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[Slowpoke]

16 July 2017 at 13:47:12 #866560

Thanks Lucas.

I thought that might be it, but wasn’t sure.

Since you are from Canada, and are familiar with the construction techniques in the USA, wooden houses are not so strange to us.

But, the norm in Switzerland, in modern times, is masonry construction.

Of course, in the Emmental, “Blockbau” is common in older dwellings. I’ve seen it elsewhere in central Switzerland.

http://jbdowse.com/swz /report/loetschental

That particular town is a bit far afield from Basel, as you note.

Slowpoke

[Slowpoke]

16 July 2017 at 14:22:05 #866561

Hi Niv-

My friend’s wife has still not returned from her trip, but here a few more thoughts from him –

Buying art.

Walk the streets of the Altstadt (old city) in Bern. Ask at the tourist information ofice on the upperlevel of the Bern main station, and, they will surely suggest the best places.

Since a visit to Bern may be on your plans, you will enjoy that walk even if you don’t find any art to buy. I’ve seen galleries as I walk down the streets leading to the Nydeggbrücke ( Nydegg Bridge), such as Marktgasse/Kramgasse/Gerechtigkeitgasse.

I’ve attached a photo looking back toward the clock tower from Marktgasse.

I always walk down to the Nydeggbrücke, cross it, walk up the short steep hill to the Rose Garden, enjoy the flowers, and look back at the city and the river. As I cross the bridge going toward the Rose Garden, on the right hand side, I look down at a cluster of houses on low land by the river. That is the “Matten” and for many years had its own dialect of Swiss German called “Mattenenglisch.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Mattenenglisch

A popular place to eat with typical Swiss food is the Old Tram Depot at one end of the bridge. The brew their own beer, and you can get snacks, or a light meal. If you sit on the terrace, they have nice views back toward the Altstadt.

http://www.bern.com/en/detail /altes-tramdepot-bi

Museums-

Convenient if you are in the Bernese Oberland, near Brienz,is an outdoor museum called Ballenberg with a collection of Swiss dwellings typical of various regions, moved there for display.

http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/open-air-museum-ballenberg.html

http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/

Brienz itself is a pleasant town by the lake, It is famous for its woodcarvers.

http://www.myswissalps.com/br ienz

I like to have lunch on the terrace of the White Cross ( Weisses Kreuz) restaurant across from the staion. Nice place to watch the lake and mountains, as well as the activity.

Probably the best known of many is Jobin. 5 minutes walk from the train station on the up hill side of the main street. They have a large store and a quite small museum which I enjoyed because of the different styles exhibited. ( modest fee). I try to get a music box for my granddaughter whenever I am there.

http://www.jobin.ch/cms/cms.a sp?lg=EN&page=258&LF=3&p= ASP\Pg258.asp

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

16 July 2017 at 15:13:57 #866562

Yes, apparently N.America is a die Holzsiedlung according to my wife. haha

[Slowpoke]

16 July 2017 at 20:08:07 #866563

Hi Niv-

My friends wife has come home and offers these ideas for museums that are off the major tourist routes, mostly.

The towns mentioned in the Jura, such as Delemont, have very nice old cities to walk around in.

<<“Schaffhausen, old town with Museum zu Allerheiligen (http://www.allerheiligen.ch/d e/), ev. with Rheinfall Schloss Arenenberg (http://www.napoleonmuseum.tg. ch/xml_19/internet/de/ intro.cfm) Insel Mainau (http://www.mainau.de/de/) Murten Romainmôtier (With among other things: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Kloster_Romainmôtier ) Porrentruy (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Porrentruy), St.Ursanne (http://www.juratourisme.ch/de /entdeckungen/stadte-und-kultur/st-ursanne.3973.html) Delémont To reach those may be very quick from where he resides. All very pictoresque and a bit off the beaten track. Château Chillon de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Schloss_Chillon, Lavaux (whole area) History Museum Bern (with all the carpets from Burgundy, and lots of other medieval stuff, http://www.bhm.ch ), Klee Museum. We did not add anything about Basel as he or his hosts probably know already some. Niki goes there regularly, most often to Beyeler (http://www.fondationbeyeler.c h) That is about what crossed her mind beyond what I already mentioned. The choices are vast. “>>

I’ll go back through his ideas about other towns, not so much for museums, organize them and post later.

Slowpoke

[Slowpoke]

17 July 2017 at 11:08:16 #866564

Hi Niv-

Hear is a further comment frommy friend.

They live in Zürich, and are most familiar with tha art scene in that city.

However, the approach used here may be helpful.

1.- We already directed you to the region in Bern to explore.

2.- In Zürich, there is a link for the list of galleries.

It is in German, but the list gives names, and the map (Stadtplan) shows their locations by number.

His comments:

<<“We never stroll for galleries. So it is a bit hard to designate an area…….. However, all towns have galleries. These are like shops and as I said, also to be found in the shopping streets and most rarely in a shopping center. For his/her craft shops you could mention the Heimatwerk. For a list in Zurich see: http://www.dzg.ch/pages/galer ien/aaa_liste_alphabet isch.php">>

“Heimatwerk ” is the chain of Arts and Crafts stores that carry handicrafts and some art from Swiss creators. They exist in many different towns and at airports. This link includes a map.

http://www.heimatwerk.ch/home /ueberuns,l-en.xhtml

I use the one in Zürich

This link to Switzerland Tourism displays the one in Bern near the clock tower:

http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/heimatwerk.html

Slowpoke

[nivsrv]

18 July 2017 at 15:37:32 #866565

Hey Slowpoke. I’m sorry for the late reply. It’s been a little busy with work at the hospital. I haven’t yet gotten around to checking all those links you gave me. I’m gonna do that sometime this weekend. I’m sure I’ll find many interesting places. Hope to get back to you on it all soon. Thanks. Niv

[Slowpoke]

23 July 2017 at 15:23:38 #866566

Hi Niv-

I have collected the thoughts from my friend and his wife, conveted them to *.txt format, hoping that they will paste into the forum one can always hope).

Here they are.

My additions are in [square brackets]

What remains is some information about the Three Lakes region in addition to Murten.

Soon.

Slowpoke

<<“Collected Impressions of Places to Visit from my Swiss Friend, Many Off the Beaten Track There are quite a few nice places, such as Stein am Rhein, Werthenstein [impressive from the outside, but I do not know what is there]., Aarberg [not a lot there], Solothurn, Murten, several convents, but you know probably most as well as I do. [Also Büren an dem Aare. Small but nice. Not worth a detour]. Local contemporary art is harder to find. In most of those there are local galleries and brocantes [second hand markets]. A representative of what he seeks could be the Kloster Ittingen with its Thurgauer Art Museum and relatively modest tourism. [I agree. No crowds. A museum of Carthusian monastic life. Very nice, but I’m not sure about nearby public transport]. More touristy but special is of course Greyerz with its Castle museum. [ It is a nice small museum and Greyerz (Gruyeres) is worth a visit in spite of the tourists. There is a “show dairy ” there where you can watch cheese being made. I prefer the one at Affoltern in Emmental, but it requires a bus. Gruyeres is on the train line]. Not to forget Avenches with its small but really interesting Roman museum. For shopping, exploring the small shops in Bern from about the Münster to the Bärengraben, also in the smaller side streets is hard to beat. I will pick this up with [his wife] once home. She knows a lot more about the Art and Gallery side. If he is going to see the Isenheimer Altar in Colmar then he would also appreciate perhaps the library in St. Gallen and the convent Einsiedeln. Another thing that would perhaps also surprise him is the [Bourbaki]Panorama in Lucerne, painted by then famous local artists, but other tourists know that too. { It is not crowded, and I always take my guest to that. http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/bourbaki-panorama-luzern-luzern.html lucerne.all-about-switzerland.info/lucer ne-bourbakipanorama-painting-castres.html [ About Werdenberg, mentioned before] – Although touristy, but very informative. [Near the Jungfrau region is ] Ballenberg too. Some crafty stuff and fabulous sausages can be bought there. http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/ [An outdoor museum of traditional and historical houses brought from all parts of Switzerland and reassembled. You can go in some them. Crafts demonstrations. Lots of tourists, but usually does not feel crowded. ]. If his interest in arts and crafts extends to ” St. Galler Stickereien” there is a lot to see there in that realm (if expensive to shop). Watches cross my mind too. A very Swiss craft tradition. He can see lots of that with some notable museums in places. [Heimatwerk stores for crafts and some art.] [Here are som comment from his wife, focusing on art mueums.] Schaffhausen, old town with Museum zu Allerheiligen (http://www.allerheiligen.ch/d e/), ev. with Rheinfall Schloss Arenenberg (http://www.napoleonmuseum.tg. ch/xml_19/internet/de/ intro.cfm) Insel Mainau (http://www.mainau.de/de/) Murten Romainmôtier (With among other things: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Kloster_Romainmôtier ) Porrentruy (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Porrentruy), St.Ursanne (http://www.juratourisme.ch/de /entdeckungen/stadte-und-kultur/st-ursanne.3973.html) Delémont To reach those may be very quick from where he resides. All very pictoresque and a bit off the beaten track. Château Chillon de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Schloss_Chillon, Lavaux (whole area) History Museum Bern (with all the carpets from Burgundy, and lots of other medieval stuff, http://www.bhm.ch ), Klee Museum. We did not add anything about Basel as he or his hosts probably know already some. She goes there regularly, most often to Beyeler (http://www.fondationbeyeler.c h)[ World class, not particularly Swiss]. That is about what crossed her mind beyond what I already mentioned. The choices are vast”>>

[nivsrv]

23 July 2017 at 16:17:53 #866567

Hey slowpoke. Went through everything you sent. Some of the places seem to be a little faraway. But, theybstill are interesting. So I’m gonna do them. Thank you and your friend and his family for taking the time off and helping me figure things out. You have been a tremendous help.

[nivsrv]

23 July 2017 at 16:27:17 #866568

Hey Lucas. I looked up interlaken and yes it makes a lot of sense to stay there considering the connectivity. Lake thun looks beautiful and so doesLauterbrunnen. Definitely will visit both the places. thank you once again for all the help.

[Slowpoke]

24 July 2017 at 15:54:23 #866569

Hi Niv-

Not all that hard to reach from Basel is the Three Lakes Region.

The My Swiss Alps page doesn’t have much on the Three Lakes Region.

I don’t find the web site for the region to be particularly compelling:

http://www.biel-seeland.ch/en/home.htm l

Here are some links to discussions in My Swiss Alps.

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/emmental-three-lakes-or-wengen

[Please note that early in my post is a reference to the Emmental with a lot of pictures:

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/langnau-in-may

That region offers much of what you seek and is not far from Basel. There is train service to the larger towns, and buses to smaller ones. The Emmental is a hikers region, but many of the villages can be seen in easy walks from the bus or train stops. They are not very large. I’d spend some time with a map with aerial views, and think that Signau might have a pleasant main street for a walk. Trub, accessible by bus from Trubschachen or Langnau i. E., also deserves a walk..]

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/where-in-switzerland-would-u-get-married

That link has several pictures from Ligerz.

Town names to look for are Le Landeron, Twann/Douane, Schafis/Chavannes, Ligerz/Gleresse, Moutier ( a wine village on Lac Morat/ Murtensee, and Murten/Morat(mentioned previously).

German and French names for almost all of the towns in the region because you are on the language boundary.

My photos are on my other computer, where I have some more general information on the region. I’ll try to post that material in the next few days.

What I propose is a visit to Ligerz and Schfis, a ride in the funicular to the first stop ( Pilgerweg…Pilgrims Trail) a walk to the church and beyond, as far as Jlein Twann and Twann, then a lake boat to Murten/Morat.

For a really deluxe meal, get off the boat at Sugiez. Hotel de l’Ours is right at the landing. Book ahead. The terrace under the chestnut trees is nice in the summer, and expands the restaurants seating capacity.

From Murten, take the trains back to Basel.

The old town in Biel/Bienne is small but nice. 10-15 minutes walk from the station.

Slowpoke

[Slowpoke]

27 July 2017 at 12:11:01 #866570

Hi Niv-

Here is some information about the Three Lakes region (das Dreiseeenland) that I promised. I think I’m done…. maybe something about the old town in Fribourg later. I like to spend time there, usually staying in Ligerz at the Gasthof Kreuz.

The mountains rise steeply from the western side of Lake Biel and Lake Neuchatel, so there is contrast in the landscape.

An old pilgrim’s trail …easy…goes through the vineyards above the shore of Lake Biel ( der Bielersee). I like to walk it from the funicular stop above Ligerz ( der Pilgerweg stop) to above Twann or Klein Twann, then go down to the town on the steps provided.

I’ll post in two messages to get in more than 10 pictures.

Slowpoke

[Slowpoke]

27 July 2017 at 12:27:55 #866571

More pictures, continuing the above post.

I did not have a picture handy at the moment, but, around Lake Murten, besides Murten itself, the wine village of Motier on the other side of the lake is pretty. The vineyard owners have their shops and sometimes their winery along the main road.

I know that there is bus service, but I’m not sure of the details. It is within walking distance of the boat stop at Sugiez, and bus and lake boats stop at Motier , below Lugnorre and just southwest of Praz along the lake.

map.search.ch/?pos=573892,199636&z=64 &poi=haltestelle

Slowpoke

[nivsrv]

27 July 2017 at 16:41:41 #866572

Hey Slowpoke. Thank you for the new information and the pictures look beautiful. And I have some exciting news. I wanted to share it with all three of you, that is Lucas and Peterli too but I didn’t know how to reply to you all together. So, I’m hoping you all can read this. Remember that friend of mine that I was gonna visit and stay with in Lorrach, well he got a job offer in Switzerland and is moving to Walde soon. Yeay. I’m so happy and excited for him. It does mean that I’ll have to postpone my trip by a few months to let him make the move and settle in but I don’t mind that at all. Now since I have all this information thanks to you lovely people I know what I wanna do and where I wanna go and what to focus on. I can plan things better. Thanks so much for all the help. Love. Niv.

[Slowpoke]

27 July 2017 at 17:11:12 #866573

Hi Niv-

“and is moving to Walde soon”

Good news indeed. That is very pretty country in that region. No close by train service….it tends to run North/South in the valleys, but you are never far from any part of Switzerland due to the excellent transport network.

Try to get there before the end of October. November can be a bit grey and cold.

Slowpoke

PS- I just looked at the timetable. It takes a long while and several changes to get anywhere from Walde! Must be peaceful, or else, everyone has an automobile. 😉