As mentioned in my post yesterday, the main reason for our trip to Basel was to see the Edward Hopper Exhibition at the Beyeler Museum. Due to the COVID virus, we had to book a time slot, but there still seemed to be too many people for our liking in each room. Thankfully, after pausing for a few minutes, the crowds dispersed and indeed, the other exhibits seemed to be almost free of people. In case you are wondering, masks were recommended, but not compulsory.

Sadly, we were not allowed to take photos of some of Hopper’s more famous works, so the images below are my personal favourites from the rest of the exhibits.

Afterwards we took the tram back to the city centre and any trip to Basel would not be complete without a look at, or around, the magnificent Rathaus. As you will see, I was again amused by some of the ‘face’ detailing.

As an added bonus, since any static image of the Tinguely Fountain could never do it justice, I’ve included a video of it at the bottom of the page. The Fountain was created in 1977 by Jean Tinguely where the stage of the old city theatre once stood. The Swiss artist has created 10 mechanical figures which are in constant motion, mimicking the artists, actors and dancers who once performed on the theatre stage. Enjoy!

Tinguely Fountain video:

In a slight departure from my usual style of one single gallery, I’ve split the images up into 4 sections, covering the topics in the title. The pictures were more or less in this sequence anyway, but I wanted to say something about each, so I thought this was the best way…

During the lockdown, when I’ve had nothing much better to do, I’ve been in the habit of walking up the paths at the back of our chalet. As you may recall from previous posts, there’s always something interesting up there and yesterday was no different.

Bird:
For the past, 6 or 7 weeks, I’ve sometimes seen but often heard, what I think are Western Bonelli’s Warblers. I’ve been trying to get a decent picture, often taking Jude’s SLR with me in the hope of getting a ‘good’ shot. But they have proved very elusive. Yesterday, I went with just my point and shoot camera and so, you guessed it, Sod’s Law, two or three of them were right there no more than 12 feet in front of me. I snapped away regardless and these were the best results. I’m hoping someone can confirm my id.

Bugs:
Not for nothing is our home called Chalet Les Criquets (The Crickets). At this time of year there’s a constant chirruping noise, though mainly of grasshoppers. As you walk along our grass driveway there’s a moving cloud as 10’s of them leap out of your way. It’s no wonder the birds come to our garden. There are quite a few species too. Below are just a few examples, plus an ugly looking horsefly type thing.

Butterflies:
And then of course, there are always butterflies. I was particularly pleased to capture what I think is an Alpine Zephyr Blue. (See first 2 pics below). It’s not normally seen this far down the Rhone valley so, if I’m right, it’s quite a rare find. I’ve also included my first (photographed) Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year… 😊

Flowers:
Towards the end of my walk, I found 4 ‘new’ plants, more or less growing side by side (pics F2 to F5 below) and, to my delight, I’ve actually identified 3 of them! The mushrooms or toadstools were tiny, each no more than about 5 millimetres high, and they were growing in a tree stump. Finally I’ve included a map of my route at the end.

It only really occurred to me yesterday that, with restrictions still in place in many countries and travel off the menu for most, this site can transport you to another part of the world without you even having to leave home. So I make no apologies for including quite a lot of images in this post, as I think it will give you a better feel for the walk.

As you will see there are quite a few flowers in the gallery. I’ve deliberately left them unnamed so that you can both marvel at their variety and beauty and try to identify each, just as if you had been walking along the path yourself. The other reason of course is that it takes me ages to identify them and even then I sometimes cannot find the answer. This was/is particularly true of the ‘Light brown plant’ in pic 42. I thought it was a dead flower when I walked by the first time, but then took a closer look on my return. It looks very much like an orchid to me, but I cannot find anything similar looking anywhere online. There are no leaves, it just grows straight out of the ground. I’m guessing that it’s some form of Coralroot Orchid which, if true, is “rather rare” according to my Alpine Flora book.

I also thought I’d try to bring some sense of being abroad by including some French, as I often find the names of the butterflies much more exciting in French – like the Brimstone (which always reminds me of fire and brimstone) is known as a Citron. The Moorland Clouded Yellow is a Solitaire, the Mountain Clouded Yellow a Candide and the Purple-shot Copper is a Cuivré Flamboyant. The Black-veined White (which at least describes what it is – see pic 30), is a Gazé. But WordPress doesn’t seem to allow me to include the e with an acute accent in the gallery names, so I’ve had to stick with English. There is however a picture of an information board written in French and German for anyone who’d like to test their language skills. 😊

For more information (in English) and a video of some of the most ‘exciting’ (aka exposed) parts of the route, please click here.

Bonne promenade!