back from the swiss circuit

Mac and I had a good trip to Switzerland, making a circuit from Zurich (3 nights) to Sankt Gallen (2) to Chur (1) to Lugano (3) to Basel (4) and back to Zurich (1). Architectural highlights: villas all around (especially Zurich and Sankt Gallen); Shavian pile on Zurich lakefront; Stiftskirche and Stiftsbibliothek in Sankt Gallen (one of the great mss sites of the early Middle Ages so just being there was exciting); Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein in Vaduz; the Castello in Lugano (have to check and see if it's by the Coppedè; my Coppedè book is in the Alfred annex); the ex-Casa del Fascio by Giuseppe Terragni in Como; the cathedral in Como; Kunstmuseum Basel; Le Corbusier's Maison Blanche for his parents; Schaulager Basel by Herzog + de Meuron; Vitra Design Museum and complex. Lots of interesting art too. The mountains are, of course, spectacular. We took the Bernina Express from Chur to Lugano (train from Chur to Tirano and post bus on to Lugano). Not many stamps in the passport even though I was in four countries over the two weeks (the Liechtenstein stamp is 2 CHF at the tourist stand). Only the Italians stamped the passport when we got to Tirano. Languages lots of fun: we passed from German to French to German to French between Basel and La Chaux-de-Fonds. I'll be working on a travelogue as soon as the email pile gets a bit smaller.