The other museum that I ran in and out of is the Pinokothek der Moderne that houses art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Designed by the German Architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was opened in September 2002 after seven years of construction. As it was drizzling that morning, the visitors deposited their wet umbrella outside and left it opened to dry. The gray concrete walls provided a nice background for an abstract composition of colors and shapes.
On my last day in Munich, I had only 3 hours to do some sightseeing. Several art museums are clustered in an area (Kunstareal; go check out its cool web site) just north of the center of Munich which I can reach easily. I would not have enough time to enter and view the art in any one of them. So, I did what I considered the next best thing – checked out the museum shops and reception areas, and observed the architecture. The first museum I encountered was Neue Pinakothek which displays art from the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum was built in 1981 by Alexander von Branca.
Shown below here is one side of Alte Pinakothek which features art from the 14th to 16th centuries.
At the end of July, I was to attend a business conference in Munich. The conference hotel was fully booked so I had to find some place quickly. Turning to New York Times for suggestions, I booked a room at the Louis Hotel. As the rate was about the same as the conference hotel, it was within my budget. Its notable features: its central location (Viktualienmarkt, just off Marienplatz), the hotel’s Japanese restaurant (Emiko), and the room interior. Below is a mini tour of my room. I will likely stay there again on my next visit.
Claustrophobic hallway with room numbers printed on the lights, but copper panel on each door (what for ?). 
My room is a “market deluxe” grade room with windows facing the market. Note the untreated wooden floor (I did not miss the standard wall-to-wall carpet but was worried about splinters on my feet). I guess the theme here is to use as much natural materials as possible.
Bose ipod docking station, Jacob Jensen telephone.
Check out the surprisingly well-stocked drinks cabinet in the room.
An internal window allows direct view of the shower from the bedroom.
Yellow rubber duck was provided by the hotel. The same type of rattan screen is also found on the back of the chair and sofa.
An interesting thing in the room is this little tower. The upholstered finish matches the other pieces of furniture.
A minibar, a DVD player and a TV is completely hidden from view inside the tower. No wires poking out, nothing.
Louis Hotel is apparently a member of Design Hotels – a marketing group, the web site of which I highly recommend a visit, if you are looking for an interesting hotel. Incidentally, I blogged about one of their member hotels in Playa del Carmen last year – I did not stay there, nor did I know about the group then – check out my post on Hotel Deseo.
After my last post on interesting beverages, I thought that it might be fun to blog about what might be required afterwards.
The last time I was at Le Flon (a Covent Garden-like or Union Square-like place) in Lausanne, I did not see that transparent toilet. Knowing me, if I went in I would have made a similar video (minus the French voiceover). I have seen that kind of glass first used in Prada’s changing room in Soho 5+ years ago. The technology has apparently gone down-market.
So far, all the public toilets I have come across in Switzerland requires an entrance fee of CHF1 – 2. I used the one at Lausanne’s main train station run by the company “McClean”. Its hardware includes a bit of art at the bottom of it. It was amusing for the first time when you spotted it. I guess it makes you feel better about paying the entrance fee – added cultural value. I wonder what design/art the ladies room contains given it would not have the same type of hardware. After I took these pictures, the attendant asked me to stop photographing, probably thinking that I was a pervert. I am not !
Apologies to those who found the pictures of toilets distasteful, but I believe they are part of the adventure, and should thus be included.
We bought these beverages from our local supermarket. Cannabis Ice Tea – the ingredient lists hemp and lemon, beside black tea. It did not taste different from normal ice tea and I did not feel “high” after consuming it. Where is the “Fantastic Natural Feeling” ? I bought it just because of its name, but what an effective gimmick. They were also sold in a vending machine at a train station and were priced lower than a can of Coke (same size). Someone gotta import this into the US, Snapple watch out !
How about these flavored beers ? Grapefruit + Cranberry, or Yuzu + Lemon.
Or this supermarket-branded beer called “Hell” (the word means “pale color”) ?
As was seen in our previous post, Yvoire is full of old medieval homes with their downstairs turned into cute and old-fashioned shops, cafes, and restaurants. Instead of laced tea-cosies and quilted cushions, we decided to stop at probably the only modern cafe in town – Le Jardin de Lily Jeanne. It has mostly outdoor seating and faces a garden. But the most attractive feature is a “bar” in front where people can sit around it on bar-stool height chairs. In the midde of the “bar” top is a mini herb garden with several fishbowls and white pebbles. “Ciboulette”, written on the little blackboard (picture above) means chives. I guess the chef can come out to the “bar” and get his fresh ingredients for the menu.
The cafe uses green and orange chairs paired with tabletops made of gray slate and orange and green tiles. The color theme is orange, green, white and gray. Even the goldfish on the “bar” is color-matched ! Some of the utensils are organized around a garden theme – little watering cans and buckets for teabags and sugars. I am curious about how the place would look at night with all lit candles.
Captain Chris selling artisanal, decor and cadeaux !
We came to Yvoire by boat from Nyon (see previous post). What a picturesque, quaint medieval village Yvoire is! The 14th century castle and fortifications are still standing, and the narrow streets are lined with workshops, restaurants, all decorated by flowers, lots of flower baskets. But it is too perfect – so much so that it felt like a theme park or a movie set – it reminded me of the Shire in The Lord of the Rings. Our visit was on a weekday and it was crawling with tourists. I cannot imagine what the weekend would be like. Apparently, it is one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (“The most beautiful villages of France”) which is an independent association, created in 1982, according to Wikipedia. The aim of this association to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage (tourist trap ? yes but there is nothing deceptive as the place lived up to the statement).
IT, who had been here before, went shopping. To compensate for the lack of shopping during her last visit, she came back with bags of scented knickknacks, cushion-covers, blankets, … etc. I believe the shop above (“Coup de coeur”) was where she spent money.
The place even has a guitar busker. A very nice half day indeed.
While Sis was visiting, we decided to go to Yvoire which lies on the other side of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in France. There is a ferry service that leaves from Lausanne, making several stops on the Swiss and French sides, with Yvoire being one of the stops. But we were up too late and could not fully understand the timetable, so we drove to Nyon and took the ferry there which goes directly across to Yvoire. Nyon is about half way between Lausanne and Geneva.
The boat, named Savoie, was made in 1914 but it has been kept in tip-top shape, mechanically as well as its fixtures. The engine is beautifully maintained and proudly shown off to the passengers. The trip was a short 20 minute ride. Very pleasant, this being our first time sailing across Lac Léman. This lake is quite different from our other trips on Swiss lakes – Lac de Lugano had mountains at the water edge, and Zurichsee (Lake Zurich) was surrounded by nice homes. Here, we saw farm land.
Arriving at Yvoire. More about this medieval village in the next post.
La Vue-des-Alpes is a stopover on the scenic road to La Chaux de Fonds from Neuchâtel. Located on the Jura at 4200 feet, it commands a panoramic view across to the Alps. We discovered a toboggan track, also known as la luge d’été (summer luge) – basically, a plastic bucket seat with wheels that roll down the hill on a steel channel. The only control is a stick that when pulled back slows the descent. No head protection was provided/necessary. Sue went first, with IT in the middle, and I follow at the back. The operator was telling us by loudspeaker to slow down because it was drizzling and the track was wet. Kids loved it but it was a bit tame for us. Fun and a bit short though.
When you think of Swiss cowbell, you would imagine a quite annoying, loud – dong, dong, dong sound. Apparently not so in the field. The closest I can think of is the sound made by a wind chime. It also evokes the musical sound of Indonesian Gamelan. They make a continuous tinkering sound, dissonant and seemingly without a rhythm, and yet somewhat soothing. While I believe the cowbells are mass produced, they apparently all ring at a slightly different tone. In Switzerland, herds of cow are sent to roam in the mountain where the grass is green during the summer. So it becomes quite interesting when a herd of cows – the performers – move around the mountain or when they dip their heads to munch grass. Listen.
Sorry about the wind noise in the video. It was made near La Chassarel, which can be seen in a distance marked by a Swisscom telecommunication tower. At 5200 feet, it is the highest point in the Northern Jura mountains, and about 45 minutes from Neuchâtel.
Did the title by any chance remind you of the now classic Saturday Night Live skit starring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken “More Cowbell !”? Check it out online, it is silly but funny.
Chris & Sue's Excellent(?) Adventures 