In Switzerland (4) Up and Down the Etzel

Over the last year Emma and Alessio have been trying to complete the series of walks which talkes you all the way round the Zürichsee.  We have accompanied them on a few of the sections.  Though the walk does go round the lake, many of the sections  take you quite a bit away from the lake itself and some involve quite a bit of climbing.  This is the case with the section which goes from Richterswil to Pfäffikon.  Emma and Alessio had already the first part of the walk which goes pretty steeply up to Schindellegi, and was as much as Alessio could manage in one go.

So last Saturday I accompanied them on the rest of the way.  Schindellegi is 685m above sea level which meant we had over 400m climbing ahead.  The town is nothing special, though it does have this spectacular church.

 The walk starts off by following the southern bank of the river Sihl.  Most of this part is through a forest and is pretty level.  For some reason there were scores of walkers coming the other way.  Walkers of all ages and shapes.  Some even had beer bottles with them.  Below are some photos of this part of the walk.

After we cross the Sihl again the real climbing begins.  At first through lovely farmland and then back into more forests.  To get into the woods you have to climb this sheer vertical ascent which goes through a very narrow opening between two fields protected by electric wiring.  A bit scary!

Once past this little hurdle the walk continues ever upward.  En route we passed two strange bunker like buildings, which apparently are stores for the Swiss army in times of emergency.  You can see one below.

The final section is very steep though we were rewarded with some fine vistas, such as this one.  Below that Emma and Alessio on the final few metres before the summit.

Once up, we were rewarded with a fine mountain restaurant where we partook of refreshments and enjoyed a little bit of relaxation.  Luckily there was an adventure playground which was much to Alessio's delight.  You also get great views from the restaurant grounds, particularly of the Sihlsee and Einsedeln.  Here is yours trully high above the lake.

You most definitely need some recuperation, because the onward descent is even more steep than the ascent.  It starts with a shortish and brutal descent to St Meinrad, where there is a chapel in honour of the saint, who was the founder of the famous monastery in nearby Einsedeln.  Here is a view of the chapel.

The remainder of the descent is just as steep and brutish and is almost all through dark forest.  Not really my scene.  I prefer open country for walking.  Though Alessio just loved the forest sections.  Anyway after much puffing and sweating we all emerged safe and (almost) sound at Luegeten.  This is a charming little restaurant above the Zürichsee.  We have been there a few times by car, but this was the first, and probably the last time on foot.  So it was an even more welcome sight than normal.

The restaurant is a very popular place and as on a previous occasion there was a fancy wedding reception enjoying the outdoor views.  Alessio somehow managed to join in and play with some of the children, while Emma and I just sat back and tried to recover.  From Luegeten we got the local bus down to Pfäffikon and then the train back home.  All in all a great day out.

In Switzerland (3) - Just Windows

Yesterday I made a short trip into Zürich to get some fresh vegetables at the weekly market.  With some time to spare I wandered around the old town for a bit.  I ended up at the Lindenhof which is usually a fairly quiet spot with great views up and down the river Limmat.  There are also some lovely views of windows on the flats surrounding the square.  So what follows is simply a selection of these windows – nothing fancy, just pleasant and satisfying windows.  

 For something completely different to end with I have added a couple of shots from the market.  The first two are some of the stunning flower displays and the last two show some speciality pasta and cheeses.

Palestine - State No 194

The Palestinian bid for full recognition as a member state of the UN will come to some kind of climax next week, when the proposal is expected to go before the UN.  At this stage it is not clear just how this bid will pan out.  The proposal which has the backing of the Palestine National Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization seeks recognition for Palestine as the 194th member state of the UN.  It seeks this on the basis of the so-called 1967 borders.  This would mean a state which included the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.  The full statement can be read here.

Palestinians have already secured the support of most members of the UN, though they need a 2/3 majority in the General Assembly.  At the moment this is close.  The precise role of the Security Council in this is a bit unclear.  However the USA has already indicated that it will veto any resolution the comes before the Security Council.  Once again the USA falling meekly in behind Israel.  Quite where the UK stands is also unclear.

What is odd about this is that the Palestinian bid for statehood within the 1967 borders is what all countries and international organizations have been calling for since, well, since 1967.  The USA has regularly re-iterated its support for this outcome.  Even Israel is supposed to be in favour of the two state solution.  So why this opposition?

The reality of course is that Israel, despite all the lip service it gives to two states, is and always has been adamantly against any such outcome.  Pray why does Israel constantly annexe Palestinian land and build settlements after settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank if it was serious about a two state solution?

Israel and its western backers have had over forty years to reach a settlement with the Palestinians.  And all the evidence shows that Israel has never seriously tried to reach a just settlement.  As the leaked Palestinian Papers showed, Israel always asks for more and more.  Trully there is no partner for peace and that is Israel.

However, even if this statehood bid does succeed, it will not immediately effect the situation on the ground.  There are in fact some Palestinian groups who oppose this bid precisely because it may make things even worse for Palestinians, at least in the short run.  The argument is that Israel may well react with its usual show of brutal force.

What we must never forget in all this is that the fundamental call from all Palestinians is for Justice.  And this is best summed up in the three basic demands as follows:

1  End Israel's occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in 1967;


2 Honour the right of Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality by ending the Israeli system of legalized and institutionalized racial discrimination (which conforms to the UN definition of apartheid);


3  Respect and enable the implementation of the UN-sanctioned right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands from which they were expelled.

These are the key principles on which a just and long term settlement must be built.  Whatever the outcome in the UN next week the struggle for justice will continue both in Palestine and the rest of the world.

In Switzerland (2) - Arancini, Cafés and Culture

After the excitement of Alessio`s birthday things calmed down a bit.  Partly due to Kathleen not feeling too well.  So I decided to use my time to make some Arancini.  These are delicious Sicilian delicacies which look a bit like oranges, hence the name.  I have tried them once before in an Italian restaurant in St Andrews, but, in honour of Alessio`s Italian heritage, I wanted to try and make the real thing myself.


Preparing the arancini is a bit like slow cooking and comes in stages.  First you make the outside - a mixture of rice, saffron, eggs and cheese.  Then the filling, which traditionally is a meat sauce (ragu) with peas.  Once this has been done you flatten the rice paste and leave everything to cool.  When ready to restart you put the whole show together.  A bit of rice paste, enough to fill the palm of your hand, fill it with the ragu and a bit of cheese, then cover with more rice paste.  Gently massage the mixture into the shape of an orange and leave to set for a bit.  This is what they looked like at this stage.

The final preparation is to dip the arancini, one by one, into beaten egg and then cover with breadcrumbs.  The arancini are now ready for the final cooking - deep frying in hot oil.  Making arancini is not an easy undertaking, in fact it is a rather complicated and time consuming venture.  However it is worth the effort.  Everyone enjoyed them and even Alessio managed to eat his.  Here are a couple of the cooked arancini, ready to eat.

If you fancy trying them out yourself, then here is a very good recipe with accompanying video.  It`s in Italian, but if you scroll down you get photos and instructions for each stage.  Bon Appetit!


By Thursday Kathleen was much better so we spent the day in Zürich.  For breakfast we went to Café Sprüngli on Bahnhofstrasse.  This is a charming café with a 19th century Viennese feel about it.  Everything is high class including the prices - but, hey, we`re worth it.  This is me below, about to indulge in my café crème and croissant.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the Design Museum or Museum für Gestaltung as it is known locally.  This is a pretty non-descript building, but does house some great exhibitions and there are three on display at present.  The main exhibition is High Rise - Idea and Reality.  This is a collection of photos with some mock-ups of some of the most influential and famous high rise buildings in the world.  The main focus is on New York, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Zürich.  Some of the photos are incredible and some of the most fascinating are those that show what it is like to live in one of these buildings.  Very impressive.  For a slide show of some of the photos visit the museum`s website here.


The other main exhibition features the work of Swiss artist François Berthoud, who is apparently one of the outstanding fashion illustrators of the present day.  The examples of his work on display are wonderful and the overall tone is light, playful and sexy.  Below is the poster for the exhibition and some of the works on show.

After this brief interlude of culture we popped into another of our favourite cafés, this time the Caffeteria am Limmatplatz.  Here is Kathleen relaxing after a hectic day.

Scottish Independence – Coming Soon?

A flurry of recent polling on independence has some mixed messages for supporters of an independent Scotland. Though on the whole the omens are looking good.  For details of the polls and a breakdown of the findings, LallandsPeatWorrier has some very good posts.

The first figure to hit the headlines was that a tiny majority now favour the SNP`s proposal that the Scottish Government negotiate a settlement with the Government of the UK so that Scotland becomes an independent state.  The results were as follows:

Agree                      39% (up 2%)

Disagree                  38% (down 7%)

Don`t know              23% (up 5%)

The other figures to come out show how people currently stand when given two options.  In this case the results for independence were as follows:

Agree                      35%

Disagree                  58%

Don`t know               7%

The other option was what is sometimes described as  Maximum Devolution or DevoMax.  This is to extend the powers of the Scottish Parliament to include more laws and duties and all tax-raising powers, while Scotland remains part of the UK.

Agree                      66%

Disagree                  26%

Don`t know               8%

What is most noticeable about the results is the incredibly strong support for DevoMax.  This is clearly where most Scots are at the moment.  However, and this cannot be emphasized enough, there is no political party that is actively in favour of DevoMax.  While the SNP would welcome this as a further step towards full independence, the UK parties are all dead set against anything remotely resembling DevoMax.  So at some stage Scots voters will have to make a straight choice between the status quo and independence.

While the figures are far from a ringing endorsement of independence they do show two clear trends.  One is that less and less Scots are frightened by the idea of independence.  While not yet convinced, the majority is no longer dead set against.  Secondly support for independence is growing, though still slowly.

All this of course is against a background of little activity by the SNP government.  The usual Al-Megrahi stories re-emerged attempting to discredit Scotland.   Meanwhile the Unionist parties and their lackeys in the media led a barrage of counter attacks against independence.  Despite their claim to offer some positive reasons for maintaining the Union, it all came down to scaremongering and claiming that Scotland is just too poor to be independent.  Plus ça change, plus c’est la mème chose!

Once the SNP and the other pro-independence groups start advocating the positive attractions of independence, then things will begin to get really interesting.  As Wee Wendy memorably said – bring it on!

In Switzerland (1)

We've only been in Switzerland a few days and already we've managed to pack in quite a lot.  The weather was lovely and warm when we arrived and this continued into the Saturday.  So much so that Cosimo, Alessio and I trekked across the road to the local Badi for a bit of swimming and sunbathing.  The 3rd is of course Alessio's birthday, his 5th this time and Emma had organized a great little party for him.  Which he thoroughly enjoyed.  It all started with opening the presents, which he does with gusto as you can see below.

Though there was no doubt as to which was his favourite present - this giant aeroplane.

After some games in the garden with his guests, came the food and in particular the blowing out the candles on his specially made Dinosaur cake.  Now, ready, steady, blow!

The cake was delicious and everybody had a great time - not just the children.  There was even a bit of a reunion with some of Emma`s friends who can be seen posing here.

It was a fun day for all and Kathleen joined in with this impromptu modelling.

The next day unfortunately, the weather began to change.  However that did not prevent us from getting out and about. In the morning, Cosimo, Kathleen, Alessio and I visited a kind of Ideal Home exhibition.  There was some fascinating things to see, from wine coolers, built-in steamers, jacuzzis and goodness knows what else.  All, alas, at an equally fascinating price.  This exhibition was only for the rich and the very rich.  Good to see though.


In the afternoon we drove to Schloss Hallwyll in Kanton Aarau.  It is a fully preserved medieval castle surrounded by a moat.  Below is the view from the front and then from the side.

The rooms displayed all kinds of information about the Hallwyl family over the centuries.  Some rooms had period furniture, while others showed off some of the scientific and cultural interests of the family.  A few come up next.

Outside the castle and the moat there is the remains of the old mill house.  The mill lade and the water wheel are still there and some of the old wooden machinery is still there.  Perhaps it still works, though there was no-one around when I visisted.

Across the yard from the mill is a new building which stores some examples of transport from earlier ages, including this wonderful large wooden barge.

We finished our outing by stopping off at a nearby farm which sold fresh fruit and vegetables.  On the drive way there were some stunning clumps of dahlias, including this one.  A lovely way to end a lovely day.

Labour’s Hot Strategy - Insult the people of Scotland

Of course Labour will answer that they are only attacking the SNP, not the Scottish people.  However it is darn hard most of the time to see the difference.  In the first place since large number of us Scots did vote for the SNP at the last parliamentary elections, to attack the SNP is in a way to attack those of us who had the temerity to vote SNP.

Secondly Labour seems to have reduced itself to opposing anything and everything the SNP comes up with.  At the last election for example Labour found itself in the ludicrous position of opposing the setting of a minimum price for alcohol.  Despite the fact that this policy was widely supported by professionals and the general public.  But as the SNP had proposed this, then Labour had to be agin it.  The same happened with the proposal to levy an additional rate on large superstores in out of town locations.  A policy that an earlier generation of Labour people might have come up with as their own policy.  But, again, because the SNP had made the proposal, well, Labour just had to come down in support of some of the richest businesses in the land.

In general Labour has managed the almost unimaginable feat of becoming the Unionist party.  In Scotland more than anything else Labour is fast becoming seen as for the Union and nothing else. Why else the pathetic attempts to discredit the SNP government’s plans introduce Scottish Studies in our schools?  Their visceral hatred of anything to do or come from the SNP leads them to adopt what can only de described as an anti Scottish attitude.

You can see this in the glee with which Labour politicians grasp at any “facts” which purport to show that Scotland is subsidised by England.  I am genuinely amazed at why so many Scottish Labour people seem to rejoice in what they regard as Scotland’s immutable poverty.  After more over 200 years of Union, you would think they would want to show that this had somehow brought some real benefits to their country.  But this is perhaps the rub.  For most Labour politicians their country is not Scotland, but the UK.  Despite their much trumpeted hostility to nationalism, they are at bottom British nationalists first and foremost.  They see everything through the prism of the UK.  The always ask what is best for the UK and never, what might be best for Scotland.  Their mindset is so set that they are incapable of imagining a better Scotland that is not in the UK.

This of course continues to make life difficult politically for Labour in Scotland.  While, alas, most Scots are not yet ready to vote for independence, they do see themselves as Scots first and British second.  The vast majority of Scots do want their political parties to put Scotland first and to rejoice in and celebrate Scotland.  And where possible to make it better.  Hence the proposals to set a minimum price for alcohol  and to introduce Scottish Studies.  What they do not want is for their country to be denigrated and dismissed as a mere region of the UK.