Two weeks ago, I attended a super interesting conference on iron biogeochemistry, which featured talks about acid mine drainage, iron-rich sediments, hydrothermal vents, ferruginous oceans, bacterial siderophores, volcanoes, and all sorts of other super interesting things. Going to conferences like these reminds me that science is totally amazing and that I love what I do (most days).
After this conference, I
stayed for a weekend visit with Stefanie and her family, which so nice. After being sequestered in my flat for almost 2 weeks and then going directly to an intense conference, it was perfect to have some relaxing time with friends.
We cooked dinner together on Friday night: hamburgers!
On Saturday, her parents picked us up and brought us back to Brissago, which is the smaller town near Italy where they live. Stefanie gave me the grand tour of Brissago, including the
Sacro Monte di Brissago, the lakefront, and their family's store, which has a sign with their family name (Kuchler). We also had a really nice afternoon coffee at a cafe in downtown Brissago. Aside from the Brissago tour, we mostly relaxed, which I was quite happy about.
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| Lago Maggiore. |
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| Sacro Monte di Brissago. |
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| Super skinny road! Eeek! |
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| Spring is coming! Primrose by the road! |
On Sunday, after a leisurely brunch and some time playing in the garden with Cali (their golden retriever), we traipsed off to
Cardada, which is a little mountain above Locarno that is accessible by cable car almost directly from the train station. We walked around a little bit to a lookout over Lago Maggiore, and then sat in the sun with some drinks for about an hour, just enjoying the weather and the scenery.
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| Mimosas, the flower of women's day. |
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| Cali! |
After that, it was time to head back to Zürich. It was really a fantastic and relaxing weekend, and just what I needed. I'm sad that Stefanie no longer lives in Zürich, but it's always great to visit her, and I love Ticino. It is also fun since we spoke German all weekend; this sort of immersion always improves my German skills. Not to mention that I also am picking up some Italian, as well! I just heart Switzerland!
