For some reason I woke earlier than my 3pm class. On my phone was waiting a text message from the procurator of the Museum of Swiss Sewing Machines informing me that I could tour at 1pm. (Tours of this museum are by appointment only). Having several hours of free time, I met Chris and we walked a path through Basseville, around the dam, and up the hill on the other side, nearly completing his quest to traverse every staircase in the city. Through the expedition I took periodic photos of our traveling dwarf companion which we found earlier this week at the Giger Museum, and I will send these photos back to the "friend" of this dwarf traveler so she may know he is well on his journey.
Following our hike, Chris and I went to the sewing machine museum. This is the greatest museum I have ever visited. It is assembled, managed, and exhibited by a retired steel seller who has an interest in recent historic technology. This museum has much more than just sewing machines; the first half features the earliest washing machines and irons, and devices like spiked collars which prevented calves from suckling on their mothers, (and also spiked collars which prevented wolves from attacking sheep), and lighters made from flint-strikes and sulfur-rich fungus hairs.
The second half of the exhibit features some of the earliest sewing machines, from the single-thread crochet style through modern bobbin style, with such oddities as a sewing machine that plays organ music with bellows under the foot pedals and a punched scroll which travels above the pipes; and a darning machine with many parallel needles, and a comb which pre-draws the thread through all needles before they are pulled back through the material and manually stitched at the other side. 
If you enjoy mechanical devices, this museum is a must-see attraction. This museum is also distinguished by Mr. Wasserman's knowledge and passion during the guided tour, and by the opportunity to personally handle some of these rare items. Class was not notable.
But the rock wall was quite notable. There is a huge rock wall inside a tower that is part of the old Porte du Fribourg, part of the wall which once earned tolls for the brilliant count who collected money from those who passed through. The wall is perhaps 30 feet high, and has all levels of difficulty. I was very fortunate that a friend in the program here, Muri, was able to contact one of her friends who both climbs and speaks English. I was also fortunate that the heat of the gym and the adrenaline of the climbing loosened up my neck which had been very stiff for the last several days. After the wall I went with my dwarf-friend (mentioned in my last post) to the Elvis et Moi cafe.
This cafe blends Dia de Los Muertos with Warhol-esque Elvis and Marilyn Monroe images. It's like a little patch of Austin, TX in Fribourg, CH. That was wonderful yesterday, and this has been today.
With class beginning at 9, it could not have been a good day, and I knew that when I awoke after a late night of studying with my hands covered in ink. My neck, which has been stiff for several days, stiffened progressively during class, and I found myself unable to move my head or touch my chin to my chest without pain shooting into the nerves of my shoulders. Someone yesterday mentioned to me that meningitis has exactly these symptoms, so I contacted the program coordinator during class about seeing a doctor. I do not have insurance. But, since meningitis is deadly, and since death is typically costlier than treatment at my age, I went from class to a local doctor. And now for the big let-down of the story: I don't have meningitis. The Swiss doctor interviewed and measured me personally for perhaps 20 or 30 minutes, taking my pulse and measuring my height without delegating these duties to a nurse. After asking my course of study and whether I leave the window open at night as I sleep, he informed me that my problem is cold air. Having received a prescription for muscle relaxant, and samples of some cream and pain killers, I inquired about the price. To understand what 70 CH-franks is, you must know that the exchange rate is currently $0.82/CH-frank. This was $57 for an emergency office visit directly with the doctor, without insurance. So maybe today is not as bad as I thought; but then again, I discovered before dinner that I had not only stained my hands, but placed my pen uncapped in my backpack last night.
1 comment:
Your inky antics are for my enjoyment. I demand further examples of your exploits.
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