Tag: Switzerland
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2016 – the best of times and the worst of times… (a minimalist’s version)
The death of David Bowie on January 10th was a shock to many people, including me, and 2016 did seem to provide us with more than usual ‘famous deaths’. It’s been a big year in politics, too. But here’s my personal take on the past 12 months: Best book moment: Holding Chosen Child for the…
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Sitting in Switzerland…
It’s good to sit down after a long day at work, or a hike through town. Or just because you want to treat yourself to a coffee/wine/chat with a friend. Here are some of the more interesting sitting places I’ve come across this year. First of all, summertime in Bad Ragaz. (Johanna Spyri’s Heidi passed…
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Switzerland: Arosa – and quirky…
Arosa is a little town at the end of the high Schaanfigg Valley in Canton Graubunden, 1800m above sea level, and about 130km south of my home. There’s a lot going on there – skiing in winter, hiking in summer, and as there’s no through traffic, the air is amazing, so it’s a popular health…
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Switzerland – the Tamina Gorge
So that was summer 2016. Schools start again this week here in N.E. Switzerland, so it’s back to the day job on Monday for me too. It wasn’t one of the best summers, weather-wise, but we managed to pack in a few trips and I have dozens of photos – here are some taken the…
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Switzerland – Lucerne (and a few more watery pics…)
Last week, I spent a lovely day in Central Switzerland, first of all with friends in the city of Lucerne, and then with my boys in Zurich. After all the rain we’ve had recently, it was unbelievably soothing to have hot sunshine from dawn until dusk. It was even too hot at times. (That was…
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Water, water everywhere…
– but what can you expect, after the rainfall of the past several weeks? And it’s still raining… There’s nothing titchy about our lake. At 64km long and 12km wide, Lake Constance is one of the largest in Central Europe, covering an area of 536 square metres. And in the past few weeks it’s been…
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Cold Sophie… and new book
It’s that time of year again. The Ice Saints, or Eisheiligen as they’re known in German. Each day of the year has its own saint, and the ice ones start on May 11th with Mamertus, and continue with Pancras, Servatius, and Boniface on the 12th, 13th and 14th, finishing off with Sophie on the 15th.…
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Switzerland: The Böögg has spoken…
It’s bad news, I’m afraid. This year, the Böögg’s head took ages to explode. And it fell off first. But let’s start at the beginning… Monday was Sechseläuten here in Switzerland – specifically, in Zürich. Sechseläuten is an old Spring Festival held every year on the third Monday in April – there’s a colourful and…
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The Easter Bunny in Switzerland…
Chocolate eggs aren’t big in Switzerland. They do exist, all sizes and fillings and wrapped in a variety of colourful foils. But the main (chocolate) event here is – bunnies. They also come in all sizes and designs, from gorgeous and golden… to unwrapped (and even more mouth-watering)… to the kind you buy in…
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Switzerland… The Rhine Falls
It’s a murky autumn day here in N.E. Switzerland – the leaves are falling and we can see Lake Constance from the flat again. Ours is the second largest lake in the country, vaguely fish-shaped, with Germany along the northern bank, Switzerland to the south, and Austria in the east. The Rhine flows into the…
linda huber 