richard in Zürich posted a photo of a white dog which made me think immediately of this goat. I've put a zoomed out view from a different perspective on the overflow site. I think there the similarity is stronger. The white goat: the big picture.

Did you notice the frog at the base of the tree? It was very bright when I took this, and I didn't see him until I looked at the shot on the computer.

The house this garden belongs to is in Stilli, and you'd pass it if you walked along Hauptstrasse away from Villigen. There's a bus top next door so the bus slows down here. I've been practicing taking shots from the moving bus. The photo on the overflow site is from that group.

20070414

The road to Stilli (Spring version)

This is the view 180° from yesterday's location between Villigen and Stilli. I posted an October 2006 view from here in January. (Map)

20070410

Spring crop with yellow blossoms

This is one view you'll see if you step into the fields as you walk from Stilli to Villigen along Hauptstrasse. The crop seems to be something like broccoli or rapeseed (Raps in German, a variant of which is Canola, a trademarked cultivar developed in Canada in 1978) from which Rapsöl (rapeseed oil) is made. They're both members of the mustard or cabbage family: Brassicaceae. I'll either have to ask someone working in the fields or go over daily to see whether it's broccoli!

If you're wondering about the pipe coming down the slope in the background, that's the conveyor system for rocks for Holcim, the cement plant. (Map)

This post has been edited after the input of some readers.
20070410

Easter egg

An edelweiss-adorned Easter egg in Stilli.

20070405 modified

Stilli fire hydrant no. 2

This lady in pink is located at the corner of the street that leads down to Stilli. It's the only female I've found so far but I still have a few more to go.

20070405 modified

Stilli fire hydrant no. 9

A couple of readers have expressed interest in seeing more of these hydrants and I'm happy to oblige! Here's one with a bow-tie, right next to the river Aare.

20070215 modified

Stilli fire hydrant no. 4

It seems that all the fire hydrants in Stilli are decorated. This one is in the colors of our home canton Aargau.

20070215 modified

The Aare from the PSI bridge

The PSI straddles the Aare and this is the view looking to the south from the bridge. The river originates in the Aare glacier in the Bernese alps and it runs 291 km (180 miles) before joining the Rhine in Koblenz, making it the longest river that lies entirely inside Switzerland. Some trivia: the Romans called it Obringa.

In the distance on the right, there's a glimpse of Stilli. The thing spanning the river is a conveyor system that transports rocks from a local quarry to a cement plant on the other side.

20070127 modified

Pond in Stilli

It takes about 20 minutes to walk to Stilli. The land drops down close to the Aare river (beyond the trees on the left). There are three rivers in this area and I'll talk about them later sometime. I don't think this pond is there year round, we've just had a lot of rain lately.

Update:

I've been learning German since moving to CH and I really must practice. This blog offers a good opportunity to do that. Starting today I'm going to try to write a German version after the English one. To those of you who know Deutsch: please feel free to correct me. I mean it.

Man braucht 20 Minuten um Stilli zu Fuss zu erreichen. Stilli liegt direkt an der Aare (die Aare ist ein Fluss und ist hinter dem Bäumen links). Es gibt drei Flüsse in der Umgebung, ich werde irgendwann später mal mehr darüber erzahlen. Ich glaube, dass dieser Teich nicht permanent sondern nur wegen des Regens da ist. In letzter Zeit haben wir viel Regen gehabt.

20070106