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| The waterfront, Lausanne. Peter walked on, but Pierre and I wanted to explore the city. We had a fabulous morning (the hostel looked after our backpacks), and we didn't leave till 2 pm. |
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| Pierre gazes at the Alps across Lake Geneva. |
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| Once a medieval castle, the Hôtel Château d'Ouchy on the shore of Lake Geneva is one of the small luxury hotels of the world. Needless to say, it was way beyond our budget! |
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| Ouchy Marina, Lausanne. |
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| The beautiful interior of the Église Saint-François in the centre of Lausanne. This was one of my favourite churches on the whole pilgrimage. |
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| Camino sign next to the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise — the religious/spiritual and commercial/material world sit side by side in Switzerland. In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Harry Lime in Carol Reed's film The Third Man. |
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| Statue of Joan of Arc. |
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| Another Swiss flag — and it's a big one! |
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| Lausanne Cathedral. |
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| The cathedral's exterior details . . . |
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| . . . include all kinds of grotesqueries. Can you spot the snails and the naked buttocks? Trust me to photograph the profane rather than the sacred . . . |
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| The Château de Maire, built as an episcopal palace in the early 15th century. It is now the seat of the cantonal government. |
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| An al fresco lunch with young Pierre at a delightful terrace restaurant halfway along an ancient, wooden, covered staircase which led to the cathedral. I ordered freshly-made cheese tart and salad, with pistachio and chocolate ice cream to follow. To drink I had a non-alcoholic lager (some Swiss cafés and restaurants are alcohol-free). Here Pierre looks out over the rooftops from our restaurant table. |
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| The 19th-century Palais de Justice in Parc Montbenon. |
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| View over Lausanne and Lake Geneva from Parc Montbenon. |
9 comments:
Some great architecture in these photos, especially the one of the Chateau de Maire. The grotesqueries, however, seem a bit weird to me. I assume that the church was trying once again to scare people into their particular form of "salvation."
I recognize that Harry Lime quote--yet your photographs, I think anyway, prove him wrong. What a spectacular walk this is!
While looking at your striking photos of Lake Geneva, I was thinking about Carl Jung and Lake Zurich and how his soul would have been formed by the exquisite landscape of Switzerland.
I live next to a 14-mile long lake. At the western end is an area called the Geneva district. Now I understand why it was given that name!
Funny how you remembered that quote from "The Third Man":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNo8ld7ak8w
(-:
I have followed for 35 posts now and still, you are on the road. What an amazing journey and what magnificent pictures and stories! Thank you.
BTW: Harry Lime/Carol Reed got it slightly wrong: The cukoo clock originates from the Black Forst in Germany.
I once brought some Australian friends to a Black Forest cukoo clock factory and it was a most surreal experience, the Swabian Black Forresters and millions of mostly Asian tourists do take this very very seriously there.
I think it was quite common for the medieval masons to carve demons, devils and mythical beasts interspersed with the cherubs, saints and angels, George. Partly I think their did it as a joke, and, yes, there was the scaremongering aspect too.
Yes, agreed, Susan! I included that quote partly as a provocative joke.
Ah, 'Memories, Dreams, Reflections', Am...I remember quite clearly Jung's account of his house on Lake Zurich, and his work (and play) there.
I'm glad you've been enjoying my journey, Sabine. A visit to a Black Forest cuckoo clock factory sounds like a dream weekend outing!
I have fallen behind! (My grandson played this game with me for an hour, prompted by a Thomas the Train story in which one of the train friends was "falling behind." Anyway, James slid himself backwards on the wood floor all the way to the kitchen then called to me to rescue him. Sorry, I digress.
Such gorgeous vistas, really great photos, and fascinating architectural features. That white church interior is wonderful. All of this is magnificent. The quote is quite funny, but I think you and I agree that peace and democracy is quite an accomplished production, worthy of wonder and praise.
However, my poetry mentor always said it's easier to write good poems out of adversity than out of ease.
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