Vivid colors, long to-do lists and a touch of melancholy have defined the days this week.
It’s interesting how little of my everyday activities stick in my memory. So many of them are just routines and repetitions. Paying and recording bills, answering mail, organizing tradespeople, or doing small jobs myself. On the other hand, I always remember the work that is closer to my heart, the work that has to do with art. Somehow, there is always a feeling of satisfaction or happiness that resonates, and so these activities dig deeper into my brain.
Random snapshots while performing tasks
Little big moments
And often it is very mundane, brief moments that then remain forever. When I stand at the kitchen window, for example, and while peeling an orange, I discover the bright red of the branches of the linden tree, which fascinates me every winter. Or when I go out onto the balcony shortly after sunset to take out the recycling and the silhouette of the cathedral appears like a paper cutout against a golden sky. The whole thing takes place in the morning on the other side, again in front of my kitchen window with the Roche Towers against the dawn.
The beauty happening outside my windows
The magic of a sunset
The sunsets at this time of year are incredible. Perhaps it’s because the light seems so precious when the nights take up two-thirds of the day. Or because the sun disappears lower behind the horizon. I simply perceive it much more intensely than in summer. This week, it was during an evening run along the Rhine. My last one in Basel this year. Pure enchantment. Taking in the beauty, the colors, and letting them linger. For one evening and for a longer time.
On a sunset run
Changing places
This week ended on Sunday evening in New York—after a long day traveling above the clouds. Gray in Switzerland in the morning, white in snow-covered New York in the evening. In between, bright sunshine and endless blue skies over France, England, Ireland, Greenland, and Canada. It’s always a wonderful experience to escape the ground for a few hours and just fly away. I am very grateful to be able to experience that.
Flying across the Atlantic Ocean
Concluding the Basel year
The upcoming extended stay in New York gave the week a touch of melancholy as it progressed. The last time alone, the last time cooking, the last time going for a walk, the last time eating my favorite dishes in restaurants, the last time enjoying the Christmas lights in the city… And with every task I was able to tick off the long preparation list that accompanied me through this week, I became calmer and more excited. So on Sunday, I was able to close the door behind me and conclude my 2025 time in Basel. It was another wonderful year.
