Wednesday, December 28, 2005

EUROAIRPORT, EUROLAND!

BASEL (BASLE) - AUGUST, 1990

The Euroairport serves Basel, Mulhouse, and Freiburg, i. e. Switzerland, France and Germany, and is quite close to the «Three Countries Corner». This trip in August/September 1990 covered Basel, Alsace, and Baden-Württemberg regions, starting at the so-called «Regio TriRhena», and was definitely dependent on the Rhine.
Basel is Switzerland's second largest city, largely due to its location on the Rhine, and has the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation dating from 1459. Erasmus, Paracelsus, Euler and Nietzsche worked there"



"THE RHINE is a 1320 km-long river. It passes through six countries : Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands, and sets up the natural border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein, between Switzerland and Germany, and between Germany and France. In Basel - the Rhine Knee - it changes its east-western direction of flow up to the north"


"MÜNSTER - The history of Basel as an urban settlement begins on the Cathedral Hill. In the first century BC, Celts lived there in a fortified «oppidum». The first traces of a cathedral date from the Carolingian period, but the building was destroyed in 917. At the beginning of the 11th century, Basel had a new cathedral, which was replaced by a late Romanesque building in the 13th century. This one was restored in the Gothic style after the 1356 earthquake. The tomb of Erasmus lies inside the Münster"



"THE MITTLERE BRÜCKE - Built by Prince-Bishop Heinrich von Thun, the first bridge across the Rhine was opened in Basel in 1226, and the fortified town of Kleinbasel was established for its protection. In 1905, a new Mittlere Brücke was built to allow electric trams to run through"


"HOTEL DES TROIS ROIS - Feel like at home in Basel: Over centuries guests from all world enjoyed the way of life maintained here par excellence, so says the pub. The Hotel Drei Könige is Europe's oldest hotel, as well as the most splendid in Basel, and is being comprehensively renovated. The reopening is scheduled for March 2006. We'll see then whether they did manage to restore it to its former glory"


"AUGUSTINERGASSE - Between the Rheinsprung and the Münsterplatz lies the Augustinergasse, with the Museums of Cultures and of Natural History. On the opposite side stand well-preserved private Gothic and Baroque houses, whose residents enjoy a unique view over the Rhine"



"SPALENTOR - With Basel's expansion in the 19th century, the medieval walls and its entrances disappeared. However, the most beautiful of the gates - the Spalentor, erected in the 14th century - remained. The gate is adorned with glass tiles and humorous 15th century figures, and keeps inside a copy of the city's customs decree of 1795"


"THE HOLBEIN FOUNTAIN - One of the most beautiful Renaissance fountains of Switzerland. Originally in front of the Spalentor, it was moved to the Spalenvorstadt in 1839. The column with its ornaments goes back to the 16th century, and on its top a figure playing bagpipes can be seen. The octagonal tub was added after the fountain had been moved to the Spalenvorstadt"



"MARKTPLATZ - Every day except Sunday, fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers are on sale at Marktplatz, which is dominated by the Rathaus (Town Hall), the seat of the government of the Canton of Basel-City. The Rathaus building was constructed in stages from the beginning of the 16th century through the end of the 19th century, although a town hall is deemed to be in existence at this site since the 14th century. The coats of arms of the 12 cantons that formed the Swiss Confederation at the 16th century are painted on the battlements, and the façade was painted by Hans Bock with mock architectural features"



"RATHAUS - In 1900 the Rathaus underwent a further extension, with the addition of the wing on the extreme left and the tower on the right. At the same time the old rear building dating from the 14th century was demolished and replaced by a new structure. This was the period of historicism, when architects played with elements of past styles. The structural forms of the old parts were incorporated into the new buildings, but the decorations are already in what was then the latest style, Art Nouveau"


"THE TINGUELY FOUNTAIN - In 1977 Jean Tinguely installed a number of playful mechanical sculptures in a large water basin at the former site of the stage of the old Stadttheater, creating a new symbol for the city"

Thursday, December 22, 2005

VIVE LE QUÉBEC...

MONTREAL - LA CITÉ SOUTERRAINE - MAI 1990

Heureusement, je n’y suis jamais allé en hiver. Ça veut dire que je n’ai jamais eu besoin de "vivre" dans la ville souterraine! En fait, une véritable cité souterraine se cache sous le centre-ville de Montréal. S'étendant sur plus de 30 kilomètres, le réseau piétonnier intérieur est constitué de larges couloirs qui relient boutiques, hôtels, restaurants, universités, bureaux, etc... Plus de 500 000 personnes l'utilisent chaque jour"


"MONT ROYAL - Montréal lui doit son nom. Quand Jacques Cartier l'escalada en 1535, il fut renversé par la splendeur de la nature vierge. Aujourd'hui, le panorama du haut du mont Royal est tout aussi spectaculaire. Ici, on le voit à partir du centre-ville"


"MARIE REINE DU MONDE - La cathédrale catholique de Montréal. Inspirée de la basilique Saint-Pierre de Rome, elle date de la fin du XIXe siècle et a été construite en plein coeur de ce qui était alors le quartier anglo-protestant de la ville"


"HOTEL CHATEAU CHAMPLAIN, maintenant un Marriot. Directement au centre-ville, relié à la ville souterraine, au métro, au Centre Bell et à la Gare Centrale. Ses chambres avec une fenestration en demi-lunes ont des vues magnifiques sur la ville"



"PARC OLYMPIQUE - Il fut construit pour accueillir les Jeux olympiques d’été de 1976. On atteint le sommet de la Tour du Stade - Tour de Montréal, la plus haute tour inclinée du monde - en funiculaire et ses trois étages d’observation offrent une vue imprenable sur Montréal et ses environs"


"LE CENTRE SPORTIF, au pied de la Tour, abrite les bassins de sports aquatiques. Mais c'était au Stade Olympique que le plus important s'est passé: Carlos Lopes, futur médaille d'or du Marathon de Los Angeles, en 1984, a gagné la médaille d'argent des 10000 mètres. La médaille d'or a été gagné par un athlète dont le nom a été toujours –tant bien que mal - associé à des transfusions de sang...»




"LE JARDIN BOTANIQUE DE MONTRÉAL, fondé en 1931, est un des plus importants du monde. Les serres d'exposition et les différents jardins resplendissent de couleurs et de parfums du monde et regroupent plus de 22 000 espèces de végétaux. Le Jardin japonais est vraiment superbe"



"TERRE DES HOMMES - En 1967 a eu lieu l'Expo 67, une exposition internationale reconnue par le Bureau des expositions internationales de Paris. Certains pavillons étaient de pures merveilles. Leur objectif: enchanter le visiteur. En 1968 l’a suivie l'exposition la " Terre des hommes ". En 1981 a eu lieu la fermeture définitive de la Terre des hommes. Dans l'espace s'est installé le parc la Ronde"


"LE VIEUX MUNICH - La Bavière au Québec: spécialités et bières bavaroises, danseurs folkloriques et musique de la Bavière. Un soir bien passé!"



"CABANE À SUCRE - Sirop d'érable, la fête..."

Saturday, December 17, 2005

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

NEW YORK VIA GENEVA - FEBRUARY/APRIL 1990

THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE THAN NEW YORK TO START A GLOBETROTTER'S BLOG, EVEN IF YOU GET THERE VIA SWITZERLAND

From February 1990 onwards I started flying very often to New York, mainly due to my professional involvement in the successful recovery of roughly 8.9 tonnes of gold deposited with a famous American financial institution that went bankrupt by that time.
This post covers the period from January through April 1990. During these months I flew once to Geneva, once to Washington D.C., and three times to New York. There are no photos from the February trip to New York, as meetings started immediately after arrival, at 6.00 p.m. on the first day, continued on the second day from 7:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., and ended at 4:00 p.m. on the last day, just before heading to JFK to fly back to Lisbon. There are also no photos from the first April trip to New York, with a similar schedule, as well as from the trip to D.C. Finally, in late April, Guida joined me and we had some free time, as one can see from the photos posted.
Just before heading to Montreal in May 1990, which will be the subject of the next post, I flew to Brussels and Madrid. There is also no photo trace of such trips...

GENEVA


"FEBRUARY - No snow? No rain? No mist? It must be the effect of the well-known Trotter's «pocket sun» in action"


"LAKE LEMAN - Ducks and seagulls"


"LAKE LEMAN - Rousseau's Island"


NEW YORK


"CENTRAL PARK - «Love is in the air»: a caleche tour"


"CENTRAL PARK TREES: Royal Paulownia, Hackberry, Eastern Hemlock, Eastern Redbud, Saucer Magnolia, Black Tupelo, Colorado Blue Spruce...


"CENTRAL PARK was the first landscaped park in America"


"THE PLAZA, when it was a Hotel!"


"CENTRAL PARK, viewed from the Meridien Hotel"


"EARTH DAY - an event where people of all ages can learn how to help the environment"


"PIER 17 - Lunch time, after a meeting at CWT"


"PIER 17 - Margarida is a margarida, is a margarida..."


"MUD CAKE - In a large mixing bowl, cream together 1 cup butter-flavor shortening or margarine, 2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add flour, baking powder, coconut and nuts; beat for about two minutes. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9x13 pan; bake for 30 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. Spread marshmallow creme over the top while still hot. Cool and frost. Store in the refrigerator"


"WTC - The Plaza and the fountain"


"WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER - Tom was not there yet"


"CENTRAL PARK - The twins were almost three months old..."


"ON THE BEACH - Grass and concrete"