Photo of the Week - Peeking Through the Trees

I do like to wonder around Zurich, it is such a lovely city and there is always lots to photograph. This was from two weeks ago, in a really lovely area of the city.

This weekend in Zurich, there will be a showing of an opera called Pique Dame on a large screen outside the Opera House. I am planning of going and of course it is supposed to rain.

Coldplay Time!

Saturday evening saw the return of Coldplay to Zurich after two years, I love this band and this was my 4th time seeing them. I know they are not to everyone`s liking but who cares!

The weather was not so great but during the concert it actually only rained a little bit. They played all the usual big hits, along with their new stuff. There was also fireworks, colourful confetti and large balloons flying around as part of the show.

As is usual they tend to come up to the rear of the stadium so us folk at the back can see them a bit better. Of course we were on the wrong side but we still edged our way to the area they were playing but it would be great to see them up close and personal!

I had my camera along too which was just as well as my phone died as soon as we entered the venue. I was glad to have my camera as I could get some good close ups!

So I read somewhere that this is their last album, boo! I hope not! So if this is really the last time they tour I am glad I saw them again!

The Great Tapestry of Scotland

St.Andrews Cathedral

Mary Queen of Scots

The Scotsmen Newspaper

Robbie Burns

Dundee: Jute, Jam and Journalism

East India Company

Finally while I was in Scotland I managed to see half of the panels of The Great Tapestry of Scotland while it was in the Verdant Works in Dundee.

The tapestry has 160 panels which depicts the history of Scotland from 8500 BC up to 2013. The idea for the tapestry was from the Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith and the designs were by Andrew Crummy.

Around 1000 volunteers from all over Scotland spent over a year stitching the different panels and the one for Dundee: Jute, Jam and Journalism was the one that my father, Alister Rutherford helped to make along with Eleanor Arthur, Jesse Sword, Margaret Purvis and Marilyn Rattray.

It has been shown in many different venues across Scotland such Stirling Castle, Verdant Works, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, the Scottish Parliament, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy, New Lanark and a few more places.

It is really a fantastic piece of art work with so much time and effort having been put into each panel. The details and colours of the panels are just amazing and maybe one day I will see the other 80 panels.

The final resting place for the tapestry is as yet no 100% sure now, so we will wait to see where it will go!

Photo of the Week - Window Pic

Hello from extremely rainy Zurich, it has been raining for days and days and it looks like it will continue from more days to come. The exception is only Friday may be nice!

Anyway this was taken on Sunday in Zurich, I was wondering around the city, which I have not done for ages. I had visited the Design Museum and had some time to pass until the cinema started at 2pm, I really like to see this part of Zurich.

This weekend is exciting as I am going to see COLDPLAY and it is an outdoor concert so will be needing my rain jacket by the look of things. It will be my 4th time but they are one of my favorite bands ever!


Some links to see:

If you are like me then you love to go to the movies, here is a list of the best movies this year. I have seen only 4 from this list.

This looks really interesting and Lake Iseo is not one of the most know Italian lakes, I would really like to check this out, but do not have the time.

Who is the best Trump impersonator?

John Oliver forgives 15m dollars of medical debt on live TV!

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral began construction in 1248 and it took over 600 years to complete and for 4 years it was actually the tallest building in the world from 1880 to 1884. It lost the title to the Washington Monument. It is the greatest Gothic Cathedral in Germany and the main tourist attraction in Cologne.

During WWII is suffered 14 hits but it did not fall down and was reconstructed, in 1996 UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List. It was originally built to house the Three Wise Men shrine.

It is very impressive inside and out, and in spite of the scaffolding. The glass stained windows were simply breathtaking and so many of them! The small details on the outside of the cathedral was just amazing. The cathedral can been seen from all over the city, we got good views from the boat trip we took and crossing the rail bridge.

Apparently in the just this weekend in the news was that a cloth with the blood of the Pope John Paul II was stolen from the cathedral.

Wishing you all a great week!

May Reading List

So May is finished and I managed to read 6 books and there were all interesting!

For my own reading challenge which is to read crime novels set in different countries I have 2 more countries, Turkey and Sierra Leone, so let`s start with those books!

River of the Dead by Barbara Nadel is set in Istanbul, Turkey. Although in this story it is also set in different cities and areas in the country. It involves Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his team who investigate escape of a convicted murderer and drugs baronYusuf Kaya. This is the 11th book in the series and the first one I have read.

The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris this story in set in war-torn Sierra Leone, Danny Kellerman a journalist was reporting from Freetown during the war and met and fell in love with an aid worker Maria Tirado. He has to leave the country and doesn`t hear from Maria again until 4 years later, she sends a letter saying she is in danger. He then returns to Sierra Leone to help her but the letter is 3 weeks old and he is too late to help her, But he then tries to find out the truth behind her death! I really enjoyed this story!

The English Spy by Daniel Silva as the title say it is a spy novel and continues the trials and tribulations of master spy Gabriel Allon. A member of the Royal family is murdered and the suspicion falls on an old IRA member. Gabriel and Christopher Keller are tasked to find the man and kill him. I do like this series and in general spy novels.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson this was definitely a strange book, I did enjoy it but it took a bit of time to get used to the going backwards and forwards. In 1910 Ursula Todd is born but then sadly dies, on the same night Ursula Todd is born but this time she lives. She is proceeds to live and then repeatedly dies, yes I know it is a bit complicated!

Frozen Grave by Lee Weeks set in England, a woman`s body is found and then another and another. Could it be a serial killer? DI Carter and DC Willis are on the case to found out who is the murderer! It was a good read but nothing special.

Lastly I read The Lives of Stella Bain by Anita Shreve, an American woman with no memory is found in France in near the battelfields during WW1. Suffering from shell shock she is taken in by surgeon August Banks and his wife. He has an interest in the mind and tries to help his houseguest. This story goes from France, England to America, it was very good!

Photo of the Week - Bled Island

During the Easter break I visited Slovenia and one of the day trips I did was to Lake Bled. It was really a wonderful place and I will do another post about Lake Bled, but here is a photo of the island on the lake with the church.


News from around the world:

The longest rail tunnel in the world is in Switzerland. It makes going to Milan easier as a day trip!

I do like to see street art, here in Sardinia it looks very interesting

The new film with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling does look very funny and rather violent!


Enjoy the rest of the week!