Tag: Switzerland

  • A visit from Cass Grafton

    I first met Cass on social media, but given that we both live in – roughly speaking – the same area in lovely Switzerland, it wasn’t long before we met up in person. Since then, we’ve been meeting regularly to share the ups and downs of the writing life, and drink the odd prosecco (or…

  • A picture post…

    While I’m wrapping up my NaNoWriMo effort – I made it to 50k words this November, but more about that another time – here are a few photos I took between summer and now. Our beautiful lake, Constance, in July and November. Spot the difference. Our town’s whirlpool fountain, now emptied for the winter. I…

  • Summer in Switzerland – Einsiedeln and Hoch-Ybrig

    It was my first visit to this area, right in the heart of Switzerland. I’d passed by Einsiedeln – best-known for its Benedictine Abbey with the black Madonna – but I’d never actually set foot in the place. It was a lovely day when my friend and I arrived, but clouds were gathering and we…

  • The hottest day of the year…

    I like hot weather. But 35°C and more is – whisper it – almost too much of a good thing. So a friend and I decided to spend a day up the Flumserberg, in the east of Switzerland. It’s only 60 miles from here so not too much travelling time involved to get there, and…

  • Springtime in N.E. Switzerland… 🇨🇭

    It hasn’t been one of those balmy springs. We had a mild(ish) March, followed by a distinctly chilly April-May, so much so that almost everyone I know retrieved their winter jackets from wherever they’d put them away to in March, and started wearing them again. Nightly frost warnings have only just stopped pinging into my…

  • The week the snow came…

    At 430m above sea, my home here in the north-east is in one of the lowest areas in Switzerland. In winter, it regularly happens that while everywhere else is being sprinkled with scenic whiteness from above, we get rain. And to tell you the truth, that suits me just fine. Snow is fun for a…

  • 2018 – the best of times and the worst of times. A minimalist’s version.

    I’ve done a ‘minimalist’s’ New Year post ever since my first book was published, but this year I have to say I hesitated. 2018 truly was an annus horribilus, starting with the death of my father in January and continuing through a prolonged bout of non-serious but incapacitating ill health that only ended in summer,…

  • A walk around the old town…

    Arbon has been here for many, many years. Centuries, in fact – it has connections to an Irish monk called Gallus who died here in 646. We have a castle, part of the original town wall still stands, and the old town has a real medieval atmosphere, wonderful for Christmas markets. Let’s take a walk……

  • Autumn? in Switzerland…

    It’s late this year. The woods across from my balcony are turning, yes, but not very far or fast. We can’t scrunch through autumn leaves as we wander along the trails, and the predominant colour is still green. So let’s have a look at some other slightly autumnal Swiss pics.   Below was taken in…

  • Swiss Mountains…

    Scenic blog post alert… The past several weeks have been HOT here in N.E. Switzerland. 33-34°C every afternoon is a bit too much of a good thing – I wished several times I was halfway up a mountain, enjoying the snow squeaking under my feet. On the left we have our local mountain, the Säntis,…