There’s an ornate building next door to my work which I’ve loved ever since moving to Bern. It’s in the Langgasse quarter, which has lots of uni buildings, student accommodation and a laidback feel to it all, all conveniently located next to the main train station. I may have talked about this area, and building, before.
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- All those little balconies
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- There’s a popular cafe and a cool creperie on the ground floor
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- Romeo, romeo …
Walking along the main street, just past the building on the left, is a driveway. My eye was drawn to an amazing plant growing along the fence. Just like the massive building before, it was delicate and intricate in a different way. Balls of a fine swirly, white, starchy substance replaced any greenery and brown octopus/spider legs wiggled inside. What a showstopper of a vine!
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- White fluffy balls
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- Delicate and intricate
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- An amazing feat of nature!
I stole a sprig for closer inspection. Here’s what they look like magnified …
The spiders legs fall out very easily, and the feathery material feels almost little a cotton ball/make-up wipe thing – not as soft as you’d think, but not scratchy either.
Do any of my clever green-thumbed friends know what the plant is called? I had zero luck searching the internet.
Wishing you a wonderful day.
And Vale Alan Rickman. What a chameleon he was, with such an expressive face and that rich, smooth voice.
fitfor15in15 ... and further 
I like the intricate architecture and the intricate plant. It’s a clematis and those are the seed heads – keep a watch for wonderful flowers!
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Freda to the rescue! I had a feeling you might know what that plant is, Freda, and I’m doing the fist pump of satisfaction. Thank you, thank you, for being a flora whiz. I can’t wait to see what colour the flowers will be in spring.
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Beautiful fluffies!!! Love love love!
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swissrose has informed me they are also old man’s beard (different to what we know as old man’s beard, that grows on air) or traveler’s joy. Google images has perfect examples of both, the one and the same.
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It’s also known as Old Man’s Beard 😉
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Ohh thanks swissrose, I looked up Old man’s beard Clematis vitalba and found an exact match! Can’t wait to see it with coloured flowers too. The snow has ‘ruined’ it now, I caught it just in time!
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…oh, also Traveller’s Joy, which seems pretty appropriate for an Australian in Switzerland!! (white flowers, very dainty …)
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Another perfect match on Google images! You, Freda and curlymint77 are my go-to gals for flowery questions! Thanks swissrose.
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