Kunsthaus (Art Museum)

Finally managed to get these pics uploaded from my mobile if not because I was down with flu and had to take a break.

Sorting out these pics, this season's Amazing Race which had shown parts of Switzerland....arghh!!! It's calling me back!!!

The art museum in Zurich is one of the places I'd recommend to visit if you love arts. You'll be happy to be able to see the works of world renowned artists such as Monet and Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Piccaso, Claude Monet and Marc Chagall (the guy who did the stained glass for the Fraumünster Church in Zurich.
It was only towards the end of my stay in Zurich that I finally managed to step out to explore a little bit more without Uncle Tan around (other than the shopping trips in town ;p)

Located at Helmplatz 1, you can take Tram 3, 5, 8, 9 or Bus 31 and stop at "Kunsthaus" stop.

Opening hours:
Sat, Sun, Tues: 10 am - 6 pm
Wed to Fri: 10 am - 8 pm
Usually the museums here are closed on Mondays.
Fee: CHF 12 for adults and CHF 8 for students (for permanent exhibitions).
Fees for temporary exhibits cost about CHF 18.

Try to give the place about 3-4 hrs as it houses quite a huge collection of works ranging from the Old Masters to Impressionism and Post-Nordic Expressionism to Swiss Painting to Modern Classical. I had to finish my visit a little early because of an over-friendly tourist from Brasil who had helped to guide me to the right building. I guess I'm not used to the ang moh friendliess yet :>

As the pics were taken with my mobile, so the quality will be somewhat affected. Still, hope this could give you a glimpse of some of the charming works displayed and hope it'll entice you to visit this museum when you're there. Enjoy :)

I'm always very amazed and struck with how life-like such portraits are. Some looked as if they are like photo-quality.

These 2 pics are a little blur due to the lighting. But imagine the minutest details such as the rocks, the leaves, the various shades due to the lighting......it's awesome.

I admired this artist who can paint such a picture. This is the actual size of the painting. The one above is the zoom-in version.

This place looks familiar...Venice

Contemporary art

This is done by Mark Rothko(1903-1970) in 1963, using white, blacks, called "Grays on Marooni". Contemporary arts really need a lot of your imagination :)

Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973

Tete, buste de femme, 1940

Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973
Tete, 1913

Claude Monet, 1840-1926
Le bassin aux nympheas avec iris, um1914/22

Claude Monet, 1840-1926
Der Seerosenteich am Abend um 1916-1922

Claude Monet, 1840-1926
Le phare a Honfleur, 1864

Claude Monet
La Falaise a Dieppe, 1882

Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917

Das eherne Zeitalter, 1876/77

Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890
Chaumieres a Auvers, 1890

Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890
Cabanes blaunches aux
Saintes-Maries , 1888

Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890

Travali des chanps, 1885

Rainbows

I can see a HUGE rainbow today!

Just as I stepped out of from the igloo-temp office, I saw a long arching rainbow right above. Uncle Tan said he could see that even in Marina. I guess it should be the same huge rainbow that we were both looking at.

Well, we all have seen rainbows somehow in some parts of our lives. It's always a beautiful sight and somehow evokes that awe in us despite knowing how rainbows are formed. It's something beautiful, it's something that you don't see often...and it's something that doesn't last for long.

After a day of hard work, the load is somehow taken off looking at this beautiful thing. Sometimes it's good to look up when things are looking down and gloomy.




Even little Joelle is keen to take a snap shot of this beautiful sight :)

A few rainbow songs somehow came into my mind as I admired the sight whilst walking home - The Rainbow Connection, I Can Sing a Rainbow and Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

I recall using the initials of the colours to form a cheeky phrase to help me remember the colours of the rainbow. I shan't share it here in case I get rated comments in my cbox again ;p

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

The Rainbow Connection
Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbow's are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see

Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

2008......2009...CNY

Woh, it's almost over a month since I last updated my blog and some have been telling me I've been 'slacking' since I came back. Well, many things have happened over the past few weeks and CNY is early this year so everything is like a mad rush. Fortunately I need not rush to buy new clothes since I'm a keeper of new clothes :) and this year, I've finally decided to get some domestic help from my colleague's contact to do a spring cleaning to my house. Of course I still need to do some re-organizing especially my wardrobe.

2008 Christmas had passed pretty quietly for me. No count down, no parties...except the feast held at my grands place and a post-Christmas game session with my cousins. I LOVE games and I relish the times when we had the gift exchange and games on Christmas eves when I was young. I hope to give such memories to my cousins as well, before they grow up eventually and have their own parties to attend. In fact, I could see that I don't have many more years to play such games with them for long...

2009 New Year Resolutions
I don't usually set new year resolutions as I don't like to have long term plans because I don't think I can fulfill most of them and I dislike disappointments. But I guess no harm to make a few and see how far I can stick to them :)

Resolution No. 1
To spend more time with my family, particularly with my grands. They seemed to have aged very quickly recently...

Each time when I see them getting older, the heart aches...Lost of that sparkle in their eyes, their white hair in full bloom, shrinking height, slower response to our conversations, less agile and sometimes, shaky movements...I know these are the usual signs of ageing but noticing these changes happening to your loved ones...a sense of sorrow somehow overwhelms me. I always hope to see the same old grands full of energy and humour. I'm still at the denial stage...

Resolution No. 2
To learn mahjong. I guess I have to follow with the times and start learning the real thing. Even my cousins in their teens know how to do the 'counting' while I'm still at the novice stage of identifying the consecutive tiles and the 2 'eyes' despite growing up listening to the sound of mahjongs as my lullaby. I'll try to learn to like the game thou I still think it gets quite boring after a few rounds. I prefer boggle, scrabble, Pictionary or even Mad Magazine. Well fortunately, we have a common liking for Black Jack which has since become our tradition to play during CNY with my cousins who have since grown up. I've also earned a reputation on gambling with small denominations - five cents coins ;p

Resolution No. 3
Exercise, exercise, exercise. It keeps my cramps away and hopefully the stress as well. With less stress, I should be able to eat better and with better appetite, it would mean more weight to be gained :)

Thou shall not be overly ambitious and this should be the list :)