Getting away from the cold
12:13 AM
It happens that on Friday, we both had reason to go to Lugano for appointments. Me for school, he for work. Anyway, the drive from Basel to Lugano is about three hours and our meetings were late in the day, so we decided to spend the night and get to know Lugano a little bit better.
The foremost in obvious differences between Basel and Lugano on this trip was the temperature. When we left Basel it was 20 degrees. In Lugano (by then mid day) it was 50 degrees. Which is the difference between freezing and walking around comfortably.
Due to the temperature change, the foliage is different too… palms, bougainvillea , etc. Lugano has much more of a Mediterranean feel in part because of the architecture also. This is because Lugano is in the Italian portion of Switzerland.
The Italian-ness is not merely symbolic or old vestiges. The city is really a blending of typical Swiss and Typical Italian, but not entirely one or the other. This can be seen in the architecture, the buildings are light and airy with tall ceilings and brightly colored buildings with elaborate cornices. The food and language are obviously also Italian and so, the greatest area of Swiss-Italian blending is in cultural attitudes.
For example, the interactions that people there had with our dog Mo were quite different and much friendlier. In Basel, everyone we meet is concerned with Mo’s sex. As if that quality pre-determines everything about his character. They emphasize that he is just a domesticated WILD ANIMAL. Therefore there is an underlying feeling that he may attach people or other animals at any time. This could not possibly be further from Mo’s character and needs. He’s really gone through withdrawn with the inability to socialize with other dogs… particularly other males. There seems to be a greater aptitude to be flexible. A Swiss-Italian will find it just as bizarre that someone may want to eat lunch at 1:30 but they will not stop you. This “insight” is just the overall feeling that I got after one weekend, so who knows how truly correct I am about it. I am hopeful that the situation will work out such that I can learn more soon.
You can see some of my photos here: Photo Krieger
Sweet Dreams and Goodnite
12:13 AM
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
