It’s a Puzzle
Open House Basel May 25th
Open House Basel May 25th, 2025
“Open House Basel is architecture for everyone—for the curious, the enthusiastic, the skeptical, the design-loving, the tech-savvy, the newcomers, and the veterans!”
Here in the Schiff we participated in the open day, and welcomed approximately 200 singles, families with children and people in wheelchairs to our apartments and Common Room. Those registered were divided into groups with an English or German speaking guide. For some it was like speed dating just one of the 100 buildings opening their doors on this weekend. For some it was an opportunity to learn more about Wohnen&Mehr and Westfeld generally. For others it was a specific opportunity to walk through the Schiff and gain an insight into our social, multi-generational and multi-cultural sustainable living environment. We were glad of the opportunity to participate in the programme, and to celebrate once again our choice to enjoy the building and the life-style it affords in the heart of Basel.
Nicole Werner Workshop
Fitness in the Park
In the Park sounds really wonderful. Especially if it is in our park in late Spring. I mean, the best kind of fitness in the Park involves gentle walking with a fair amount of sitting in the sun built in, doesn’t it? Then there is what I would call acrobatics and life-endangering extreme sports such as GymFit, AquaGym, AquaFit, AquaSomething for Waterphobics, World Folk Dancing, Interplanetary Folk Dancing, Jogging, Nordic Walking, (that’s the one with those dangerous sticks required to beat off Yetis), even e-Mountain Biking. But surely Fitness in the Park doesn’t mean anything like what people actually pay to engage in, indoors at Pro Senectute, in small groups where everyone looks at you and the teacher smiles at you with a “you poor old sod” kind of expression: Pilates, Yoga, Rückentraining (eek!!), Line Dancing, Break Dancing for Seniors, or Pre- Joint Operation- stretching and working-through-the-pain classes.
So because of the “park” part, we went along, having spent ages in front of the mirror trying to decide jacket or no jacket, leggings or those other things, phone with camera to witness the great day, or leave it at home and miss that casting call. Trying to decide where to place yourself is the next challenge. Partial view of the instructor is not really recommended, except in the second half when you are nearly crippled in both legs and your shoulders seem to have frozen. There are stones, trees, one bench, one narrow platform for sheltering in the rain and lots and lots of really fit old people. They come in all sizes and proficiencies. They come in male and female bodies, Nike and hand-knitteds, recycled gardening shoes and new sneakers. The back row brigade shuffle about shifting stones with their feet and the front row seems to have a number of very short retired physical education teachers used to counting steps and exploring choreographies involving alternate hand and feet movements designed to embarrass the whole self and confound the brain.
Fitness in the Park you can do without understanding one word from the instructor, it is outside under the glorious trees of Kannenfeld Park and by using the creative approach to repetitive fitness regimes, you can find it to be a really, really satisfying hour on a Wednesday morning. Do join us!