Did you know that the term ‘nostalgia’ was coined in the 17th century to describe a medical condition of melancholy and anxiety present in Swiss mercenary soldiers fighting abroad (that’s why it was also know as the ‘mal de Suisse’ in those days)? Apparently, initially military doctors hypothesized that the malady was due to damage to the victims’ brain cells and ear drums by the constant clanging of cowbells in the pastures of Switzerland. But I didn’t grow up within earshot of the cowbells, only lived for a short while in the beautiful Lake Geneva area and am still irreparably damaged and homesick for that part of the world.
In fact, I enjoyed that part of the world so much that I probably stayed much longer in a marriage than I should have.
On the day when I can finally report that I have achieved some kind of financial settlement and inner peace following divorce, I think back once more on the things I loved about that area and introduce a kind of amnesia about the bad memories. Isn’t that what nostalgia is all about?
Memories of the local area https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/friday-fun-more-memories-of-the-local-area/
A walk on the Franco-Swiss border https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2014/08/22/friday-fun-a-walk-in-the-frenchswiss-countryside/
Artworks on the border https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/friday-fun-art-on-the-borders/
Swiss chateaux https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/friday-fun-surely-not-weary-of-chateau-already/
A fond farewell to the area before moving to the UK https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/friday-fun-farewell-ferney-and-voltaire/
And more about Voltaire and Ferney https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/voltaire-and-his-creation-ferney/
