Sunday Morning Thoughts – July 7, 2024

No apologies for all the pictures

What a week! I know I say that a lot, but this was another one for sure. I’m gonna have to skip a few things otherwise this will get way too long and I don’t have the energy for a superlong newsletter today. There’s a reason for that and it’s a good one. No need to worry.

We do need to talk about Euro 2024 quickly. Now, even if you don’t watch any of the games – like me, you can’t escape it. Depending on where you live there will be fans driving around honking for about an hour after their team won. So, the Turkish fans woke me up in the middle of the night on Tuesday. I know it wasn’t technically the middle of the night, what’s your point? I was asleep, they woke me up. Those horns are freaking loud. I live on the main road through town and don’t usually hear traffic much. Note to my American readers – the main road in a Swiss village is not all that “main” 😉.

I think it goes without saying that I was rooting for the Netherlands yesterday and they totally came through. Their fans may be loud in Germany, and everybody loves their “to the right – to the left” dance. I know I do. But Dutch people in Switzerland don’t go driving around waking people up. I like that about them. The updated mission is that they beat England in the semifinals and win the Euros. England beat Switzerland yesterday. That wasn’t the plan at all.

I went to the local shopping center during the game. I wasn’t the only one who had that idea. The atmosphere was super relaxed though. A lot of people chatting in the supermarket. You don’t usually see much of that. I guess they were in no rush getting home where soccer was being watched.

Because the weather is still awful, I bought Raclette cheese. Looking forward to eating that. It’s soooo good. And yes, I’m totally eating it with pineapple. Melted cheese and pineapple is just too good a combination. I don’t care what the Italians say. They are clearly missing out. Team Pizza Hawaii.

Friday was a rare day without rain. Especially weekends have been pretty awful for weeks. Anyway, I have Fridays off and hopped on a bus at 5.20 to go on an adventure. I got there at 7.07 and I was back home at 10.20 for those keeping track. Totally worth it! This tourist attraction has a train stop on either side.

Top left – train stop Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall, you can see the castle in the bottom picture too as well as the rail bridge across the Rhine. Top middle – that’s the same stop looking down from a pathway across the tracks. Top right – on the other side there are a couple of elevators to get you up to the train stop. They were out of order on Friday though. From the train you have a great view of the waterfalls. I can highly recommend it. This stop is called Neuhausen Rheinfall. But you have this view from all direct trains running from Zurich to Schaffhausen. Just make sure you sit on the right and upstairs (if that’s an option). It’s shortly before you arrive in Schaffhausen.

On the castle side of the waterfalls there are viewing platforms, and you can get up close and personal with the water. I didn’t use the camera zoom for any of these pictures. It is the biggest waterfall in Europe in terms of volume. There was some extra volume for sure. I’ve never seen it this powerful. My nervous system reacted and got overwhelmed. That was interesting to see. I know why this happened and I’m proud that I noticed right away. I was able to just walk away and regulate my nervous system. Only took a few minutes.

On this side of the Rhine Falls you need a ticket. It costs CHF 5 (about $6, I guess). Now don’t tell anybody, but at 7 AM the ticket machines are still switched off and the gates are open. You didn’t hear this from me. Also, and that’s the real reason I get there early – NO people. Or very very few people. It tends to get crowded later in the day.

You can then walk across the rail bridge and down the other side. These pictures are in the wrong order, but I can’t be bothered to change that. I loved the double rainbow. Top left – that’s the view from the train. You have to time it just right. That’s easier coming from Schaffhausen because you can actually see the waterfall. Coming from Zurich you’re in a tunnel, then you’re not and boom – the Rhine Falls.

I do love obvious signs. I mean, if you need to be told that swimming here is not a great idea, I don’t know how you survived this far.

Can we talk about signs? Rhine Falls – great sign no issue there. It’s pretty cool. These signs are all over the place. I love that they have pictures and text. Huge fan. BUT … how is it that only women and people in wheelchairs are using the elevator? That one bugged me. Then there’s the train and bus one. Love how specific it is. I mean it could just be one or the other.

Also, bicycles. There are a couple of bike routes that run along here. A mountain bike one and regular bike routes. Either way, it’s steep. Down by the river cyclist have to get off their bikes and walk. Mainly because it gets crowded. It’s only for 250 meters and not really necessary at 7 AM.

I have so many thoughts on the US election – wtaf is going on?!; recent natural disasters in Switzerland that are clearly manmade; elections in the UK – Larry the Number 10 cat would make a better PM than the lot of them; narcissism rearing its ugly head yet again. For mental health reasons I can’t go into full on rant mode today. I could, but it wouldn’t be helpful.

Okay just one thing, seriously Democrats – NOW you’re calling for Biden to step down and let somebody else run for president? I mean you had years to put somebody forward and you decided Biden was the best you had. We’ll talk about that some other time. But how is this even happening now. That orange thing gets elected and eight years later you still don’t have a decent candidate to run against him. That’s so pathetic. If this goes wrong, you can’t play the victim card. If Biden is the best you have, you have clearly lost the plot. Completely lost the plot. And yes, it’s very late in the game to call for a different candidate. What a shit show.

Anyway, breathe … When I was looking at my pictures and trying to decide which ones to use in this newsletter, I noticed one of my recent paintings and this picture from the Rhine Falls. Do you see it?

I have so much to do, and I need to write / finish at least eight book chapters today. The goal was to have the first draft ready by July 22. Doesn’t look likely now. I don’t have a hard deadline. I just need to get this done. I can already feel myself being distracted by offers for my paintings. Might have to start selling some. I also wonder how difficult it is to get the art museum in Aarau to put them on display. I might just ask. You never know.

I went to the art supply store in the pouring rain yesterday. I was out of canvases. And yes, I had like 15 of them. Again, what’s your point? And I bought the cutest neon green tabletop easel. I discovered an entirely new section of that store. Not sure if that’s good. But as long as I go there by bike or train, I should be okay.

Here’s hoping that nobody pisses me off today. That wouldn’t be a good idea at all. I’m super grumpy today and totally owning it.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.