Thursday, October 7, 2010

Hiking near Bern.

Last weekend I went for a perfect Sunday hike near Bern. (And, PS by the way, I absolutely heart having a GA. I love being able to hop on literally any train and go wherever I want to go in Switzerland, and I love that I can change my plans or not make plans as I please.)

I decided to go for this hike from Mühleturnen to Kehrsatz. It is getting a little late in the fall to go hiking alone in the mountains, since it has already snowed and it is getting dark earlier and earlier. Hence, I went on a hike near the mountains but not in them.

The weather was so perfect: sunny and about 65 degrees! I love fall, so being out in the woods and seeing the leaves changing and all of the signs of fall was so fantastic. I haven't really spent any time in Canton Bern yet, and it was interesting to hear the difference in dialects between Zürich and Bern. When you are out hiking, it is normal to greet everyone. In Canton Zürich, the greeting is "grüezi", while in Canton Bern the greeting is "grüessech". I didn't know this before I went on my hike, so I started getting self-conscious that I was saying the wrong thing. Not like that doesn't happen every day anyways.

I actually really like the greeting thing now, although at first it freaked me out when I didn't know what to say back. When I'm walking to and from the train station in Winterthur-Seen or on the hiking trail, I love how everyone I meet greets me. (I greet them back, of course.) This is a little more problematic when they keep on talking after the initial greeting, but I like that we at least acknowledge each others' existence.

Scenes from the hike


There were waterfalls and streams all along the path.




A Swiss cow also enjoying the mountains.



Chainsaw art!

This week has been pretty busy, as I have been trying to get a bunch of work done before my friend Anne comes to visit at the end of this week. One of the highlights of this week was yesterday night, when some coworkers and I went for happy hour at the student bar on campus (bQm), which is in the student union at ETH. It was really fun (and surreal) to sit on the patio overlooking Zürich, having a beer as the sun set over the city. Sometimes my job is great!

View from the patio of bQm.