More Biel (8/9/1981)

Sunday, August 9, 1981

Rained all morning but able to take a walk in Biel in the afternoon.

Kinderspital Wildermeth flag

First a visit to my neighbors to the north: the cows.

Berghausweg to Sonnhalde to Falbringen (street names).

Espaliered pear and peach trees on Falbringen

Crossed under the railroad tracks and pulled out my camera in case a train went by. Wooosh! They go by too fast!
Down Rue du Stand and left into the alley of Rosenheimweg to the Bulova factory.
Faubourg du Jura past the St Maria Immaculata Church (1926-29):

St Maria Immaculata

Down Bubenberg Strasse to the Stadtpark/City Park.

Bilingual sign

City Park fountain

Please return chairs here

The Schuss/Suze River beyond the park.

Fishermen in the Schuss

Looking up the Schuss to the Omega factory

You can follow the Schuss downtown to Zentralplatz/Central Square.

Trolley bus and regular bus in Central Square

Looking up Bahnhofstrasse from the train station

Trolley bus at Bahnhofplatz/Train Station Square

Headed north from Bahnhofplatz to cross the Schuss on Viaduktstrasse. Followed the Schuss to Bielersee/Lake Biel.

Schuss before entering Lake Biel

Lake Biel marina

Bieler Strandbad/Swimming beach

Bielersee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft/
Lake Biel Navigation Company excursion boat

Ländtestrasse to Seevorstadtstrasse to the Seilbahn/Funiculaire/Cable Railway Biel-Magglingen station.

Seilbahn/Funiculaire/Cable Railway Biel-Magglingen lower station

Funicular/Cable car

Too cloudy to bother riding up the mountain for a view. Stopped in at the Schwab Museum that displays Colonel Friedrich Schwab's collections of archaeological findings from nearby areas. Prehistoric lake dwellers were his specialty and he discovered the town of La Tene, which gives its name to the second Iron Age.
Continued on Seevorstadtstrasse then right on Zentralstrasse.

Zentralstrasse/Central Street

Nidaugasse/Nidau Lane

Nidaugasse up into the Altstadt/Old Town.
The former Zeughaus/Arsenal or Armory, built in 1589-91, became the Stadttheater/City Theater in 1842.

Biel flags and Stadttheater/City Theater façade

Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen/Justice Fountain
in Burgplatz/Castle Square

Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen/Justice Fountain was built in 1535, but the statue was created in 1714 by French immigrant Jean Boyer.

Bernese architecture in Obergasse/Upper Lane

Schützengasse to Juraplatz

Back up to the hospital.

Steep shortcut stairs.

The Sunday visitor has been explained. This time it was Tuesday evening when he parked and smoked while staring at the Personalhaus/staff residence. Suddenly he waved and motioned for someone to come down. The auburn-haired laundry lady came out and they walked off having a lively conversation (hands flying). An hour later they came walking back, shook hands and he got in the car. They talked some more through the car window, seemed to go to shake hands again when he pulled her closer (to whisper in her ear?!). He drove off. He returned on Friday in a red Alfa Romeo and beeped, and the auburn-haired lady came out to get in the car and they drove off. He didn't come today!
Who's a nosy parker?!

Monday, August 10, 1981

Today I went to treat one of my patients, Nadia S, at Stern am Ried, a children’s home. Berghausweg to Sonnhalde to take a left on Falbringen, following it out into the country, passing a dairy farm and a sheep pen. I arrived at the tiny community of Ried with its fountain and very narrow road. There was no reception at the home, so I asked a cleaning woman in German. She asked if I spoke English! She was then able to direct me. While working with Nadia, I heard a lot of Berner German. Learned the word for “Look!” It’s basically the same as in English, except in two syllables!

Returning to the hospital, I passed a city street cleaner in bright orange garb with his “witch’s” broom (twigs tied to a stick).

Wednesday, August 12, 1981

Found a new shortcut yesterday, right from the driveway entrance of the hospital, straight down a series of stairs and it crosses the railroad at grade. Used it to go to the evening concert in City Park.

No written program tonight, but the conductor, Harke de Roos, used a microphone to introduce each number. There was a variety of music, and later the conductor apologized that they were not playing anything by a Swiss composer, but that what they were playing was all by dead foreigners. So there!

The "Fandango" by Luigi Boccherini. A piece by Sergei Prokofiev with a viola solo performed by Françoise Pellaton. Something by Italian Giaochino Rossini, then Austrian Carl Zeller, French Jacques Offenbach, German Albert Lortzing, Armenian Aram Khachaturian, and Russian Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Again the ducks flew overhead and one had to make a u-turn over the orchestra because he hadn't gained enough altitude. He returned to the Schuss and hopefully made it on the next take-off.

The evening ended with a couple American medleys from "Kiss Me Kate" (Cole Porter) and "My Fair Lady" (Lerner and Loewe). The encore was the "Fandango." During the American songs, one violinist switched to playing the saxophone. Is the sax an American instrument? And does it always complain?

On my way home I ended up following a lost Didelphis virginiana/Virginia Opossum. I tried to make noise to scare him from the path, but that made him stop "dead" in his tracks. I then gently tossed an apple at him to get him to scurry off, but it accidentally hit him and he tucked in his head and played "dead." I gingerly made my way around him, but I guess I shouldn't have been afraid of him!

Friday, August 14, 1981

Found a four-leaf clover, right on schedule!