linda huber

Tag: Switzerland

  • Wild Orchids in Switzerland

    A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I went out in search of orchids… wild ones. Close to the Switzerland-Germany border, there’s a tiny place called Bargen. It’s known for being the most northerly village in the country, and also for its nearby woodland orchid trail. I have to confess I’d never heard of…

  • A Fractured Winter… with Alison Baillie

    It’s lovely having guests on my blog, and even better when I know them in person as well as on social media. Alison Baillie lives a short train journey away from me, so she’s a ‘close’ friend in more ways than one, and here she is to tell us about her new book. Thank you,…

  • Places in – pictures? Or words??

    When I was seven or eight, our next-door neighbour – an elderly lady – had an ash tree in her garden, right on the border with ours. Her garden was half-wild, and to my great joy there was no fence between the two properties. Under – and halfway up – that tree became my special…

  • Christmas Swiss-Style

    So what’s the difference? Quite a lot, especially if you believe in the magic of Santa Claus. He doesn’t come to Switzerland, you see. But let’s look at the entire festive season, starting with Advent. (We’ll ignore all the Christmas decs etc shops start putting up in October/November.) The first Christmassy thing in most homes…

  • New land…

    It’s been months since I joined Instagram. Yesterday, after months of trial, getting cross, error, and giving up, I finally worked out how to get pics onto my account. You have to use your mobile phone. For someone hopelessly devoted to larger machines –  desktop or laptop or even netbook; I’m not fussy – this…

  • Over the sea to… Friedrichshafen

    Our lake – Lake Constance – is huge. 536 square kilometres, to be exact. Standing on the banks on a misty day, you can almost imagine you’re gazing out over the Atlantic. The photo below was taken from the Austrian end, and shows Germany on the right and Switzerland disappearing on the left. Last week,…

  • Reichenau…

    …is a tiny island on our lake. It belongs to Germany, and over the centuries has been home to over 20 churches and chapels, though only three remain. Last week I went there with a couple of friends – the original plan was to bike round the island (only 11km), but as it was well…

  • River…

    I’ve always lived near water. In Glasgow, we have the Clyde, and nowhere in Scotland is hugely far from the sea. (Insert horror memories of learning to swim in a North Sea fed pool in St Andrews.) Arriving in Switzerland in the 80s, I was pleased to be living so close to another lovely river.…

  • Crime writers go hiking…

    One of my purchases in Scotland was this bag – The Body In The Library is one of my favourite Agatha Christie reads. On Friday, a friend and I took it for the first hike of spring, here in N.E. Switzerland. We were at Altenrhein, the border between Switzerland and Austria, where the ‘old’ Rhine…

  • LAMBS!!!

    Yesterday (Saturday), I was sitting in a bus on the way up to town. All was peaceful. Until a woman, complete with grandson, got on and sat down nearby. The little boy would be three, maybe four, and he immediately started chatting to his Omi about playgroup. Their conversation went something like this: Child: Playgroup…