Matthias Maier | Stories | Week 43 2024 | Ferries Wheel next to Basel's cathedral

Colorful days

Everyday life in Basel caught up with me this week. Thanks to the mostly sunny weather, however, it was blessed with some colorful highlights.

This year I am in tune with fall. That’s not always the case. I often feel that the shortening days and long nights are a necessary evil and would prefer to go into hibernation so that I can continue in full freshness with spring in March. This year, I’m enjoying the season and feel a sense of contentment that makes me look forward to cozy evenings at home with a cup of tea, some nice music and a book to read. An escape perhaps from the hectic and chaotic world out there, in which more and more people think they are more and more important and yet only reveal their poverty. But I don’t need to devote my attention to them and waste my precious time to be influenced by any of them.

Matthias Maier | Stories | Week 43 2024 | View on the Swiss Alps from Germany

View on the Swiss Alps from Germany

Preparing for winter…not yet

There were still a few back-from-New-York tasks left over from last week that filled up the calendar. And then there were the usual things that were due in Basel and from which I had taken a break in the first week after my return. In addition to the work on the computer, some physical activities provided variety. Getting the apartment building and the garden in Basel in shape for example. One afternoon to accompany my father to the doctor and another to get the garden around his house in Germany ready for the winter. Unfortunately, he can no longer do this alone. Under the still warm October sun, however, all these activities were fun. My own balcony also got a turn. At least a little. There are still a few plants in bloom and I can’t bring myself to cut them off and put them all away for the winter. I usually do it too late in the year, when it’s already cold and my fingers freeze off. Then I regret not having done it earlier…

Matthias Maier | Stories | Week 43 2024 | Early morning view from home
Matthias Maier | Sunset on a rainy day

Colorful mornings and colorful evenings at home

Fall runs

Jogging was also fun in perfect weather and again provided a few autumnal views of familiar moments on my laps this week.

Matthias Maier | Fall sun
Matthias Maier | Cathedral and a yellow tree
Matthias Maier | Vertical expansion

Running along the river

Herbstmäss

Herbstmäss, the Basel Autumn Fair started at the weekend and brought a lot of life to the city. I haven’t ventured into the hustle and bustle yet, but when you live in the middle of the city, the atmosphere of the fair is literally in the air.

Matthias Maier | Stories | Week 43 2024 | Ferries Wheel next to the cathedral
Matthias Maier | Stories | Week 43 2024 | Roche towers during the golden hour

A walk across Wettstein bridge after sunset

Time for the arts

I ended the busy week with art. In addition to visiting the Paula Rego exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Basel, I started to paint four small pictures in the studio, in which I want to incorporate some of the inspiration that the collages I made in New York gave me – work in progress.

Matthias Maier | Stories | Week 43 2024 | Work in progress

Work in progress in my studio

Main Image A view from my balcony to the cathedral and the ferris wheel