The tree as shelter; the branches of the tree weep down instead of rising up, reaching down to the water, down to the ground. You can pass through into this sheltered space, behind the green curtain. Then you feel like you are in a room enclosed but not entrapped. The veil of leaves is dense… Continue reading Shelter
Category: Zürich, Switzerland
Up for sale
At the Saturday flea market on the Bürkliplatz someone is selling piecemeal a botanical collection. The plants have been carefully flattened and taped down onto sturdy paper and placed between a folded sheet. Each has a white identification tag giving the botanical classification, location where it was collected and the date– all in the year… Continue reading Up for sale
Alter Botanischer Garten
From the hotel room I look across at the old botanical garden. I am intrigued by use of the word ‘old’ in the naming. Did it mean it was the abandoned garden like the old pair of shoes, tossed aside, replaced by the new? From my room I have the impression this is the case… Continue reading Alter Botanischer Garten
Freedom to flourish
On the train to Zürich from Bremen I overheard a fellow passenger and tourist say. “I love visiting Switzerland. It is like being in paradise…” Unsaid but implied… because Switzerland is so clean. Paradise in the imagining of this man, is a clean place, empty of the detritus of humans. It is true, Zürich, a… Continue reading Freedom to flourish