In 1976, an American, Judith Guest, published a 263-page debut novel called Ordinary People. Robert Redford made it into a movie with Donald Sutherland in 1980, and it won the Oscar for Best Picture. I read the novel and saw the movie and was moved to tears by both of them. Of course, I stillContinue reading “Living with Guilt”
Author Archives: Kim Hays
A Garden for the Dead
At the risk of seeming morbid, I wanted to return to my favorite place for walks, the Schosshalde Cemetery. On March 30th, I wrote about how most Swiss graves last for only twenty years, before they are filled with another generation’s coffins and urns. But I didn’t tell you how beautifully tended those temporary gravesContinue reading “A Garden for the Dead”
Diverging Lives
I can’t imagine there’s a single person who hasn’t at least once thought, “I wonder how my life would have turned out if I hadn’t done X.” It would seem pretty obvious that my “X” is my marriage to Peter and move to Bern, which happened when I was 33. Those two things have shapedContinue reading “Diverging Lives”
Ten Little Piggies Went to Market…or?
Every spring, at least one litter of piglets is born in the large enclosure for wild boars between the Aare river and the Dählhölzli forest. When I walked along the river path beside the zoo today, I joined the crowd of parents holding up small children to see the antics of ten tiny furred andContinue reading “Ten Little Piggies Went to Market…or?”
A Plate of Eggs
You don’t have to be religious to enjoy Easter. I’m not just thinking of the pleasures of chocolate eggs and fancy Easter breads or even, in Switzerland, the taste of a shoulder of baby goat roasted with potatoes and an Osterfladen, its buttery crust filled with almond- and lemon-flavored custard. I enjoy Easter becauseContinue reading “A Plate of Eggs”
Temporary Graves
Bern’s Schosshalde cemetery, a hilly expanse of grass, trees, flowering shrubs and pansies shaded by gravestones, is perfect for a quiet spring walk. A place of peace, with intimations of eternal rest. Right? Wrong! Twenty years. That’s how long these dead get to rest. And then, whoopsie-daisy, their rent runs out and their spot isContinue reading “Temporary Graves”
Benches on the Aare
London has the Thames, Paris the Seine, Cairo the Nile—and Bern has the Aare, snaking around the old town on its way from the Alps to the Rhine. Tens of thousands of people in the city of Bern live or work within fifteen minutes’ walk of the Aare. In my case, it’s more like fiveContinue reading “Benches on the Aare”
Brunetti under the Matterhorn
Although it’s mid-March and Bern’s parks are full of daffodils, Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn, is still white with snow. A posh ski resort disguised as a village, Zermatt is in Valais or Wallis, depending on whether you are in the French- or German-speaking part of the canton. Zermatt is 1620 meters above sea level. FromContinue reading “Brunetti under the Matterhorn”
Kim Hays 