We had a fantastic day! Adwoa, in company of Mr. J., Florian of maschinengeschrieben.blogspot.com, and the author of this blog met in Berne yesterday, Sept. 10th, 2011 A.D. It was September, yet it was summer, with temperatures reaching in the 30 degrees (celsius, of course). We had planned this event a bit in advance. Next to the local "Brockenstuben", or thrift-stores, a visit to the Museum of Communication was on our wish-list. As it often happens with dreams, this latter venture had to be dropped, as it turned out that the museum's vast collection is not on display. There is a possibility to browse the excellent on-line database, though. This being said, we got largely recompensed by the wealth of typewriters we found in the various "Brocki" we visited. According to the protocol, 20 typewriters or so were spotted by the all-Swiss typosphere delegation. In the first neighbourhood we visited, Lorraine, there were four thrift-stores within walking distance, all of them interesting. Florian got lucky with a Hermes 3000 in mint condition and a very interesting "director" typeface. Moving around the city was easy in public transport, combined with GPS help via a very very smart phone. Heat was rising, but nothing could stop the flow of good energy on our typewriter-hunt. Having seen two more places on the other end of town (Bümpliz), we returned to the center - Florian by now carrying the Hermes plus a Swissa, Mr. J. Adwoa's shiny Remington Junior. The author came in second every time and only carried his pride. The grande finale was our type-in in a café in Gurtengasse, very close to the city centre. We had planned to type right in front of the most honorable Bundeshaus, or Federal Palace, seat of the Swiss Parliament, but the fact that a certain Swiss political party was meeting there the very same day prevented us from doing so. There was heavy police protection and access to the square was barred. So we changed plan and settled for a nice lounge-style café, which turned out to be a nice thing. We attracted quite a few looks and comments, as we were typing for peace, democracy, and the glory of the typosphere. Just before leaving again to our three corners of Switzerland, some obscure typewriter-swapping took place at the lockers of the Berne train station. Here is a few impressions from this great day. I salute the typosphere, and thank Adwoa, J., and Florian for making this such a Lou Reed perfect day.
getting there - Remington!
the first store, inviting for the treasure hunt
A phone in the shape of Ireland!
some places were more crowded than others
one splendid Hermes Media
This is a special sheet for platen protection. It feels like a thick shower curtain. Perfect to type on a hard platen.
scientific methods to determine the exact typeface
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Calanda,
Swiss,
typewriter
