swiss photos at goldsweig dot com

I am actually living in a suburb of Basel called Allschwil. I am renting a room in the home of a couple named Kempen. In my room, I have a skylight, and when I look out of it, I can see a great deal of the surrounding countryside.

View of Basel (East) from Andy's window

On Sunday, June 4, 2000, I rode my bike for about 60 miles across the French region of Alsace. My room is after all, only about half of a mile from the French border. Amid the hills rising around the Rhine valley, I found a dozen or so small farming villages.

An Alcasian Villiage near Altekrich, France

My bike trip on June 4 brought me to the French city of Altekirch (old church), the nearest French city to Basel other than its suburbs. The old cathedral is located on the very top of the highest hil l in the region with the rest of the city cascading down the hill toward the farms of the valley below .

The Cathedral of Altekrich at the top of the City

My excuse for spending the summer in Switzerland is my employment by a pharmaceutical company calle d Actelion. I spend my days engaged in advanced molecular biolo gy. Here are my desk and lab bench from which I can see across the French countryside which begins at the border across the street from the lab.

My workspace at Actelion

There is a small farm on the street where I am living. I pass it many times daily as I go to work and to the city center. Only 30 feet from my door, I'm greeted by these warm, friendly sheep. I pet them occasionally, but they don't smell quite like Downy.

The sheep that live across the street from me

The Jewish communities of Switzerland each field a soccer team, and these teams compete in an annua l tournament whose winner will represent the country in the Maccabbi Games. The Basel youth had somet hing of a JV team for which I proudly played. Here, my teammates warm up before the tournament.

Jews who think they can play soccer

On the weekend of June 24, I took the train to Venice to visit my friend Anna who has a summer job with an environmental engineering firm there. She and I explored several of the tourist attractions i n Venice. As we walked from the train station to her apartment, we crossed a few canals including the Grand Canal.

The apartment complex in which Anna lives

Anna crossing a canal

Rush hour traffic on the Grand Canal

Anna and I visited the Campo di San Marco and the famous Bascillica there. We also traveled up to the top of the bell tower in the Campo. From there, we could see all of the city. The day ended on a nother note, however, as we made it to Chabad Venice in time for Maariv.

Anna and I atop the bell tower in the Campo di San Marco

A view of Venice from the bell tower

Anna and I before the kosher establishment in Venice

The next weekend, I found myself in Strausbourg. A giant 12th century cathedral dominates this qua int and beautiful Alsacian city. I, however, visited one of the city's several synagogues on Shabbos, seeing some of Strausbourg's 12,000 Jews. Around the city, vineyards stretch for miles in every dire ction. I took a tour of the area, and visited a few vineyards and wine villages. I came out of the t rip with 6 bottles of 1997 Riesling and 2 bottles of 1997 Pinot Noir.

I inspect some Riesling grapes at an Alsacian vinyard

I stand before the cave in which I bought my Pinot Noir

The glorious alter of the Cathedral of Strausbourg

Unable to rid myself of the traveling bug, I took off the next weekend as well. I met my parents, my friend Katie, and Katie's mother in Wengen, a village high in the Swiss Alps. We took the cog rail way up to the Jungfraujoch, a saddle in one of the highest mountain peaks in Switzerland. Of course, the trip to Wengen would not have been complete without a scenic walk to Mary's Restaurant, which I vi sited several times on my last trip to Switzerland, fourteen years ago.

Katie and I atop the Jungfraujoch

My mother, Beryl, atop the Jungfraujoch

Katie and I en route to Mary's Restaurant

My father and I also took the cable car to Mannlichen, a tiny outpost atop the mountain on which W engen stands. From there, we could see the Jungfrau, the Monch, and the Eiger, three of Switzerland's most famous peaks. We then continued our cable car journey, descending on the other side of the moun tain to Grindelwald.

My father, David, in Mannlichen, high above the world

I try to look more Swiss with my new purchase, which I wore to work the next day

One short week later, I took the train from Basel (via Biel and Lausanne) to Montreux. Yes, I was a t the Montreux Jazz Festival. I had long dreamed of going, but I finally made it...and it was incredib le. There were tents set up along Lake Geneva, and lots of bands were playing until about 3 am. Some t ents had beer, some sold souvenirs, some sold food....and just amazing jazz. Groups from all over the US and Europe. I also had tickets to 7 concerts in the auditoriums. The festival has diversified a lot over the last years, and so I heard one of my favorite groups (though not jazz), Ladysmith Black Mamb azo. I heard a hip-hop group called Blackalicious. I then heard D'Angelo, who is at the top of the US charts, and Candy Dulfer, who was just incredible. I got a CD of her's from Amazon.com. Candy Dulfer w as so good, and I had a 3rd row seat. Everyone got up and moved toward the stage for the last few song s. I was right in the front and center. She shook my hand with her right, while playing with her left. It was pretty sweet!!! The concerts went on, two at a time from 8:30 pm to 2 am. In Allschwil, the n ext evening, I was sitting, nibbling on some chocolate I'd gotten in Montreux (right next to her siste r city Vevey, home of Nestle) when I heard a band playing and decided to follow the sound. I ended up outside of town where a week-long fest was in full swing. There was beer, sausage, music, and a ton o f people. Due to mobility constraints and dancing issues, I didn't bring my camera with me, so this description will have to suffice.

My friend Dina Feith from MIT came to visit me for a weekend. She and I took a weekend trip to Belfort, a large French town northwest of Basel. Our primary motivation was to see the start of the 20th stage of the 2000 Tour de France and its leader, Lance Armstrong. We also visited the ancient fortress above the city which defended it through many wars. Near the fortress is a giant Bartholdi statue of a Lion commemorating the bravery of the city's people.

The start of the 20th stage of the Tour de France (Lance Armstrong in yellow)

Dina atop the fortress of Belfort

Andy and the Belfort Lion

I spent my next weekend in London. It was a four-day-weekend due to the August first Swiss national holiday. In London, I visited the Tower, the British museum, the Park, the Palace, and a number of pubs. I also met my fraternity brother Doug Creager, and his friend Barry. We rented bikes rode from Salisbury across some of the Plain to Stonehenge.

I am inspired to poetry in the British Museum by the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon

I visit the Queen's abode in London, Buckingham Palace

Doug and Barry biking toward Stonehenge

Doug, Barry, and I at Stonehenge

A Beefeater and I at the Tower of London

My last weekend found me back in Italy, this time exploring Florence. My quest for art took me to the Uffizi and to the Academia di Bella Arti. I visited half a dozen churches including the Duomo, the Medici Chapels, and San Lorenzo. Best of all, I visited the synagogue of Florence.

I stood in line for an hour and a half to visit the renowned Uffizi Gallery

Michelangelo's David and I pose for a picture

I went to a Sunday mass at San Lorenzo, built in 393 by St. Ambrose

I went to the great Florentine Synagogue for Mincha and Maariv on Shabbat. In a room that could seat 2000, there were four of us (and 90 Torah scrolls in a golden ark 50 feet tall). For Havdalah, the Rabbi went outside and cut springs of fresh rosemary to sniff.