Albert Einstein

I read ...

Albert Einstein. Physicist. Born in Ulm, Germany, on 14th March 1879; died in Princeton, New Jersey, USA, on April 18th 1955. Einstein is regarded as the father of today's philosophical and scientific conception of the world, like Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton before him. As a humanist he courageously fought for world peace.

... therefore, I think!

Today would then be the day that he came to this world !

Last June, I was visiting Bern, Switzerland.

Upon my return, I have written a word (click here) about  regular life in Bern ... the day-to-day life.

I have spared you the touristy things but today I have decided to share 2 pictures of Einstein's apartment at Kramgass 49, Bern ...

So here it is ...

Living room

Some knick knacks

Why are we so curious as to go visit someone else's house?

What can be there that could be so interesting to us? Geek voyeurism ???

Sometimes, I think of names such as Einstein, Oppenheimer, Curie, Dewar, Wiley, Stahl, Solvay, Nicolaou or any other ones and I am mesmerized at the date they died. I remember when I was still in college and thinking of these scientists as being ancient ... but no, no ... at the most what ? 100 years. So many scientific discoveries have been done in the past 100-200 years, unbelievable.

Holyfields - Time to eat

I've traveled to Berlin


and ate at Holyfields


... therefore, I think!


In time of technology, iPads and iPhones the concept is great! There are NO waiters, but it also not a fast food setting.
The food was very good, the service also good (although for the non-initiated ... it should have been better explained, but I do not speak German so I cannot really complain, someone was nice enough to speak to me in English).

So, how does it work? Touch screen Baby!

You enter the restaurant and go to one of the stations to order.

Hum, The first choice ...

Lunch, breakfast, dessert? what will it be?

My companion stopped his choice on beef !

Once the choice is done ... Thank you and Bon appétit !

At that point, you are given a pager.
You can go get your drinks at the bar, pick a table and then ...

Walk toward the back !

Nice !

Nice open ceilings with natural lighting

To quench your thirst ... Holy water from the tap

When your pager start buzzing ... 

you go to the food station where one of the "apostles" will give you your meal!

et Voilà !

Looks pretty much as seen on the ordering screen ! WOW!

Mine, an avocado burger.

Overall, a very good experience of cafeteria style restaurant with no cafeteria food !
It was very tasty. You go to Berlin, try this one.

Visiting Berne, Switzerland

I travel in Switzerland

... and have stopped in Berne

... therefore, I think!

I was thinking of giving you a tour of Bern and then looking at the pictures I took that they were probably the same ones that you could find about anywhere on the internet. You visit a town, you do not reinvent the wheel ... you picture whatever is there, so you probably see the same as any other visitors. 

So today, I have decided to share pictures of unusual things I had the pleasure to see during my visit in Berne. Things that have made my trip different.

I have visited Berne on a Saturday.

You know my love for food and cooking. As I was walking in the old town (and I was not taking pictures of doors) ... I visited the "farmers' market" ... at Münstergasse (meat specialties) and Bundesplatz Märit (fruits & vegetables, flowers). Imagine me seeing all this beauty !

I have also visited some near by food stores ... just because ...A superb Italian specialty store in Bern ... I have bought some pasta, because they were just too beautiful ... I will cook them and present them soon.

Ferrari, Bern

Gigantic Morels !

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

 ... followed by a quick stop for chocolate ! Being in Switzerland an d not stopping once would be a sin.
So I did not pick any one, no no ... I've stopped at Confiseur Läderach.
It was not only good for the palate but also for the eyes!

Chocolate Factory

... and you can get very expensive Hot Dogs and Fries!

Going from there, I've walked toward the Aare river ... and found other fabulous things!

Many cities are starting to have these types of fountains. They are pretty and when it is warn, it is a lot of fun to just watch the kids playing with the water.

 I was mesmerized watching these 2 couples who have exchanged partners the time of an impromptu tango!

... and to end it all, I had the chance to see an air show over the city from:

Swiss Air Force

Patrouille Suisse

F-5E Tiger II

Chillon Castle

I read

Carlos Santana, BB King, Sting and Paul Simon were the worthy representatives of this 45th edition. Arcade Fire, who won a Grammy Award for Best Album of 2011 and is considered one of the most influential bands of the Indie Rock scene, performed exclusively at the Montreux Jazz Festival as their only concert in Switzerland this year. 

Montreux Jazz Festival

... therefore I think!

That I have not completed my trip through Switzerland ! Of course, you think Switzerland, Lac Léman comes to mind. I have driven to Montreux, host every year of the Montreux Jazz Festival. That of course was making me think that I was going to almost completely miss the one in Montreal this year (25 June- 4 July), since I was in Europe ...

Montreux? Nice town, rich, lots of money and WHAT A VIEW ! did not stay much, but here are some pics:

Lac Léman

Montreau

From there I went to Château de Chillon ... another wow ...

The Château de Chillon (Chillon Castle) is located on the shore of Lake Léman in the commune of Veytaux, at the eastern end of the lake, 3 km from Montreux, Switzerland. The castle consists of 100 independent buildings that were gradually connected to become the building as it stands now.

The oldest parts of the castle have not been definitively dated, but the first written record of the castle is in 1160 or 1005. From the mid 12th century, the castle was home to the Counts of Savoy, and it was greatly expanded in the 13th century by Pietro II. The Castle was never taken in a siege, but did change hands through treaties.

It was made popular by Lord Byron, who wrote the poem The Prisoner Of Chillon (1816) about François de Bonivard, a Genevois monk and politician who was imprisoned there from 1530 to 1536; Byron also carved his name on a pillar of the dungeon. The castle is one of the settings in Henry James's novella Daisy Miller (1878).

The history of Chillon was influenced by 3 major periods: the Savoy Period, the Bernese Period and the Vaudois Period.

Here some pictures of outside the castle:

One of the bedrooms:

Nice drawings on walls to decorate:

Bathroom:

View from Dungeon when you can actually be close enough to see ...

Taking a shuttle

Equitable Life Insurance Co, NYC
Postcard

I wonder


What is the world's most popular transportation company?


... therefore, I think!

Think, think hard my friends about your answer ... and one clue ... do not think cars! as in vehicle on the road.

If your answer is OTIS, you win.

If you are puzzled by the answer think as in vertical shuttle ! as in to go from ground floor to which ever floor you are going to. Apparently, it is estimated that the equivalent of the world's population travels in Otis elevators, escalators or moving walkways every three to nine days! Now, you are surprised, aren't you?

A parenthesis on history: 

Elisha Otis invented in 1852 a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting cable fail. The following year,  Otis founded an elevator company under the name Union Elevator Works, which later was renamed Otis Brothers & Co. Today, the company is owned by the United Technology Company.

Just in case, you have never paid attention while you were in an elevator, here is to refresh your memory:

There is life before and after the OTIS elevator.

Before: 

no skyscrapers. Rent was more expensive on floors below (that has changed) and revenues of business on top floors were also lower since fewer people were going up ... Stair cases were dark and narrow, not too convivial for anyone ... 

After:

Well ... in 1868, the Equitable Life Assurance Co. thought about it carefully and having prime location at the corner of Broadway and Cedar Street in NYC, launched a competition (architecture) for a new building that would have to have a passenger elevator ... and that was it. They kept the lower floors for their business and rented the top floors at the maximum price selling the fact that there was lighter, fresh air, less noise from the street and a better view! That was a radical new idea !

The elevator has completely changed are way of living! Today, the cream of the cream is on top floor that is for housing, offices or stores. Just to give you an idea, here are some famous building that have Otis elevators: the Eiffel Tower (Paris, France), Empire States Building (NYC, USA), Petronas Twin Tower (Malaysia), CN Tower (Toronto, Canada), Skylon Tower (Niagara Falls, Canada), and Burj Khalifa (Dubai).

Bet you will check next time you take the vertical shuttle just to see if it is an OTIS !