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We just came back from visiting our friends who live in Grindelwald, near Interlaken.
Interlaken, some of you may remember is where the Jungfraujoch and
other great peaks are , which Mat And I visited last year (and i
made several posts about it)
The above photo is of the amazing river which ran down from the alps to Interlaken (about 2000-3000m )
The rivers were steaming and misting from the condensation reaction of
the cold water to the warmer air temperature at the bottom. It was an
amazing sight. Very spooky!
I had to post a photo of it.
And the above banner is of this amazing view of a small hostel on top
of a mountain overlooking a reservoir. It was taken on the way home via
one of the amazing alpine passes there are in that region. We took the
Susten pass (2200 m) which passes through Canton Uri and then Canton Schwyz.
It is an amazing mountain pass and very windey.
We ended up down by the Gotthard tunnel (the second longest road tunnel in the world 17 km long )
And tomorrow is Switzerland's 714th birthday!
1 August 1291 (Founding of the Swiss Confederation)
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| On Sunday we went to Basel and to a cool Roman Town : Augusta Raurica
"1800
years ago, 20,000 people lived here. Of the traces left behind by the
native Celtic inhabitants and Mediterranean immigrants, very many have
now been excavated and are accessible to the public in the largest
open-air archaeological museum in north-west Switzerland."
it
was a very impressive visit, though the weather was f*ing freezing ,so
we found it hard to see all the sites as they were scattered all over
the grounds. We did see the roman museum and the theatre and some old
roman baths.Unfortunately I did not see any Roman cows....heh
The
impressive theatre in the centre of the original town was altered
several times. In its varied history it sometimes served as a play
house, sometimes as a fighting arena.
It was not until around 200 AD
that the inhabitants of the town could afford both a scenic theatre
here in the centre and an amphitheatre on the south-western edge of
town.
Platform Temple: Ascending to the Gods
From
the theatre you can climb the broad steps to the platform of what was
once an imposing temple.The platform temple was constructed after
Mediterranean examples on top of an older, Gallo-Roman square temple.It
was built around 50-75 AD, at the same time as the first theatre
opposite.
Forum temple: A
massive temple stood on the south-western edge of the forum. This was a
centre for the imperial cult and was dedicated to Roma, the goddess of
the City of Rome. The original facade is indicated in white-painted
wood.
The foundation of the altar was discovered at the foot of the broad temple steps.
 
Rhine baths:These
baths, right by the Rhine, were used by the inhabitants of the
industrial and trading area in the lower town from the second half of
the third century AD. In the fourth century the complex was altered and
incorporated into the Late Roman fortress. Today the Rhine baths can be
visited and there is a small display about bathing in Roman times.
I like this photo i took of the remains of the baths...i like the lighting
mat at the ancient baths!
this was how the romans used to lounge..the beds slanted upwards,
and I assume they lay down and ate like that!
one of the replica courtyards
translation anyone? |
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