Conveniently, my birthday fell on the “Jeûne Genevois” holiday, so we could use the occasion for a little excursion to Martigny, Switzerland, on the other side of Lac Léman past Montreux. The entrance into the valley was beautiful with steep cliffs rising up, and the clouds added to the dramatic scenery. The main reason for going to Martigny was to visit the Sculpture Garden and the Niki de Staël exhibit, both at the Pierre Gianadda Foundation. It was really pleasant to discover 40 sculptures by famous artists like Miró, Chagall, Moore & others in a park-like setting.
Uli meeting Segal's Women with Sunglasses
The de Staël exhibit was inside a large building where the top floor housed a collection of Roman artefacts found in the area while downstairs are changing exhibits. The exhibit traced de Staël’s stylistic development from very abstract in the beginning to more defined later, until almost minimalistic and very colorful towards the end of his life (which he ended by his own hand). In the bottom of the same building was a collection of oldtimers (cars)… some relief for Uli!
The Roman artefacts bear witness to Martigny’s being a settlement already during Roman times, called Octodurum by the Romans. In fact, an amphitheatre has been uncovered and restored nearby. Uli enjoyed a great echoing effect when being inside near the centre of the oval. But we doubt that those cast to the animals by the Romans felt similar appreciation for the acoustics.
Uli checking the acoustics
We ended the day with a nice meal in Cully on the lake shore with nice evening light, where I finally had the famous perche (Perch), little fried whitefish from the lake.
In all a very uplifting birthday!
PS: Pictures of the birthday child are in Uli’s camera… on film and waiting to be developed!
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