A white winter week

Winter has finally shown its best side, with cold, frost and snow. The first, and probably last winter week in Basel this season for me.

If one color defined this week, it was white. Right at the start, on Monday morning, the roofs of Basel were covered in a dusting of snow, making for a wintry view from the warmth of the apartment. With temperatures below freezing, the snow stayed put and didn’t melt away within a few hours as is so often the case.

I love the snow

I’m still happy about the snow, after all these years. Even in the city. I like it when the flakes fall silently, when everything is covered with a soft, white layer. The smell of the snow, the muffled sounds and everything goes a little slower than usual. Even the long nights become brighter when there is snow everywhere.

Winter jogging

I spent a little longer on my runs because new views appeared constantly as I walked through the city. There are places where the snow is reminiscent of Pieter Breugel’s winter paintings. In the St. Albans suburb, for example. However, these views in Basel bring you  quickly right back to the present, because there are always some modern towers on the horizon that have since become new landmarks. But I like these contrasts. Appreciating the past without forgetting the present, in which we move and which we shape. 

Snow covered summer memories

A little more snow fell in the middle of the week and with two inches we had a beautiful blanket of white for Basel and the current climatic conditions. Even outside the city’s romantic districts, this provided unusual views of well-known places. Where a few months ago you could lie in the sun with hundreds of people and cool off in the water of the Rhine, today there was nothing but silence, cold and solitude.

Studio update

Snow was also a theme in the paintings I finished this week, a small and a large version of the Lai da Tuma that I worked out last week. The photo that inspired this painting was taken on my Four Headwaters Trail hike last August, where a cold snap caused us to hike through snowy landscapes in the middle of summer. With snow depths, which were much higher than what we currently have in Basel.

Getting ready for New York again

In addition to painting, there were various meetings with friends, family and neighbors on the agenda and, as always, I had a lot to prepare before a longer change of location. But by Saturday evening, all the items on my to-do list were ticked off and on Sunday morning I was on my way back to New York via Zurich.

Hoar frosted Switzerland

On the train ride to the airport, I noticed that there was much less snow outside Basel. Instead, the landscape was covered in hoar frost and shone in a magical white after the fog had lifted. And above a blanket of white clouds and under a deep blue sky, I continued across the North Atlantic to stormy New York, which welcomed me with warm colors but no less cold temperatures. It’s nice to be back.

See all Photos of this week