Lake Lucerne

Lucerne from the Mussegg Wall

We began our day with a walk across the other Lucerne covered bridge, the Spreuerbrucke.  Not as famous as the Kapellbrucke probably because it is smaller, it nonetheless is very impressive.  It is the only bridge from which the people could toss chaff.  I know!  How restrictive!  There of course is a logical explanation.  It was the bridge which at one time housed the town mill and is downstream from most things.  It is the oldest timber bridge in Switzerland and dates from 1408. Most impressive on the bridge is a series of medieval-style paintings that hang in the rafters which depict the 'Dance of Death" about the plague.  From the bridge we walked up to the Mussegg Wall, the Medieval City Ramparts which are in almost perfect condition and comprise nine towers.  The towers were not opened but the view of the city and Lake Lucerne was awesome.  The weather is surprisingly spring like with temperatures in the 50s and crocuses, snowdrops blooming.

There are many museums in Lucerne.  We chose the Rosengart Museum, a private foundation funded by Angela Rosengart.  Through her father, Seigfreid, she was able to meet many significant artists of the 20th century and became a personal friend of Pablo Picasso. She bequeathed her collection of his and others' works to the foundation.  The works are housed in a beautifully refurbished building.  Picasso continues to intrigue us.  There were beautiful line drawings of bulls and women.

Lake Lucerne 

The day had time to spare and we used it to take a cruise up the river to Lake Lucerne.  It afforded us clear views of the Alps and out lying villages.  I ended my day with a chocolate purchase destined to be enjoyed with some Valpolicella Ripasso.
Pictures at flickr.  Video on YouTube.

Swiss Chocolates

Luzern Lucerne

Old Town Lucerne across the Reuss

After lugging boots across Europe in anticipation of Switzerland's snow we were surprised to be greeted with 51* temperatures today.  Meanwhile in Boston there was a low of -2.  As we rode the train in from Basel the low rolling hills were green and some land prepared for planting. Our hotel sits directly behind the train station and one block from the river Reuss.  Lucerne is located on the shores of Lake Lucerne and at the outflow of the river Reuss.  Two large Alp mountains frame a backdrop for the city.  In other words, gorgeous.

Our trip in was just a little over an hour which gave us plenty of time to get a feel for the city.  The old Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) is the oldest covered bridge in Europe (1333).  To get to the old town, we crossed the Reuss on it admiring the series of paintings installed in the rafters which depict events from Lucerne's history.

We stopped to admire the Lion Monument, a sculpture carved out of the mountain side commemorating hundreds of Swiss Guards massacred during the French Revolution.  They were mercenaries working for Louis XVI and guarding the Tuileries Palace when an armed mob stormed.  The dying lion's expression is so mournful and the size so large (35' across) as to be very effective.

Kapellbrucke 

We stopped in at a restaurant on the river where a jazz duo was performing.  A nice buffet of finger food and drinks with smooth jazz in the background provided a perfect ending for the day.
Pictures at flickr. Video at YouTube

Basel Kunstmuseum

Basel Town Hall

Our hotel is at the top of a very steep hill.  No matter which road we take to access it, we have to climb, climb, climb.  But the roads are narrow and mostly traffic free except for the usual bikers.  And the most adorable shops bump up against the street offering up art, food, clothing.  At the base of one hill is the Marktplace where the most beautiful Town Hall oversees a daily market.  The Hall has an open courtyard surrounded by painted walls that you can see in flickr.

After a stop at the Basel Minster and a look at the grand Rhine, we spent the day at the Kunstmuseum where we have a learned appreciation for Swiss art.  Its medieval and renaissance art is lively and forceful.  They have rooms devoted to Holbein, Cranach, Renoir, Cezanne and Monet to name a few.

This evening we decided to have fondue, because...well, we're in Switzerland.  What we got was pot full of enough cheese to feed an army.  Just melted cheese.  No salad.  No vegetables. Nothing but bread.  All of that for $68.  Yes, Switzerland is pricey.  So, that is it for fondue and us.  (Unless I find a chocolate fondue on the desert list)

We have purchased a Swiss Travel Pass which allows us to take the train anywhere in Switzerland for the next 8 days.  It also grants free admission to museums and inner city transportation i.e. trams, gondolas, ferries.  Tomorrow we will use it when we travel to Lucern.  Pictures galore of art at flickr.  Video of Town Hall.

Yodel-Ay-Deee-Ooo

Der Teufelhof Hotel

We took the short hour and half train ride to Basel this morning.  On first glance the area, although close in proximity to Strasbourg, is distant in language, cuisine and weather.  It's much colder and humid here.  Despite being on the French border, German seems to be the dominant if not exclusive language.  As usual, though, most understand and speak English.  The food seems less heavy than the Strasbourg dishes which were large, meat and potato filled casseroles.  As in Strasbourg, public transportation is by electric tram and pedestrians rule the streets.  The trams stop everywhere making it easy to get around.  The city is on the Rhine River and is renowned for museums and humanism.

Our hotel is known as the Art Hotel.  If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the man on the high wire.  Each room on the older side of the hotel has been decorated by an artist.  Our room is more like an art happening and not to my taste.  You'll need to see the video  to understand.  Friday is carnival in Basel.  Practically every shop has an array of masks in the window.  They are striking.  A few years ago we were in Venice for carnival.  It was such an eye-popping experience that I'm sorry to miss Basel's.

Video of the hotel room is on YouTube.   A few are at flickr.

If you care to read more about the hotel, I have included below a review from The Travel Online Magazine. 

The Teufelhof, in what was once a very large, turn-of-the-century middle-class house and stable located on the ancient circle of walls that once surrounded the city, is listed in Michelin as a restaurant mit Zim (with rooms). Though running a one-star Michelin restaurant is serious stuff, Der Teufelhof's owners have taken a more lighthearted approach to the hotel part of their business. The eight simple guestrooms with hardwood floors, white walls and simple furnishings are viewed as "empty canvases" and periodically eight different artists are commissioned to decorate them. The results are fascinating, but rather spare and hardly luxurious. The effect is in a range from avant garde to slightly bizarre. There are murals, mobiles, sculptures, paintings and high-tech lighting, but no couches or comfortable chairs. Each bathroom is equipped with a heated towel rack and hairdryer. We liked Numbers seven and eight, cozy, garret-like top floor rooms with exposed beams, dormer windows and slanting ceilings. One drawback for all rooms is that there is no lift and one must negotiate at least two flights of steep stairs. The Teufelhof is also known for the small (120 seats) but busy theater located within the walls of its rambling structure. The whole package, main dining room, Weinstube, theater and the eight guestrooms have been meticulously and imaginatively restored and the pieces of art carefully chosen. Note, for example, the clever pitchfork (Der Teufelhof means "the devil's house") wall sculptures incorporating images of famous people. For the flexible traveler who appreciates new ideas, even if they are a little quirky, Der Teufelhof will be fun.

Cave Historic

Wayne in the Cave Historique

Yesterday's visit to wine country put us in the mood to find out more about local wines at the Cave Historique Hospices Strasbourg.  This wine cave is in the medieval basements of the city hospital in Petite France.  The caves date from 1395 when poor patients would pay for hospital services with wine.  In return wealthy patients would receive the wine as part of their therapeutic treatment. Today there are more than 40 ancient barrels in the museum cave, one of which is filled with wine from 1472, one of the oldest in the world.   Some of  the barrels are beautifully carved with interesting histories.  One barrel was owned by King Louis XV, another was a wedding gift that never was used.  Today selected Alsatian wines are given permission to mature in the cave's barrels, bottled on the spot and sold.  All profits from the sales go toward the hospital's operating expenses.  

Writing about the hospital in Petite France reminded me of a fact we learned on the Batorama tour.  The name Petite France came about when French soldiers with syphilis were sent to the "hospice of the syphilitic" on the island. The local Germans called it the "French Disease"  to stop the local girls from sleeping with the soldiers.  Thus, the area of the hospice became known as Little France, more out of derision than patriotism.  The name stuck and today is one of the most expensive areas of the city.

Tomorrow we leave beautiful Strasbourg for Switzerland.  Stay tuned.  Pictures of the day at flickr.

Exploring Alsace

Wayne at his Meme's Home, Belfort

We picked up our rental car this morning and drove to Belfort where Wayne's grandmother was born. The drive there is through beautiful Alsatian wine country where acre upon acre of grape vines are waiting for spring to bring forth the grape.

As we drove into Colmar a smaller replica of The Statue of Liberty stood at the entrance to the town, birthplace of Frederick Bartholdi. We stopped in Colmar to view the Isenheim Altarpiece by Mathias Grunewald.  I have wanted to see this piece for as long as I can remember.  What a fortunate occasion to find that it was on route to Belfort.  The altarpiece has influenced many other artists from Jasper Johns to Picasso.  The original construction of two sets wings in three configurations has been broken apart so that visitors can see all the components.  It is displayed in the Unterlinden Museum, a former 13th-century Dominican religious sisters' convent.

Belfort was not at all as I expected, a quaint, medieval village with geese running through the streets and children in berets flying their kites.  Instead it was large and heavy with industry.  Wayne's Meme's house appeared to be abandoned.  Our calculations figure she was in the house around 1890.  The old historic district is pretty and the citadel is amazing with huge earthworks. At the citadel sits the Lion of Belfort a monumental sculpture by Bartholdi that stood for the people's resistance during the Franco-Prussian siege.  

Alsacian Plain with Swiss Alps in the Distance

On our return to Strasbourg we drove into the wine country and up above the plain of Alsace to the Haut-Kroningsbourg Castle.  The original castle was burnt in 1462 and rebuilt twice by 1867.  We knew this late in the day the Castle would be closed but wanted to see the view.  It was worth the drive to see the Plain and the Black Forest and a glimpse of the Swiss Alps.  Additional pictures at flickr.

A Good Day for a Long Walk

We did a lot of walking today just exploring little side streets, admiring the architecture and discovering some new areas beyond the Grand Ill.  I'm really sold on the life style here of a walking city with multiple open spaces and plenty of markets for your bread, cheese, wine and meats.  I know man does not live by bread alone, but a good baguette does make for a nice time. We started the day by stepping into St Thomas Lutheran Church which is across the plaza from our apartment.  Mozart once played the organ there.  Further along our route, we walked through the Barrage Vauban lapidarium where statues from the Palais Rohan and the Cathedral are exhibited.  We had intended to walk on top of the Barrage, but it was closed.  Saturday brought the people out.  The streets were crowded with jolly folk, at least two bands playing in the places, and the restaurants were serving on their sidewalk tables. A few pictures at flickr.

Strasbourg, From the Ancient to the Contemporary

Wayne in the Notre Dame Museum

The Notre Dame Cathedral Museum contains 7 centuries of Strasbourg and upper Rhine art and artifacts as well as the original plans for the Cathedral.  Sculptures from the Notre Dame and other church facades have been recovered and saved here from the Restoration, the Revolution and other natural occurrences.  They have been replaced at the Cathedrals with reproductions.  It is very neat to see these sculptures up close and to discover the significance of each one.  The Museum is in a building that spans from Gothic to Renaissance periods.  In itself it is museum piece.  The room pictured above, for example, is the room where the masons worked.  

We had lunch across the Place Notre Dame at Maison Kammerzell, a medieval civic building that is now a restaurant and hotel.  The walls on every floor are covered with frescoes by Leo Schnug and date from the late 1800s.  

Maison Kammerzell

With one day remaining on our museum pass, we headed for the Museum of Modern Art.  It's a small museum with significant works from the Impressionist period through today.  My favorite room was the Gustav Dore, but I really liked the wit and humor in many of the modern pieces.  

The Barrage Vauban

The museum is south of the Grande Ill and across from the Barrage Vauban.  Thus, as we walked back to the apartment, we had a wonderful sunset to bid us bonne nuit.

Lots of art pictures at flickr.

A River Runs Through It

Pont Covert

Today was so sunny and warm that we decided to take the Batorama, or boat tour.  The hour tour encircles the Grand Ill and ventures into the European quarter.  There are two locks on either side of the Ill that carry the boat up and down river.  While in the lock, the boat attracts onlookers who are fascinated by the technology.  People bring the crew coffee and chat while the boat elevates/descends.  On the western end of the Ill are the three Pont Coverts and four towers.  The bridges are no longer covered but maintain the name.  Built in the third century as a defense fortress, the coverings offered protection for the guards.  Close by and upstream is the Barrage Vauban, or dam, built by Louis XV which has 13 arched openings with locks in each.  During war the locks were lowered flooding lands south of the city and making them impassable to the enemy.  Woe to those who lived south of the city.  

The European Quarter is very modern and quite a contrast to the Grand Ill.  The Parliamentary building was named for Louise Weiss, Alsacian journalist, writer, feminist and politician.  Glass is the predominant material for the European Court and the Parliament.  

Following the Batorama Tour, we spent time in the Archeology Museum at Palais Rohan where the boat docks.   The history of the area is dense with tracings from the Neolithic period to stories of the Nazi occupation. 

We ended the day with a Gyro that had been on Wayne's mind for days since passing the restaurant.  

Apologies for the pictures on flickr that are effected by the glare of the boat.

Strasbourg, City of Art and Architecture

Wayne at the Gare de Strasbourg

The Strasbourg train station has a huge glass bubble completely covering the facade of the old building.  It was added when the high speed train line came in.  It seems to provide cover as one leaves the historic building and enters the underground tram station.  As we walked there today to rent a car, it appeared at the far end of a road between the medieval buildings.  It looked somewhat like an Anish Kapoor sculpture.  Our car rental is for Sunday when we plan to visit Belfort, Wayne's ancestral grounds.

Today our visit was with the Beaux Arts Museum.  It and 2 other museums are housed in the Palais Rohan, which is adjacent to the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Most notable and impressive for us was Triptych of Earthly and Devine Salvation by Hans Memling.  One panel has a female nude about which the audio guide pointedly described the sandals she was wearing omitting any further description.

We walked to the Petite France area for dinner at the Les Haras Brasserie.  The building was once the horse stable of King Louis XV.  The transformation is beautiful; the ambience, service and hospitality exceptional.  We dined on the first floor.  A sweeping, winding, open staircase led to an exposed second floor some 50' above where others dined beneath a conical beamed ceiling. As I mentioned yesterday, wine plays an important role in the culture.  To our left the diners discussed the terroir, aging, suitability of each wine.  On our right the diners examined label on the wine carefully, asked a question and then accepted the bottle.  We have sampled Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris and Risling.  Risling is still the favorite. I had a taste of my first taste flambee and give it a thumbs up.  
Pictures at flickr.

Strasbourg Explorations

Notre Dame Cathedral

Strasbourg is a much more significant city than I realized.  It is not only the capital city of the region, but is also the formal seat of the European Parliament and Union.  The culture, language and architecture is a blend of both French and German influences.  The Grande Ile where we are staying is a World Heritage site.  The University of Strasbourg is the second largest in France and accounts for the very young population we've encountered.  Their Cathedral is the sixth tallest church in the world and tallest extant church.   Johannes Gutenberg created the first European movable type printing press here.  Thus the first modern newspaper was published here.  

Wine is an important component of the region and practically revered by the population.  Tonight at dinner the diners at the table to our left described each wine by its terroir, how it was aged, whether it accompanied the dish appropriately.  We've tried a few and like the Risling the best.  

Earlier in the day we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Although described as high Gothic, it lacked that soaring feeling one usually gets.  It was rather wide and built with dark sandstone.  The apse actually looked Byzantium to me.  It has a somewhat noted astronomical clock whose animated characters move at different hours.  We caught a small show at the quarter hour.  One must make an appointment to see the entire show at noon. 

We ended the day with a little shopping.  Macarons, yum.

Pictures at flickr. 

Back in France, Strasbourg

Wayne by the River Ill

Despite the rail service disruption, we had an easy transport to Strasbourg this morning.  It is only a short 1 1/2 hour ride.  Once here, we directly boarded the tram service. Quiet, clean and efficient, it is an electric system that runs street level (much like Prague).  The tram dropped us in the Grand Ill, an island in the historic center of the city formed by the splitting of the River Ill, which is a tributary of the Rhine.  It reminds me of the way Isle de Cite and Isle de St Louis are formed in Paris. After settling in to our apartment, we explored the area, of which the majority is pedestrian streets and plazas.  Hungry, we wandered until we chose a restaurant based on our usual criteria:  number of people inside, charm, menu. The la Corde a Linge's  specialty is spaetzle, which I had.  (We met 2 traveling American sisters when they inquired what I was eating.) Spaetzle looks like a fat, short noodle and is made of egg and flour.  It was very tasty.  

Our apartment is lovely and more livable with it's open floor plan than the Paris apartment.  It appears to be a new apartment constructed in a former bank building.  As usual, pics at flickr.  

Sunday in Luxembourg

National Museum of History and Art

The National Museum of History and Art is adjacent to our hotel.  During our visit the most impressive piece for me was the large, completely intact Roman mosaic from the nearby village of Vichten.  It dates from around 240 AD.  The depiction is of the nine Muses and Homer. I'm confounded by both the original skill to lay the piece so perfectly without modern technology, and the modern ability to dismantle and reassemble it.  I'm guessing it is about 45' x 20'.  Each little tile is 1/4" square. Here are better pictures from flickr. 

There was no party scene beneath our window tonight.  However, at 7am the city workers showed up to continue excavating the area.  A few pics of paintings and the city workers at flickr.

Travels, Tours and Travails

Farmers' Market, Luxembourg

Last Tuesday there was a serious train accident in South Luxembourg.  The route between Thionville, France and Luxembourg City is still inaccessible.  Monday we will need to take a bus to Thionville and then pick up the train to Strasbourg reversing the process that brought us here.  Yesterday there was another rail accident in Brussels.  My confidence is waning.  

This morning we walked down to the center and found a large farmers' market.  The people were bustling around carrying large woven baskets filled with produce.  I like this life style of shopping and supporting local produce.  They try it in our area but not to the extent of here.  And we only have open markets during the short New England growing season.  

Our 3 hour walking tour today was with Diane, who had extensive historic knowledge.  She explained the physical construct of the city with its casements and walls as well as the social and political aspects of myriad rulers and countries that have invaded, occupied and melded into what is today Luxembourg.  It was interesting to find out about the strategic fortress advantage against invaders: the Belgians, the Prussians, the French and the Spanish.  We didn't visit the area known as the European area.  It's modern skyscrapers seen across the eastern valley are where the European Union has institutions.  Diane also touched on the culture, explaining that due to all the various invaders and occupying countries, Luxembourians are adept at accepting all nationalities and races.  Their government is very liberal and open.  Children learn Luxembourgish (their language) which is closer to German than French.  They also learn German, French and English in school.  Our day ended at dusk outside the Notre Dame Cathedral. 

Now to the Travails.  When we booked our hotel we noticed that reviews warned of high street noise levels that interfered with peace and sleep.  We assumed since it would be February, street activity would be minimal.  You know the adage, 'to assume makes an ass of you and me?".  We are sleepless in Luxembourg.  There are 2 bars across the 10' wide street from our room.  By the dozens people gather outside these bars and have a rollicking good time until 4am.  I feel for the hotel whose management has appealed to the city for help to no avail.  Pictures are available at flickr.

Luxembourg City

Wayne in Luxembourg historic center

Our Hotel Parc Beaux Arts is located in the historic district of the city, which means pedestrian streets, plazas and good restaurants. There are those beautiful narrow European cobblestone streets that wind and climb between tall stone buildings.  We spent a leisurely day walking along the le Chemin de la  Corniche, a pedestrian promenade that runs along the ramparts and overlooks the old city, Grund.  It is referred to as Europe's most beautiful balcony.  We stopped by the visitor's center to get a city map and decided to take a walking tour tomorrow that will focus on Grund.  Pictures of our walk are at flickr.

Au Revoir, Paris

This morning our Parisian taxi driver to Gare de l'Est told us that spring was beginning.  On our ride to Luxembourg I saw the evidence. Fields have been turned, and some are already green with vegetation.  The willows are budding.  Fog hugs the land as the warm air butts against the cool earth. The TGV train could not take us all the way into Luxembourg as there has been an accident on the rails earlier in the week.  We needed a bus to complete our trip.  But all was very efficient with the bus waiting at the train station.

On a quest to visit the smallest countries in the world, we can now include Luxembourg along with Monaco, Vatican City, and Andorra.  It is a lovely city.  We discovered that the stable population is about 100,000. But during the day the occupants swell to 600,000 with workers that live in Belgium and France where housing is more affordable.  The language is mostly French but with some German.  At dinner tonight the waiter asked if we needed a menu in Dutch.

Our hotel is in the old part of the city where there are lovely large city squares surrounded by restaurants and shops.  It overlooks the Grand Ducal Palace and is larger than the Paris apartment.  It is filled with original paintings. Wayne's favorite is the painting with the bend-over naked ladies. A few pictures are at flickr.

The Final Paris Adventure

Sacre Ceour

Paris provided us with an absolutely perfect last day. Skies were bright blue; temperature was 60*. When we arrived at Sacre Ceour people were enjoying the weather, sitting on the steps, singing, eating, gazing at distant Paris. We climbed to the top and sat briefly in the Basilica. Then we headed to the Place Du Tertre to check out all the artists and have onion soup at La Mere Catherine. By headed I mean we mistakenly walked to the bottom of the Mont, realized our misdirection and walked back to the top. Ooo la la. It was a perfect ending to our stay. We are sad to be leaving but looking forward to Luxembourg. Stay tuned. Pictures at flickr.

Road Trip

Versailles Gardens

Versailles is about a 40 minutes train ride from Paris.  Back in the Sun King's day he liked it that way.  "I no longer want to be the King of Paris.  I will be the King of France."  So he moved from the Louvre to his hunting lodge and began a transformation that created the world's largest royal domain.  And what an excessive display of wealth and power he built to become the most powerful King in Europe.  And, still the people continue to swarm to his Versailles to ooohhh and aaahhh over the gold, the tapestries, the ceilings, the gardens. The line for the tickets was a 30 minute wait.  That allowed us to enter the line for security that was at least 200 yards long and another 30 minutes.  I can appreciate the accomplishment of the poor people who had to build the place under terrible conditions, the artists who decorated it, and the architects who envisioned it.  But I'm always a bit turned off  in these places that were built by idea of one class of people dominating others.  Louis the XIV ruled 72 years, and led France to be the most powerful and influential country in Europe.  

We walked part of the gardens and then hopped on the train home.  Pictures at flickr.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame Apse

What a perfectly beautiful day.  With only 3 days remaining in Paris, and such a bright sunny day, we decided we decided standing in line for Notre Dame was bareable.  Our Paris Museum Pass gains us entry into the crypt and the tower.  BUT we had to stand in the same line as those purchasing tickets.  My assessment of this line and the limited entry number per every 10 minutes told us it would be over an hour's wait.  Once again, "Been there.  Done that. Let's just go into the Cathedral."  It was a very speedy entry into the Cathedral.  We picked up the neatest head set.  One is given a small paper map with numbered dots.  The listening device is about the size and shape of an instant thermometer.  One simple presses the tip of the device against the dot on the map.  Voila!  I never tire of sitting in a Gothic church.  The complexity of the structure could occupy my mind forever.  

Latin Quarter, Paris

We had an early afternoon and a late light dinner of crepes in the Latin Quarter.  The small, cobble stoned streets are filled with light and restaurants.  Charm, charm, charm.  Pictures at flickr.

Another Look at the Louvre

Approaching the Pont des Beaux Arts from the Louvre

Our second run by Notre Dame (or was it the third?) failed to convince us to stand in the long line.  The misty weather also encouraged us to seek indoor activity.  We returned to the Louvre for this.  This time we focused on the Greek Antiquities and French painting.  Of the Greeks, the Venus de Milo is best known.  There are also 2 Michelangelo's slaves in this area.  But the French paintings from the Neoclassical period were the best.  From David's to Ingres to Delacroix they were massive in scale, representative of classical history and influential.  

Just a note on the museum goers I've observed.  The great majority seem not to know how to look at art or simply have no interest other than to prove they've been there, done that.  Practically everyone of them walks quickly up to a piece of art, focuses their camera, and just as quickly walks away.  They only see the work through the screen of their device.  I want to say, "you can get a much better picture online.  Meanwhile, appreciate the real thing."  

Patrick Roger Chocolate Sculpture

The left bank is noted for its chocolate shops.  Two of them are near our apartment on St. Germain.  We stopped at Patrick Roger's simply because the sculpture in the window was so delightful.  The chocolate boots at almost 3 feet are not for sale.  But we bought the two types the Condé Nast suggested (thank you very much Kathy Lima) and headed home.  

On my continued observations of Parisians, I would praise them for their love of the printed book.  There are libraries everywhere filled with patrons.  There are sidewalk booths with used and antique books, huge stores with the latest publications, little specialty shops.  On the Metro every other person is reading a paper novel.  Only once have I seen a Kindle.  Pictures of books and other things at flickr.