this is getting a little ridiculous
Posted by christolles | Filed under Switzerland
Incidentally, neither Tory nor I have decided whom we’re voting for, so please post a snarky comment if you’d like to sway us one way or the other. Anything associating Obama with salvation will be deleted without mercy, and the offending commenter will be removed from our blogroll. You’ve been warned.
- via Yahoo! News
ps - alternative interpretation: pull my finger.
chateau de chillon, switzerland
Posted by torytolles | Filed under Switzerland
My torrid love affair with Chateau de Chillon began in July with its picture on page 157 of The Lonely Planet’s guide to Switzerland. The castle’s seductive name became the answer to any question ranging from “What are you most excited for about Europe?” to Chris’s frequent “What do you want to do this weekend?”. Housing predicaments and inclement weather prevented us from fulfilling this fantasy until two weeks ago. Since then we have moved and enjoyed our first Parisian adventure - details to follow in subsequent (and imminent) posts.
At long last, Chris and I were seated on a train hurtling past Lake Geneva on the right and vineyard after vineyard on the left. Chris was obviously worried and he tenderly reminded me of my post-Green Gables depths of disappointment: “Chillon is just an old building, after all.” True, the giant highway seen above did not do much for the ambiance, but the enormous Swiss Alps beyond more than made up for it. This photo is taken from the castle’s keep (see below).
Chris need not have worried. Our self-guided tour began in the dungeons. Contrary to my expectations, they were possibly my favorite part. As Chillon was built on an island of rock in the 11th century, we could often see the island peek through the foundation - the dark bits on the floor in the photo above are part of the actual island the castle is built upon!
Paradoxically, the dungeons were also a source of inspiration: one prisoner painted this intense crucifixion scene (dated c. 1200 AD) during his imprisonment. Famously, Lord Byron popularized the chateau’s dungeon with his poem about the imprisoned Genevan monk and politician, François de Bonivard.
This is the ring to which de Boulevard was allegedly chained until he was freed by invading Bernese forces in 1536. Some people claimed that they could see his footsteps around the column, but the fact that the ring actually wore away parts of the column could not be denied.
I kept returning to this doorway, through which the executioners threw the dead bodies after they were hung. More romantically, one duke escaped through this secret back door when the Bernese were attacking the castle on the other side.
Chillon’s fortifications were such that it was not clear why the Savoyards acquiesced Chillon so quickly. This tall building, the keep, was at the centre of the castle. It was designed such that if the castle were attacked, it was possible for everyone to climb into this impenetrable tower and pull up the ladder and drawbridge behind them. If you look carefully, you can see the three architectural stages of the keep.
To further demonstrate the differences between Chris and me, Chris was obsessed with the incredible paneled ceilings in the grand halls…
…and I could not get over the latrines. Fist of all, you cannot tell it in this picture but there are two holes right next to each other so archeologists postulate that going to the bathroom was an intimately communal affair. Secondly, these toilets are built in a room that extends out past the exterior wall of the castle so that whatever may be deposited drops right into the lake. Finally, these openings could have posed a security threat so it was military strategy to dump nastier items down the holes in the event of an attack. Can you imagine being the soldier who is ordered to swim through the frigid lake, climb the poop-encrusted wall, only to have scalding water or acid dumped on you? Yuck.
yesterday i ran by all 23 human chromosomes
Posted by torytolles | Filed under Switzerland
Le Jardin Botanique is my favorite place in Geneva and they just opened an exhibit on the human genome, complete with 20 ft inflatable chromosomes. Amazing. Le Jardin is the same place where Chris and I recently invented a yet-untitled version of tag: (Chris+bike) x (Tory+running shoes) / (gravel paths+winding brooks+innocent bystanders) = |hilarity|.
And now for the rest of the comprehensive update.
My dear friend, Paula, procured an invitation from a UN official so that I might join her for a luncheon feast at the United Nations. To enter the United Nations domain, one needs an official invitation, and the ever-so-flattering staff(?!) badge pictured above. Following the feast, Paula escorted me on a private tour of the building and grounds. Standing in the Assembly Hall (the room televised during important negotiations and announcements), I felt the reverence usually reserved for grand cathedrals; the walls emit a portion of the grandeur absorbed during high profile negotiations.
Two weekends ago, Heather and Lois, other friends from Crossroads Church, invited me to join them in un natation (a formal swim) in Lake Geneva. For fifteen francs, I was given a swim cap, UNICEF baseball cap, t-shirt, the pleasure of swimming 1km in sixty degree (fahrenheit) water, and a parasite infestation. About twenty hours post-swim, I started to itch. I woke Chris. ”I think I got duck lice.” ”Yuck! Are they crawling around our bed?” That was not the reassuring response I had hoped for. Instead, WebMD explained that the mosquito-bite-esque red bumps then covering my body result from tiny worms burrowing into my skin and dying there because they cannot survive with humans for hosts. Thank goodness I am not a duck. On the whole, the experience was totally worth it - and might be repeated (minus the parasite) next weekend in a sprint triathlon.
While training for the aforementioned natation, I got an internship! One night Chris played ultimate frisbee with some other interns by the lake - and I met Johanna. She is an environmental policy lawyer who swims 1k each day with her two golden retrievers. I’ve ben swimming and working with her for two weeks now. I’ve been editing papers of her for the Earth Charter Initiative. It has been super fun and super interesting and I really enjoy feeling like a productive member of society once more, even if it means I’ve slacked on keeping you all updated.
