Traveler's Angel

With our most recent vacation back to Switzerland this past August, we arrived in the Zurich airport confident and ready to have a great time. I certainly knew what I was doing. After all, I had been living here for 2.5 years the year before. Mr. P on the other hand, just told me he trusted me and trusted I knew what we were doing.

That day, we were meeting our friend in the Zurich Train Station under the "Angel". We thought to ourselves, where would we find an angel in the station and what would it look like. Well sure enough, just a bit after the normal "meeting place" we saw this "gigantic" angel hanging from the rafters. We were confident we had found what Mr. P's friend was talking about.

As luck would have it, I have finally discovered more information about the "traveler angel" today. Niki de Saint Phalle is the artist behind the angel. Her work was first recognized in the 1960's which could be found in cities such as Paris, New York, Brussels, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Geneva, and Lucerne.

Niki's Angel was seen in inflatable versions in the 1960's in the US. Her influence comes from her French and American heritage. Sadly, much of her work was unrecognized because of her famous Swiss husband Tingley. Niki died at the age of 71 in May 2002, at the age of 71 in San Diego, California. Sadly her death was from lung disease caused by the toxic fumes inhaled while working on her beloved polyester figures.

It's great to know her spirit still live on at the Zurich Train Station.