We visited 4 Countries in Europe in 9 days! Just like a survey course in college, or some would say the public school curriculums these days, we just breezed in and breezed out of these countries like the wind.

We had anchor destinations that were quasi-guides. We also had some hotels reserved and left some open so we could be sort of flexible.

I took about 3,000 pictures over those 9 days. Some things were so beautiful, I couldn't stop snapping. Other things were so sad I also pulled out my camera to capture, b/c I felt that life is so wrapped up in these miasma of experiences that run gamuts (so they say, personally I don't even know what a gamut is) and I felt compelled to capture or even at times hunt down and capture these sad events, people, and history.

We came for a reason (a trade show for hubby), but the place of the reason was so bizarre that we then filled it with other "bucket list" sort of things like, "Oh I so want to see..."

Here now you will find but a small fraction of what we saw:

FRANCE

Heading South out of Paris, we hit the French countryside en route to our first planned destination.

This was not a good way to start. Trucks have strict rules in France + must stay in right lane, so I don't know what happened, but the driver appeared to be okay.

Saint-Junien- old mill town (gloves)

Most towns regardless of size has some rotary marker to tell what the town is. St.-J had this lovely one.

The town was absolutely charming. Old, old and I quickly spotted two things...

...historical markers and...

A MILL!!!!!!!!!!

Limousin was the region we were in and traversed some of the Richard the Lion trail (sort of akin to our George Washington slept here, except theirs was nobility and much older).

Rochechouart-medieval meteorite crater town

Yes, that's right we were out and about once again sniffing up some meteorite crater town in Europe. Having adored Nordlingen in Germany, was equally thrilled with this town. They had many common features, but only Rochechouart had a castle!

Even some of the smaller towns around the region also may have been built with breccia rock quarried from the meteorite fall:

Saint-Auvent

Haute-Vienne

Cognac-la-Forêt

By the end of the trip we had traversed in a giant circle from Paris to southern France (not far South though- next time), eastern France to the borders with Germany and Switzerland, and then back west through central France. We saw a lot of the French countryside:

Saint-Maurice-la-Souterraine

Of course I always espied the schools!

This one from Haute-Vienne even had bricks in its modern construction (anything after the 17th century I imagine would be considered new in Europe).

Here are a few sights that were seen all across France:

Lots of canals
la Loire

Besson France

And my favorite- I will always remember the white French cows (they even moo with a French accent!)

Lots of farmland across the country, some pretty sights.

Saint-Maurice-la-Souterraine

Traditional French country homes from Les Fins

Montlucon
Somewhere in central France we decided we'd stop and choose Montlucon because it looked to be the biggest place around (with our lame American appetites and absolute fear of speaking the gorgeous French language we wanted a chance to have both middle-of-the-road food and a wee bit of English to help us along). Montlucon was the place! A medieval town of about 40,000, in the Auvergne region of south-central France,
the city had a busy and bustling downtown which is where we parked to wander about. We ate outside so we could watch the passerby and then wandered into the around:

The downtown was a mixture of old and new

This was our viewing corner, where we ate a leisurely lunch.

And hubby got to sit right next to his favorite traffic light. He thinks we should have these in USA, especially as we drive a car that is 5 inches off the ground and one is constantly experiencing neck strain trying to see the lights!

We really enjoyed people watching.

We wandered down this little narrow way to find

A very cool sign explaining the remnants of the medieval city that were tucked in here! This area is considered the district of Saint-Pierre.

These are the streets of the historical centre around the Chateau of the Dukes of Bourbon. The region known as Saint-Pierre just below the castle contains the medieval streets with numerous half-timbered buildings and also a 12th century roman style church.

This building was a locksmith shop once upon a time.

The Rue Porte Bretonnie

I especially adored some of the medieval looking things like windows or water faucets.

Above this inner medieval village vestige is the neighborhood and streets surrounding the

Chateau des Ducs de Bourbon in Montlucon

This area looks to be a combination of private homes and some restaurants

And then there were the walls of the Castle which ran alongside this neighborhood/street (Place Francois Maugenest).

Cute castle wall vegetation

On the stairs leading up to the castle we came upon many, many of these paper hearts, apparently tossed over the edge in some sort of show of love.

Hubby thinks there mayhaps be some breccia stone mixed into this wall!

It certainly looks awfully similar to the rock found in Rochensaurt.

I really liked looking out over the town from atop the

The castle of the Dukes of Bourbon.

A sneak peek into a residents life and garage:

And we even found this funny reminder of home leafleted onto a car

And finally, we entered The castle of the Dukes of Bourbon at these gates:

The castle of the Dukes of Bourbon has a long and storied past starting in about 1070. It has been a historic monument since 1926 and now is also a museum of art and music.

I thought this bench was awesome.

We were impressed!

A sneak peek inside to see a bit of the art on display. Unfortunately the docent spoke nary a word of English nor was there any ephemera in English, so we just moved on.

We next went to THE ANCHOR EVENT in Ensisheim, France.!!!!!!!!!!! Of course we rolled into the large metropolis of Ensisheim (pop. 7,000) at night, so it was hard to tell where we were (Northeastern France)

Yes Ensisheim had its rotary thing going on, and the caption is a clue to what makes this small town way out in Eastern France so famous!

It looked so pretty at dusk (which btw, is much later than our dusk d/t their being further North than us).

The hotel at night and then by day. If you look at the end of this view on the left, you will discover what we did upon waking= we were sleeping in close quarters with a guard tower.

Guard tower= prison and yes indeedy there was a prison right on the main street. I was fascinated with this place.

I waited and waited for the woman in the picture to be buzzed in and then I got my shot off! So glad I did b/c this medieval constructed prison (1452) is scheduled to close in 2015 due to its age.

And this prison was historic too!

But I digress; just look at this other amazing medieval building, for this..., this building was THE place! Palais de la Régence is a Renaissance construction from early 17th century.

It is classified "historical monument" since 1992 and its museums (archaeological, Neolithic and the Museum of the miners) contain a collections with some unusual pieces. One of those unusual pieces is a famous ROCK that fell from the sky and now you know why we just had to come here!

Just look at the loving look in Peter's eyes. This is the famous Ensisheim meteorite that fell in 1492!!!!!!!!!!!

And so in this far-flung place for the last 16 years has been this annual event:

Rockhounds, collectors, and dealers from around the world came to do business. Meteorite men (and a few, very few, women) in managed madness in medieval maison, it was a sight to see- and I saw it!

And the rest of the town did what it usually does, which is hang around and look sort of small, and old, and faded, and worn.

Mulhouse

Meanwhile, back at the bat cave (aka Hotel Room), I deduced that Ensisheim was exactly 15 minutes away from ....

MULHOUSE, France (which means in case you were wondering, MILL HAMLET, in German- since we were very near a border and all these small towns up here have changed nationalities and languages over the millennia).

So I got in the little rented Citroën and drove my ass over to the rather large hamlet (making that last statement I believe into an oxymoronic one) and ran thru the town desperately looking for this one unique mill feature they had: Quarter houses for workers homes. Try as I might I couldn't get the French folk to understand my request. They kept telling me about the Rebberg area behind the train station where the Industrialists had built Louisianna style "plantation" estates. I wanted the working class digs! Well I enjoyed the hunt anyways and saw some pretty cool things.

The rotary signage wasn't so good at the exit I got off, but as soon as I came into town I saw this cool sight:

The town is large (110k) and a mixture of many different things. It has been called the "Manchester of France" however, for its Industrial Revolution era burst of mills and manufacture (mostly in cotton and textiles).

I was able to run into the Textile Museum for a hot minute and soak up some history on the mills here. Manufacturing still going on today with a huge Peugeot car factory that employs about 10k.

In my mad search for workers quarters I came across this sign, and since I had been reading about the area, I knew what the "Reunion" sign meant, so I pointed my car in the direction the arrow suggested.

The central square of the city is called also " Place de la Réunion, and is the main shopping center of Mulhouse . It is mostly pedestrianized and reminded me of Prague.

The townhall or Hotel de Ville or Rothüss is a Renaissance bldg. built in 1552 and is now considered a historic museum.

Temple Saint Etienne Place Réunion Mulhouse is another remarkable historic bldg. This large neo-gothic style Protestant church was built between 1858 and 1868 on the site of a 12th-century church.

Place de la Concorde or Plaza is so named from when it became a French town in 1798.

The square is filled with shops and history. The ancient guild of tailors or pharmacy Lys are additional Renaissance era maisons. The Mieg House, a 15th century townhouse that was for a long time the home to one of the wealthiest families in Mulhouse.

The pharmacy on the Place de la Réunion was built in the 15th century and has been a pharmacy since the middle of the 17th century, which must be some kind of record for a successful business! In case you were wondering, yes I went to the bookstore and managed to find one book in Anglais!

It was a very nice visit to this Mill Hamlet. I found out after that they actually have guided tours of both mills and the workers quarters. Next time...

GERMANY

Headed to the border. We crossed in and out of borders so much it is now hard to remember where we were when! We dipped into Germany first I think.

Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald,Neuenburg, and Lörrach Germany

We did have some fun with various signs and this frequent one cracked up every time we said it or did it (hey, it's the little things in life)

We got lost a bit and ended up in a sweet little neighborhood of middle class-looking German homes:

Hubby liked the one on the left (being an all-things-modern kind of a guy) and I chose the top one b/c it looked like the bungalow style that I adore.

And....

This little suburb even had its own decorated rotary! In the end we stopped at a roadside gas/cafeteria type place (also frequently found). What made this one different was this:

Gas, a hotdog, oh and "honey I forgot the milk b/c I gambled away a few euros at the machines."

We knew we had hit the alps region when we first encountered this:

Lörrach, Germany

This was to be one 40+ tunnels we went thru (I who has some issues in these spaces), by the end I was pretty desensitized and kept reminding myself how poorly I would do climbing Alps...

The border from Germany into Switzerland was a long and tedious wait.

We kept ourselves amused by finding funny things to imagine and this was our best riffing material:

We just found it really funny to think of Switzerland being the hair extension mecca of Europe. With less than 1% African immigrants, who the hell else among the Swiss is buying the product? It became one of those burning ? that burrow into me. Heck, they have 5 locations, they must be doing fairly well, right? My inquiring mind will never know, for I had to let it go. If anyone out there knows the story behind hair extensions in the Alps region, please feel free to write to me.

SWITZERLAND

Oddly enough, once we crossed the border, we immediately noticed a few small differences:

Horgen Switzerland

Their rest area was different

As was their house style:

...and gone were the white cows and now it was just like out of the Heidi book I read as a child, for these were the Mtn. goats!

Richterswil

But what was most stunning was the landscape, which opened up once we drove into the rest area. Here is what we saw:

The Lake Zurich region

The bent, almost banana-shaped Lake Zurich is framed on the southern side by the Albis and Zimmerberg hills and on the north by the Pfannenstiel chain of hills. The lake is bordered by the cantons of Zurich, St.Gallen and Schwyz. At the western end lies Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city.

The lake is 25 miles long, 2 miles wide and 161 feet deep. We followed along the length of this body of water all the way from the border of Switzerland and then crossed into Lichtenstein. It really made for some spectacular sights and photos.

We were in or near Horgen Switzerland these shots

Canton of Glarus

Canton of Schwyz

Canton of Schwyz

Canton of Schwyz

Canton of Glarus

Not all of Switzerland was pretty Alps. Down in the valleys were sometimes some pretty gloomy industrial-looking scenes as well:

Canton of Schwyz

Flums
Up high

Down low

Lachen

Wangen

I have no clue what was going on in this town, but it sure looked like fun:

Sargans

A final haunting beauty hanging, in solitude, on an alp:

And before we knew it, really- seriously, we didn't even know it. Like we just crossed this bridge:

...and ding! We were in another country. No border crossing. No long wait, no guards, no cars. We went to Liechtenstein!!!

LIECHTENSTEIN

Besides being the one country whose name I cannot for the life of me pronounce, Liechtenstein is teeny-tiny. But still pretty amazingly beautiful and very similar to all else we had seen in the Alps region.

Even their industrial building looked clean and artsy.

and yes they too had fields of cows.

and Alps with fog,

and a tiny downtown with a castle overlooking the town.

A castle that really, truly houses a royal family; since 1938, the castle has been the primary residence of Liechtenstein's Princely Family.

The real castle:

The mini-me castle in the center of town:

A funky jewelry store (Frank Gehry'esque) and its advertisement

The town had a great deal of outdoor sculpture

I thought this was a funny meter b/c it was soooo wet when we went here!

The Vaduz Rathaus (town hall)

More sculpture

Some old buildings around the center

You get the sense the town is built on hills looking at some of the architecture

And finally, a look at some sort of industrial business

Next we traveled back into Switzerland and went to our home for the night= a jail in Lucerne.

BACK TO SWITZERLAND

Next stop was my favorite place: Lucerne

Lucerne lies in the heart (center) of Switzerland along Europe's north-south axis.It is a picturesque Old Town with a population of about 80,000.

I think this place was my favorite. I have waffled, but then as I lay down at night and look up to this and smile, I know.

Here's what we drove into:

Yes it was thru yet another tunnel. We also saw Lucerne written in several different ways. In addition there are several different languages spoken- we heard German the most.

Oddly enough there was a whole contingent of brown-skinned men walking in the downtown area we came into, which we found out was the Left Bank. We were staying on the right bank though, in the Old Town section of the city.

When looking across the Reuss river to where we were to sleep, this is what we saw:

It is part of the fortifications, towers, and the Musegg wall- all begun in the 13th century.

As we drove, we realized that we would actually be going thru the Nolli Tower (built in 1533, it was modified to admit traffic in 1901.

Once across we had to find our way to the old jail, which was to be our home for the evening. Little did we know that we were in the youngster party section with a nightclub right under us and partying that went on all night long! It still was an amazing stay.

People were already out in the street partying when we got there.

Our jail was across the street. This former prison was built in 1862 and was converted into a prison hotel in 1999, the first in Switzerland.

I loved some of the features, like old fixtures and assorted saved stuff from its former life

This was our room on the left.

It was really, really small!

And pretty austere in the accomodations department

But the dining area was pretty!

The views across the river were pretty spectacular too! In the shot below, the Hotel Gutsch can be seen on the hillside. It isn't that old (circa 1880's).

This is the bridge we traversed the most, the Spreuerbrücke or Mill Bridge zigzags across the Reuss. This bridge, which was constructed in 1408, features a series of medieval-style 17th Century plague paintings by Kaspar Meglinger titled "Dance of Death." It has a small chapel in the middle that was added in 1568.

Pretty cool that they kept the mill wheel (the city mills were destroyed y fire in 1875 :(

Other sightseeing shots of the right bank:

The Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge, built 1333 which was nearly destroyed by fire in 1993 + was since rebuilt) and the water tower- an octagonal tower - over 34 meters high (111.5 ft.) - was built around 1300 as part of the city wall and used as an archive, treasury, prison and torture chamber, are down to the left in this picture and the The Jesuit Church (1677) is on the right.

A pano of the right bank:Jesuit Church, Ritterschen Palace, the Jesuit Assembly, and other old bldgs.

Some of my favorites sights from walking around:

Odd man's face on a building

A very cool doorway from a 1536 building!

Kornmarkt [grain market], Rathaus [town hall]

My favorite building was the Apotheke

Looking at the Left Bank and the Musegg Storehouse/Granary (large white), the Mannli tower (left), the Luegisland tower (center) and the Allenwinden tower (far right)

Incredible metal workings found all over

From the left bank we went up towards the towers to check things out + this is what we saw:

Little did we know that Lucerne was also on a lake!

And there were some massive and expensive looking homes up here.

And some very pretty vegetation as well.

This stuff/bush was my favorite:

Then we headed back down into the town on a serious hunt for the Lion Monument

It was a tad cold and rainy and from my reading this is pretty typical for June Lucerne weather.

And still the tourist scene went on!

Although the numbers were down to the few hardy (fool?), determined souls= several Asian folk and us

We all found what we were looking for too!

I can't leave this area without noting how prevalent watch-making is to the Swiss. We saw more watches than we ever cared to see. Here are a few examples:

We also happened to be in town for this event:

Which would explain the very odd thing we saw first thing in the morning!

It was quite the event + fun to watch.

We watched for a bit, then hit the road to Bern.

Bern

In Switzerland, 11 sites (landscapes and cultural properties) are part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and Bern is one of them. We only knew Bern b/c of our great desire to own a Bernese Mtn. dog (of which btw, we say NARY a one). So we decided to stop in and say hi.

Bern had a totally different feel than all the other places we had been. We were able to get a good view b/c due to some event (bike race we think, although we made great jokes about it being the big annual Bernese Mtn. dog parade) we encountered many detours and had to drive around the city twice before giving up on what we came to see, which was the Kindlifresserbrunnen, or statue of an ogre eating children that was made in 1546. Instead we took in the Klee/Kandinsky exhibit at the Klee Museum in town.

Bern is slightly smaller than Spfld, MA at about 140k, and sort of feels like Spfld.= a gritty, working class city feel it has. Not uncomfortable, just not dazzlingly beautiful. Also, Bern is ranked among the world’s top ten cities for the best quality of life, so it must be comfortable in its casual skin. It is know for industry and science as evidenced by the fairly large industrial section we saw.

The main focus of our stop was the Zentrum Paul Klee. Bern’s answer to the Guggenheim, Renzo Piano’s architecturally bold 150m-long wave-like edifice houses an exhibition space that showcases rotating works from Paul Klee’s prodigious and often-playful career. Interactive computer displays and audioguides help interpret the Swiss-born artist’s work. Next door, the fun-packed Kindermuseum Creaviva lets kids experiment with hands-on art exhibits or create original artwork with the atelier’s materials. We were thrilled b/c of the exhibit showcasing both Klee and Kandinsky (we have seen similar shows such as one on Picasso and Matisse and really enjoy bantering and bickering about whom we like better, which is exactly what we did here).

When we saw this sign, we almost choose Wankdorf, b/c it tickled our tongues and made sense since we were still giggling about Austfahrts (yup, this is how we roll on road trips!).

But we did choose Bern

It may have UNESCO status, but it sure had the lamest round-about decorations!

Around the town:

I wondered when I saw this scene below. Perhaps "Lars and the Real Girl" was filmed here, and this chick was an extra!?!

I think this is the Innere Stadt or inner city, in the middle of the medieval city center.

A little on the political side, I always seek to find either schools, how social services work and what type of political culture is present in the area. I found what I was looking for in Bern:

Kulturzentrum Reithalle- Autonomy and culture center " The Reitschule Bern is an autonomous cultural and community center. Here concerts are given, shown films and plays, celebrated performances, exhibitions presented. But also: left-political literature issued and lent, actions against racism, sexism, exploitation, fascism and for worldwide liberation struggles, etc. prepared and carried out, organized woman events. And just as diligently is printed and read, cooked and eaten, served and drunk, written and interpreted, built and used.

Once again my favorite bush of Switzerland

Average home

Typical apartment building

I even found an abandoned factory! Ostermundigen is a municipality in Bern. It also seems more industrial than rest of city. Most of the buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Old City of Bern were built from sandstone quarried in Ostermundigen. After 1850, the village quickly changed from small farming villages into an industrial town with many small and medium-sized factories.

This bland building is reminiscent of Berlin +/or East Germany. It is near the Industrial area of Ostermundigen

I liked this little home that advertised in its front yard.

These next 2 photos are across from the Klee Museum and I couldn't figure out if it was like a garden city type living place or mixed use building or what. There was definitely human/ant-like activity inside (and it was the weekend). So back home I go to research!

From what I gather this whole area, which abuts a horse park on the other side is a new, planned development called Schonberg East. Here is, likely a poor translation, but none-the-less info. on the project:

Start of construction

To the east of the city of Bern, next to the Paul Klee Centre, a new city district. The proximity to the old town of Bern, the direct connection to recreational areas as well as the magnificent view of the Bernese Alps make these superstructures to the most attractive in the region of Bern. Was celebrated on June 20, 2013

Finally, Klee! Here is the short and skinny on him: Paul Klee was a Swiss-German painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism.

Klee was originally associated with the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter, and subsequently taught at the Bauhaus, the widely influential German art school of the interwar period. Klee's diverse body of work cannot, however, be categorized according to any single artistic movement, or "school." His paintings, which are at times fantastic, childlike, or otherwise witty, served as an inspiration to the New York School, as well as many other artists of the 20th century.

All of this made him of intense interest b/c I really am interested in that short period of intense work by the German groups of the late 19th/early 20th century until pre-WWII. And don't get me going on the Bauhaus movement and amazing work that came out of that school.

Klee like our "friends" the Die Brücke painters from the same era was labeled a degenerative artist by Hitler, and so Klee returned to Bern in 1933. The city's favorite son there were signs for this museum all over the place.

Klee, also like another great artist (Renoir- rheumatoid arthritis) fell ill with a horrendous disease- progressive schleroderma, an autoimmune disease that hardens the skin and other organs, which would prematurely kill him in 1940 at the age of 61.

A word or two about this modern construction that pays homage to the Spirit and works of Klee. The museum features about 40 percent of Paul Klee’s entire pictorial oeuvre.

In the year 1997 Livia Klee-Meyer, Paul Klee's daughter-in-law, donated her inheritance of almost 690 works to the city and canton of Bern . Additional works and documents donated and loaned by the family and the Paul-Klee-Foundation and a further loans from private collections contributed to creating a very large collection of works by the artist. The decision to build the museum in the Schöngrün site on the eastern outskirts of the city was made in 1998, and renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano was contracted the same year. A preliminary project was elaborated in 2000. The building was completed in 2005. It takes the form of three undulations blending into the landscape.

This view inside looking out reminded us of the Harpa Opera House in Reykjavik Iceland

Klee admired children's art, so there is a really cool art space in museum for children to create art. Mostly we saw children running around wild. In fact we watched a toddler of about 4 sneak into the glass elevator, push the button, and disappear- all while the mom sat on a bench staring at her smart phone!

An added bonus was this exhibit!

Never before has such an outstanding selection of works from these two masters ever been united in one exhibition.

Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky – they are considered to be the “founding fathers” of “classical modernism” and their artists’ friendship to be one of the most fascinating of the twentieth century. Their relationship was shaped by mutual inspiration and support, but also by rivalry and competition – a combination that spurred both of them on in their artistic work. The exhibition “Klee & Kandinsky” traces the eventful history of this artistic relationship over the long period from 1900 to 1940 for the very first time. It draws attention to parallels and similarities as well as differences and distinctions, with an emphasis on their personal and artistic dialogue at the time of the “Blue Rider” and the Bauhaus.

Hubby and I once again weren't in complete agreement about the two artists. I am sorry Paul, but I think I liked Wassily better.

La Chaux-de-Fonds
On to another destination, this one was my choosing. In the states we have our superstar architects and we even have some foreigners. One of those has a building practically in our back yard (The Carpenter Center at Harvard), and an ego to match the dude I love to hate, Frank Lloyd Wright. But really, the draw to Le'Corbusier wasn't immediately thought of for his architect, he came into my mind through his connection to Josephine Baker.

We had two artists that had done drawings for her that we became a little obsessed with finding. We didn't find either. Hubby and I are both admitted lovers of most things modern, especially if they are of European design. So naturally I was intensely curious to see some of Le Corbusier's work. I was thrilled to find that his hometown was on our route and so our car was pointed there.

A little history on La Chaux-de-Fonds:
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a town of 38,000 inhabitants in a green setting in the Swiss Haut-Jura, 1,000 metres above sea level. It owes its structure, appearance, a large part of its character, and even its existence as a town to the watch-making industry. Its grid-pattern layout comes from determined and idealistic town planning, born out of the Age of the Enlightenment, applied to its reconstruction and development following the accidental fire in 1794 which destroyed the whole village: today La Chaux-de-Fonds is the most important Swiss example of coherent urban construction from the 19th century.

Art Nouveau was imported to La Chaux-de-Fonds at the end of the 19th century under the influence of watch-making patrons and their trade representatives, and finds pride of place in the watch-making arena. Window panes, tiles, stairwell designs, stuccos, wood and iron work found their way into new constructions. Read more at link:

http://www.artnouveau-net.eu/Cities/FL/LaChauxdeFonds/tabid/94/language/en-GB/Default.aspx

In short, Le Corbusier not only grew up here, he went to the Art Nouveau school and one of his most famous buildings is also there (among several others), so it was like we were on a scavenger hunt! Here's what we found:

Now you all are familiar with the rotary thing in Europe by now, but La Chaux-de-Fonds took the #1 prize in my book for this one. Le Corbbusier may have been a biggie in my book, but this town and it's sister neighbor are UNESCO sites and world-renowned for it watch making. Largely a manufacturing town, it was weird to see both sides of the city as we hunted.

The Museum des Beaux-Arts was closed d/t renovations.

We found this building at Serre 28- built in 1904 as a garage for car repairs, it has many fine examples of Art Nouveau elements.

Another example of these elements- look below the eaves.

Perhaps the most famous and undoubtedly the most important work coming out of the Art Nouveau school, the Crematorium built between 1909 and 1910. The Crematorium project was by the municipal architect Robert Belli, in collaboration with Henri Robert, and all the decorative works were carried out by the Cours supérieur d'art et décoration, directed by Charles L'Eplattenier. It is a square building with a projecting body that corresponds to the entrance. Its façade is highlighted by a large portal crowned by a large golden bronze sculpture by L'Eplattenier, entitled Vers l'ideal. Inside is a large exquisitely decorated square hall that helps to create a dramatic, majestic environment, while at the same time converting the complex into one of the milestones of European Symbolist art.

So this small city in the Jura Mtns. of Switzerland has several distinctions: the highest city in Europe, home to watch-making industry and a world famous architect, place of the development of Art Nouveau and then we drove by this most ugly thing:

Statue representing Louis Joseph Chevrolet's bust. It was created on occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Chevrolet brand. The car manufacturer offered this monument imagined by the artist Christian Gonzenbach to the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds in October 2013. The statue made of stainless and smooth steel is located in the Parc de l'Ouest, in the centre of the town. It represents a negative of Louis Chevrolet's portrait, is 5 metres high and weights 8 tons.

Who knew that Mr. Louis Joseph Chevrolet came from La Chaux-de-Fonds! We didn't.

Then onto Le Corbusier. He was definitely the man about town. However, his plaques looked like this:

Weathered, worn, and very hard to read (even if it was in French)

Fortunately his most famous building didn't look like the signs:

The most well-known of Le Corbusier's buildings in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and the most remarkable, was built in 1917. There is an array of symbols and the building itself is both technically and aesthetically very elaborate. This was the architect's most accomplished creation before he left for Paris.

Clearly Le Corbusier was working for the same school that trained him in the early 20th century, and before he moved permanently to Paris in 1917, he had built several homes (including a villa for his parents). Born into middle class roots, his homes by nature of their location (think up hills in the highest city in Europe) told whom he was building for.

This first house is Villa Jaquemet, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 1907
This villa commissioned by the brother of Louis Fallet (Villa Fallet) originally included two apartments; It was designed by Charles Edouard Jeanneret during his stay in Vienna. Built in 1908 in the same style as the villa réginaliste Fallet, it is distinguished by its more stripped southern facade.

Villa Fallet, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 1905

This city dwelling from 1906 bears witness to the pupils of Charles L'Eplattenier, who were seeking a regionalist style in Art Nouveau spirit : one that was later to be called the "Style sapin" (pine tree style). Charles-Edouard Jeanneret was placed in charge of drawing up the plans and supervising the construction site with the architect René Chapallaz.

The following house was undergoing serious renovations:

Villa Stotzer, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 1907

This mansion, commissioned by the brothers-in-law of Louis Fallet (owner of the Villa Fallet) originally consisted of two appartments. They were designed by Charles-Edouard Jeanneret during his stay in Vienna. Built in 1908 in the same regionalist style as the Villa Fallet, they differ from the latter by their more sober façade in the southern French style.

Finally, we glimpsed the "White Elephant" through the trees of the homes we were viewing high up in this snooty neighborhood. The Maison Blanche or Villa Jeanneret-Perret was clearly meant to stand apart and be extra special.

As his first project, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who later called himself Le Corbusier, built the Maison Blanche for his parents on the hills of his native town. This architectural masterpiece served this world-famous architect as a laboratory for his first construction techniques.

Frankly I grew disenchanted with the man and his buildings. He seemed to me to be another of those meglomaniac superstar architects.

My hubby had already picked his favorite house in the neighborhood and it wasn't a Le Corb. It was this ugly thing:

And I found several other things around the town that turned my head or piqued my interest:

This building was designed on the plans of architect Mr. Kuder in Strasbourg and inspired by the synagogue built in the latter city and destroyed by the Nazis. It is Romanesque. Three facades overlook three different streets, the main passage provided in a public garden, with a fountain and benches. It was built in stone in 1896. At the time there were 825 Jews in the town.

It is a very beautiful building.

These blocks of buildings were built in 1906 and also have Art Nouveau elements. I liked the colorful facades.

I just adored this lovely old building that clearly had been through some incarnations. It stood placidly among the uglier modern things in the background.