Paul from Switzerland 2024

Hej, I live near Basel in Switzerland. I am retired.
At the moment I am more active adding grave stones to findagrave.com than reading. When reading I read theology, history, mysteries, fantasy.

I first thought of creating something new, but, well, last year's numbers are still okay.

0 - I have 0 wives (I am widowed)
1 - I believe in 1 God
2 - I have 2 grand children
3 - I have 3 children
3 - I have 3 in-laws who all served in the armies of 3 different nations
4 - I did 4 years of teacher's training
5 - I owned 5 different cars in my life (Mini, Ford, 2x Volvo, Hyundai)
6 - I was born on the 6th of the 6th
7 - I was on a 7-day-hike in Israel
8 - so far I had to have taken out 8 teeth
9 - nice number
10 - I went 10 years to (public) school
11 - I was the main librarian at the Pilgermission St. Chrischona for 11 years
12 - another nice number
13 - we moved house 13 times as a couple/family
17 - I worked 17 years in the library of the Economic Department of the University of Basel
18 - I spent at least two nights in 18 different countries
19 - I was driving a car in 19 different countries
23 - a 23-hour-flight was my first trip to Seoul (direct)
24 - German scrabble value of my name Paul Stalder-Kim
25 - my sister Ursi committed suicide on her 25th birthday
26 - I visited 26 different countries
39 - we were married for 39 years
46 - my shoe size
315 - I served 315 days in the Swiss army
2'450 CHF is my AHV (old age pension) - a little raise since last year
16'364 books and bookmarks in my Librarything library
92'985 memorials on findagrave

Happy reading 2024 😃📖

Happy new year, Paul. I will keep up with you as always.

>2 Ameise1: What a lovely surprise to see you posting, Barbara. xx

>2 Ameise1: Hej Barbara, great to hear from you. Any plans coming to Basel this year? Maybe the Museumsnacht 2024 on the 19th January?

>3 PaulCranswick: I am very pleased to see you here, Paul. Thanks for your friendship - as you see, my interests shifted somewhat from reading to photographing grave stones ...

>4 paulstalder: Paul, Thomas has been in early retirement since June 23 and I will be taking early retirement in July 24. That always leaves room for a visit to Basel.

Sent you a PM.

>5 Ameise1: great, tell me when you come here - we could go book hunting in the different public Bücherschränke, or swim in the Rhine or just drink coffee at the Del Mondo

>7 paulstalder: sounds terrific 😃

sunset on Christmas day on the cemetery


last full moon of 2023 (cemetery Hörnli in Riehen)

the river Rhine: the old University (yellowish building) with the Blue House and the White House in the back

Great photos 😃

>11 Ameise1: thanks

Happy new thread and happy new year, dear Paul.
And agein thank you for sharing the wonderful photos!

>13 SirThomas: thanks, Thomas, same to you.
It was a good photographic moment on the cemetery. I lightened a candle on my wife's grave and then I saw this colourful sunset , and I turned around and saw the moon - just great

Great photos! Am intrigued by findagave.com! May your 2024 reading be enjoyable.

>15 Tess_W: Hej Tess, thanks. So, do you know findagrave?
I wish you a good start into the new year.

Happy new year, Paul!

Hi Paul!

Wishing you a great one!

>17 drneutron: Thanks, Jim, pleases to see you here.

>18 quondame: Thanks, Susan - full of power these penguins start their launch - I wish you the same power and straightforwardness for this new year

Happy reading in 2024, Paul!

>20 FAMeulstee: thanks, Anita - same for you

Hope you have a great year of reading! I'm still visiting threads. I just haven't had as much time to do so.

>22 thornton37814: thanks, Lori, thanks for visiting

1) Die geheimnisvolle Gegenwart Gottes : Bildmeditationen zu Gemälden Caspar David Friedrich by David Jaffin. Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) was one of the more important artists of German Romanticism. He had painted landscapes often including grave stones, ruins, dead trees - but always with little parts of hope - light, leaves at the end of dead branches, and often a cross supporting structures or tower above the dark areas. Jaffin gives some spiritual commentaries on 20 of Friedrich's paintings.

2) Die chinesische Maske : Erzählung by Gino Saviotti. Rolando's father is accused of murder. He is sure, that his father is innocent, and he wants to prove his innocence. So, he starts to investigate - taking his methods from 'greater detectives' ... fun read, but not exactly convincing detective work

3) Blut und rote Seide : Oberinspektor Chens fünfter Fall by Xiaolong Qiu. A dead young woman is found dead on a busy road only wearing a read qipao (a long silk dress). The dress was an old model made from expensive material which the girl working in a hotel never could afford. A week later another such is found in another public area: a young woman only wearing this red qipao. Inspector Chenis doing literary studies during this time, reading some old romantic poems ... Chen draws some conclusions from his reading and apllies it to the case. Interesting read, getting to know some Chinese stories of old.

4) Uferschnee : Kriminalroman by Wolfgang Bortlik. A Dutch seaman is found dead on the river Rhein in Basel - totally drunk, but his body shows was apparently beaten badly just before he died. And rumors tell of a huge missing bag, full of cocaine. Hobby detective Fischer only gets involved because his daughter's new love has hidden some of the drug in her room at her father's house ... a lot of chances and luck for Fischer who should review some new books for the Swiss Literature Award, a fun read with local flair

>27 paulstalder: I do like the cover!

>28 thornton37814: it's a nice picture of Basel

5) Die Dreitagemordgesellschaft : Agatha Christies Haushälterin ermittelt : Kriminalroman by Colleen Cambridge. Phyllida is the housekeeper at Agatha Christie's (fictional) home, the Mallowan Hall. She finds a dead man in the library, murdered with a fountain pen. She remembers her bosses novels about Hercule Poirot and others and starts to use her littel grey cells ... fun read, a bit too many small details; but some interesting details about leading a household a hundred years ago.

>30 paulstalder: BB 🤩, my library has a copy of it.
Paul, have a nice Sunday.

>31 Ameise1: have fun :)

6) Percy auf Abwegen : Roman by Hans Thomas. Percy is no snobbish aristocrat in London, trading in oil. One day he sings in the shower, is nice to the servants an tells his chauffeur to drop him at Selfridges - and then disappears. His daughter then shoots at the journalist who recently reported on Percy's bad business conduct. Luckily she misses, and somehow decided to search for Percy together on the Continent ... a fun read but not a very realistic story

7) Auf immer und ewig : 150 Jahre Wolfgottesacker Basel ; ein Rundgang by Anne Nagel. There was a typhoid epidemic in 1814 in Basel, partly because of the bad conditions of the funeral services within the churches and the churchyards. Since then, the cemeteries were all built outside the city walls. 1832 the Theodorsgottesacker in Kleinbasel (Lower Basel on the right bank of the Rhine), 1868 the Kannenfeldgottesacker (Western Basel) and then 1872 the Wolfgottesacker (Eastern Basel). When the Zentralfriedhof in Riehen opened in 1932, the Wolf was partly closed. But there is still the possibility to be buried in a family grave there today. The main gate was planned by Johann Jakob à Wengen, one of the famous architects at that time. There are still over 1000 historic memorials from the period 1860 till 1920 (some of these old memorials were transferred from older cemeteries which were closed when Wolf opened). Quite a few trees are still grwoing since they were planted there in 1870. ... Definitely worth a visit.

8) Lied aus der Ferne : Roman by Yusuf Yeşilöz. A rejected asylum seeker from Turkey traveled back to Switzerland and is found murdered in Winterthur. The Swiss police are having trouble finding their way in this Kurdish-Turkish environment. They ask a Kurdish singer to help clarify the matter, but he is reluctant to help for fear of Turkish retaliation. ... Interesting plot, with some cultural background about the turkish-kurdisch conflict going on in Switzerland.

Hello Paul! My name is Owl or Lily, its nice to meet ya!

hej Owl, thanks for passing by

>38 paulstalder: Your welcome!

9) Zur Erinnerung an Herrn Pfarrer Joh. Rudolf Anstein, geboren den 20. Juli 1824, gestorben den 28. Januar 1900, beerdigt zu Bretzwil den 31. Januar 1900 by Eduard Thurneysen. Anstein studied theology in Berlin, then became pastor in Kilchberg BL and then pastor at the Bürgerspital (hospitl) in Basel, where he preached and counselled patients. This pamphlet contains a biography and the funeral sermon by a well known 19th century pastor in Basel.



I read this as part of the commemorative publication for the 200th anniversary of the Freie evangelische Gemeinde Basel in September 2024.

Hiya Paul!

hej Owl, good morning

10) Skellig by David Almond. Michael finds an old man hiding in the old garage which belongs to the house his family just moved in. Together with the girl from the neighborhood they help him to escape the garage before it is knocked down ... a somehow weird story which is probably not written for me.

11) Die weisse Iris by Fabcaro. Another attempt to conquer the unconquerable village in Gaul, this time positive thinking should weaken the inhabitants of the village ...

12) Stich für Stich : fünf schlimme Geschichten by Ingrid Noll. Five stories, all ending badly for the men involved

13) Martin, der Schuster : nach einer Legende von Leo Tolstoi by Masahiro Kasuya (Illustrator). Martin is a poor shoemaker. One day he hears the voice of God telling him to look out for a special visitor. Martin expects Jesus to show up and looks for him the whole day. But he only meets poor and needy people. In the evening he asks God why he didn't come, and he got the answer that he came in all these people in need ... a legend by Tolstoj, with nice drawings by a Japanese artist



I read this story to the elderly in the retirement home.

14) Ich geh doch nicht verloren! by Dagmar Geisler. Lu and Roberto get lost in the city. But they know what to do: Don't follow a stranger, go to a well visited store and ask someone to phone the parents (and they know their number ...) .... a good story to tell kids and discuss with them what to do in case they get lost.

15) Kishon's beste Familiengeschichten : Satiren by Ephraim Kishon. What are fathers doing in the birth clinic, they all behave frantic and irrational -- that's the start of these satiric family stories by this Israeli author ... fun read



I did read some of these stories in the retirement home.

16) Das Kamel im Nadelöhr : neue Satiren by Ephraim Kishon. The different letters in a lift/elevator can be difficult to interprete: Going up is pretty easy but which letter is for the exit? A Ausgang or Autoeinstellhalle? H Hades or Haupteingang? E Exit or Eingang? S Strasse or Sortie or Sauna? G Ground Floor or Garage? P Parterre or Penthouse or Private? L Lobby or Library? -- Kishon deals with such questions about everyday life and bureaucracy (new passport, repair of sanitary installations, Freudian interpretation of dreams ...)



I did a few of these stories to the people in the retirement home

17) Lausbubengeschichten by Ludwig Thoma. Ludwig tells stories about his childhood in Bavaria - having been quite a rascal



I did read some these stories to the people in retirement home.

Heya Paul! How are ya? I haven't checked up on ya in a while.

Dropping in to say hi.

>48 paulstalder:, >49 paulstalder:, >50 paulstalder: These are books and authors I would like to return to, Paul.
Thank you for the reminder.

>51 Owltherian: thanks for flying by, Owl

>52 thornton37814: hej Lori, good morning

>53 SirThomas: hej Thomas, my pleasure. I am often looking for authors to read in the retirement home who were somewhat know when the people there were younger

>54 paulstalder: Your very welcome Paul!

I love Kishon's books. I wish you a blessed Easter Sunday.

>56 Ameise1: hej Barbara, the stories were also well received at the retirement home.

Hiya Paul, how are ya?

>58 Owltherian: hej Owl, I am fine, thanks. We had a children's week in our church with 172 children from the whole town. Everyday we performed a piece of saint Peter's life. I played the narrator. That was fun, some children now greet me with 'Hej, Peter' :)

18) Tertullian "Gott ist gut und gross" : Tertullians Spiritualität in Lehre und Leben by Jochen Eber. Tertullian was one of the Catholic church fathers, he lived around 150-220 in Karthago (in today Tunisia). He was writing especially apologetically, and he had some impact on the development of Christian doctrine, he was for example the first one who used the term 'trinity'. Later in life he followed the teachings of Montanus (around 170), who was the founder of an early Christian prophetic movement which later was condemned as heresy.

19) Guten Morgen, Goethe Nacht : Beobachtungen aus der Dreiländerecke by Hilde Ziegler. Ziegler is writing columns for local newspapers here in Switzerland, Southern Germany and the Alsace. She writes about her observations - short, to the point.
A mother and her daughter were in the same restaurant as the author. The mother was snapping the fingers at the waitress and then telling her daughter: 'you see, this woman never learned anything, that's why she is only a waitress now. Serving meals can any idiot.' The author couldn't hold back and replied: 'Well, any idiot can snap your fingers, too.' The other woman paid and left the restaurant ...



I did read some of her stories in the retirement home.

PS: I made the cover picture for that book :)

20) Die Apokryphen nach der deutschen Übersetzung Martin Luthers. The Apocrypha are part of Jewish writings before the time of the New Testament. Party written in Greek, in Latin, and a few have Hebrew origin. Historically very interesting, especially about the time of the Maccabeans.



I did read the story of Daniel and Susanna (also called Susanna and the Elders) to the elderly in the retirement home: Susanna was having her bath in her garden, when two of the elders were hiding in the garden in order to seduce her. But she cried out and refused them. They then accused her of fornication with another man. So she should be punished. But Daniel comes along and gets a revelation from God, that this story can't be true. He questions the two elders and finds out the true story ... (the story is known as 'Susanna im Bade' in German)

21) Hört die Geschichte vom listigen Coyote : die unerhörten Abenteuer des grossen Zauberers, listigen Kriegers und heiligen Clowns Coyote - indianische Mythen und Legenden by Barry Holstun Lopez. A collection of stories of Coyote, the trickster, hero, of many Native American peoples. When the Great Spirit gives each animal a special name, Coyote wants to change his name, he prefers a might name, like Eagle or so, but the Great Spirit doesn't give him a new name, but gives him power to change appearance and come to live again whenever he would be killed ...



I did read some Coyote's stories in the retirement home.

22) Das Kreuz auf Usedom by Käthe Papke. A historical novel about the entry of the Chistian faith to the island of Usedom.
The story unfolds in the middle of the 11th century when the first Christians fom Saxony come to Usedom. The daughter of the Cityleader becomes a Christian. Her father wants to marry her to the local priest (a cult which also offers human sacrifices to their Nordic gods). When the leader and the priest hear of Christians on the island, they want to kill them all and offer them to their gods .... many Christians were killed there in the course of history until the island accepted the Christian faith in the 12th century.

>59 paulstalder: Awww that sounds like the best day ever for the kids and you!

>65 Owltherian: yep, it was a great week

>66 paulstalder: I would bet for sure