I saw this article on living abroad today. To me, it described quite accurately some of the realities of living abroad: the feeling of belonging in two places at the same time, yet not really belonging to either; the excitement and adventure of doing simple activities in a new setting; the people that are dear no matter how far away you are... All of these are part of my life now.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Hiking near the Klöntalersee.
This past weekend the weather was beautiful: sunny and very warm. I had to think long and hard about where to hike this weekend, since when it is 90 F, doing a really strenuous hike above the tree line is probably not the best idea. Accordingly, I chose this hike in the nearby kanton of Glarus. Not only was it nearby so that I could get the hardest part of the hike out of the way early in the day, but much of the hike was in the forest, and there was a lake along the way for cooling off. I was sold!
The hike started out in the town of Glarus, but quickly climbed in to fields. And a random gravel pit, which I had to take a picture of, just to show that there are some not-so-nice-looking places in Switzerland.
The hike climbed through the woods for quite a long way, with peeks of the mountains every so often. As crowded as my hike last weekend was, this hike was empty. It was very lovely and tranquil to be on my own, climbing in the forest.
All of the sudden, I arrived at Schwammihöchi and was treated to the beautiful view out over the Klöntalersee. I have to say that the lakes and rivers here in Switzerland really do come in the most fantastical blues I've ever seen. For evidence, see here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here. And that's just from the past year or so. Just sayin'.
I took the opportunity to have a Coke at the restaurant overlooking the lake before hiking down the hill to the lake.
I had a picnic in the shade by the lake and seriously regretted not having my swimsuit so that I could also take a dip in the lake.
From the lake, I hiked along a little stream back down to Glarus. I had a slight mishap in which I believe I hiked through a working shooting range. This is not even a joke. I was following the yellow hiking trail signs, but there were also "Danger from shooting" signs. I thought that the hiking signs could not possibly be wrong, until I ended up in some hollow with shooters on my right and targets on my left. Thankfully, the targets were elevated quite far above me, but it definitely made me a little nervous to hear the shooting around me. I'm not quite sure what I should've done instead, since stop-drop-and-roll doesn't exactly apply to gunfire, but thankfully I survived!
It really was a beautiful hike, through the cool and aromatic woods, up to the beautiful vantage above the lake, alongside the lake, and then back down along a river. Two thumbs up!
The hike started out in the town of Glarus, but quickly climbed in to fields. And a random gravel pit, which I had to take a picture of, just to show that there are some not-so-nice-looking places in Switzerland.
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| The lovely gravel pit. |
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| This tree was so pretty! |
The hike climbed through the woods for quite a long way, with peeks of the mountains every so often. As crowded as my hike last weekend was, this hike was empty. It was very lovely and tranquil to be on my own, climbing in the forest.
All of the sudden, I arrived at Schwammihöchi and was treated to the beautiful view out over the Klöntalersee. I have to say that the lakes and rivers here in Switzerland really do come in the most fantastical blues I've ever seen. For evidence, see here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here. And that's just from the past year or so. Just sayin'.
I took the opportunity to have a Coke at the restaurant overlooking the lake before hiking down the hill to the lake.
I had a picnic in the shade by the lake and seriously regretted not having my swimsuit so that I could also take a dip in the lake.
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| My picnic location. |
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| At the top of the shooting range. Oops. |
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| At the bottom of the shooting range. You can see the targets in the background! |
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
You know you're in Switzerland when...
...you are wearing an outfit that involves a black shirt, and someone still remarks on your colorful outfit.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
A perfect day by the Zürisee.
Today my colleagues and I took a long lunch break to have a picnic and swim in the lake. Gotta love August!
Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
A note from Swiss grocery shopping.
Welcome to my world, where two ears of corn goes ON 25% SALE for $5!
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
5-Seen-Wanderung.
This past weekend I went on the 5-Seen-Wanderung (5-Lake-Hike). Given past success with a hike of this sort, I was expecting a beautiful hike (although what hike here isn't beautiful?), and this definitely was that. The weather wasn't totally cooperative, with intermittent fog, but that's another story.
I have been experiencing mountains withdrawal, since this really was the first time that I have been in the Alps all summer; in fact, the last time I was in the mountains was when I went skiing in March!
The hike started at Pizolhütte with a steady climb into the fog.
I have to admit that I've never been on a hike that was this crowded. There were traffic jams as we climbed, and I'm pretty sure that I saw more people on this trail than I did the whole time I was Alaska. For real. I guess that's the thing about hiking in Switzerland: easy access to the trails and the high density of people mean that you're never hiking alone. Still, the fact that this was a relatively easy hike (yes, a vertical climb of 1800 feet- the height of the Empire State Building- does constitute an easy hike), that it was only 1.5 hours from Zürich, and that it was extraordinarily beautiful made it by far the most crowded hike I've done.
The climb and the crowds were worth it when we got to the top and saw the sun and the Wildsee. It was incredible!
From there, the hike descended to the Schottensee, which had a really dreamy blue color when you got closer to it.
After the Schottensee, we had another climb to Schwarzkopf, where there was a great panoramic view.
Then was the descent to the Schwarzsee (Black Lake), which was actually named quite aptly, since the water is an interesting black-ish green color. I stopped for a nice lunch break here, before continuing along my way.
From the Schwarzsee, we climbed to the top of the next ridge and saw a huge collection of Steinmannlis (little stone men). It was definitely one of the more bizarre things I've come across in my hikes. Not that I haven't seen Steinmannlis around, but never this many or ones this large.
From the Steinmannlis we descended to the Baschalvasee, and then continued to descend to Gaffia.
You may have noticed only 4 lakes on this hike, which was billed as a 5-lake hike. I am not complaining, since it was plenty beautiful. I'm just wondering how on earth I could've missed an entire lake? Or if there is even a 5th lake at all, since there are no other lakes on any of the maps I looked at... At any rate, it was a lovely hike. Yay for mountains!
I have been experiencing mountains withdrawal, since this really was the first time that I have been in the Alps all summer; in fact, the last time I was in the mountains was when I went skiing in March!
The hike started at Pizolhütte with a steady climb into the fog.
I have to admit that I've never been on a hike that was this crowded. There were traffic jams as we climbed, and I'm pretty sure that I saw more people on this trail than I did the whole time I was Alaska. For real. I guess that's the thing about hiking in Switzerland: easy access to the trails and the high density of people mean that you're never hiking alone. Still, the fact that this was a relatively easy hike (yes, a vertical climb of 1800 feet- the height of the Empire State Building- does constitute an easy hike), that it was only 1.5 hours from Zürich, and that it was extraordinarily beautiful made it by far the most crowded hike I've done.
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| Crowds in front of me. |
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| Crowds behind me. |
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| Crowds on the switch-backs above me. |
The climb and the crowds were worth it when we got to the top and saw the sun and the Wildsee. It was incredible!
From there, the hike descended to the Schottensee, which had a really dreamy blue color when you got closer to it.
After the Schottensee, we had another climb to Schwarzkopf, where there was a great panoramic view.
 |
| If you look closely, you can see the Wildsee and the Schottensee in the distance. |
Then was the descent to the Schwarzsee (Black Lake), which was actually named quite aptly, since the water is an interesting black-ish green color. I stopped for a nice lunch break here, before continuing along my way.
From the Schwarzsee, we climbed to the top of the next ridge and saw a huge collection of Steinmannlis (little stone men). It was definitely one of the more bizarre things I've come across in my hikes. Not that I haven't seen Steinmannlis around, but never this many or ones this large.
From the Steinmannlis we descended to the Baschalvasee, and then continued to descend to Gaffia.
 |
| The rocks are actually quite purple, although it's hard to capture it in a photo. |
You may have noticed only 4 lakes on this hike, which was billed as a 5-lake hike. I am not complaining, since it was plenty beautiful. I'm just wondering how on earth I could've missed an entire lake? Or if there is even a 5th lake at all, since there are no other lakes on any of the maps I looked at... At any rate, it was a lovely hike. Yay for mountains!
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