Alexa Abroad! Part 3B: Locomotive Interlude.
For me, the most memorable part of the train ride to Luzern was the view of Shantytown out the window. I was shocked, I will admit, to see the collection of little shacks all out in the country, doubtlessly banished there by the repressive Swiss government so that the poor would not be an embarrassment, would not besmirch those improbably clean cities. Though I did have to hand it to the Swiss—even their ghettos were impeccably tended.
Ahem.
So, have you heard of Family Gardens? As my mother explained, after she had finished laughing at me, many city-dwelling Swiss rent small plots in municipal garden tracts. They are allowed to build small shanties sheds and such on these plots, and I would bet anything that there is a Garden Shed Council that regulates these structures.
In fact:
“To rent a garden, you must contact the appropriate municipal official. You can find out who that is by getting in touch with the Gardener Association’s representative for your region. Like most things in Switzerland, family gardening is well organized.”
You don’t say.
I wish now that I had taken a picture, but it would have been rude to take a picture of Shantytown, and by the time I found out what it really was, we had gone.
******
I know some of you—my mother included—have had trouble accessing the site. My server is moving, so that should resolve shortly, and for those who missed it, I posted pictures of Luzern yesterday. I’ll post the rest of my Luzern-y observations tomorrow.
I really will, too, because the last time I promised to post something and didn’t, I got this email from an unnamed curly-haired, shoe-stealing matriarch:
TO: alexaflotsam@gmail.com
FROM: alexasmother@alexasmother.com
SUBJECT: but you promised me
i sat down with my breakfast and nothing… so this is what it’s come to.
9 Comments
hahaha i love your mother’s emails. would she allow us to see a picture of both of you on your trip?
Re your mother’s email: ouch.
I’m so happy you are posting every day. I’m going to pretend it’s my birthday present too.
Oh lord, we have those plots and sometimes the shanties in Toronto, but don’t you dare suggest they belong to poor people! Oh noes! Trendy types only thanks. Long waiting list for them.
And our municipal govt regulates them just as tightly. You’d think it was gold, instead of dirt, shit, seeds, and water. Meanwhile, no one seems to be able to repair a sewer or a pothole for love or money.
I’m sure the Swiss could do both and regulate veggie gardens with no trouble.
You are really making a remarkable case for moving. Only, I have my own garden to tend. Maybe in the fall…
Love the shanty town…
Your Mom is hysterical. My Mom has an obsessive need for mint Lifesavers and when she gets down to half a bag starts acting like we have locked her in a dark closet. “Ohhhh only half a bag of mints left. You girls know I need my mints. Ohhh. ”
We told her she is going to be the first person to have a party favor at their funeral. We have threatened to carve one on her headstone. If you buy her bags and bags of mints you get the same excitement level as if you brought her a Coach bag or a dozen roses.
Can I just say that I love your Mother?
I had almost exactly the same experience in rural North Carolina. My friends and I were being outdoorsy along the Yadkin River, and I commented on how sad it was that some people were living in abject poverty in tiny, ancient-looking shacks. They looked at me funny ad said, “Lee, those are tobacco-drying sheds. No one lives in them.”