On the road to Germany...

... By the Walensee. 

I took a hike two weeks ago.

I have really been falling down on the blogging front. The truth is that between working long hours and weekends and the general bad weather, I haven't been doing too much that is very interesting recently.

I did go on a perfectly amazing hike almost two weeks ago, so I thought I'd finally get around to posting more pictures. I took this hike, which was near the Walensee, where I have hiked multiple times, but was on a different side of the mountains, meaning I got a totally new view.

All of the trees were frosted with fresh snow, and it felt like fairy land.

This was a proper winter hike, as the weather was actually not that warm, even with the sun. The snow had that funny squeaky texture that it gets when it's cold enough, and the rest of the world was so quiet that I felt like I was making more than my fair share of noise while walking.

Mid-way through the hike, I ended up at the Thurtalerstofel, which is a ridge that juts out into the valley. It had really great views in all directions!

The wind was pretty brisk on the Thurtalerstofel, since there were no trees, which meant I got frozen solid. The views were totally worth it, though. I also saw the most beautiful golden retriever playing fetch with a huge chunk of snow. Its owners would toss this chunk of snow into the snow, and it would bound after it, basically up to its shoulders in snow. Somehow it always managed to find the original chunk of snow, and then swim back to its owners. It was so cute!

Not quite sure what this sign means. Don't touch the bombs, maybe?

It was a superlative day, all in all. I love how different the mountains are in the winter and the summer!

Another perfect day in the mountains.

Hiking near Amden.

Almost two weeks ago, right before Ruth arrived in Zürich, I went for a hike with my boss, his wife, and Rose, who I worked with in Alaska. We hiked around the Walensee, which is one of my favorite near-Zürich hiking locations. The day was totally perfect- sunny and warm! We started out by taking a chair life up the mountain.

It had been warm all week, so there was an inversion layer in the valley- which you could actually see by the line of haze!

The hike took us through an alpine moorland, which featured vegetation that was much different than what you normally see in the Alps.

We stopped for lunch at a mountain hut with amazing views over the lake towards the Glarus Alps.

It was a beautiful day, with great company and amazing mountains! Every day like this in the Alps makes me wonder how I could ever leave here. I think I'm mountain-addicted!

And, the best part was, I went straight from the hike to pick Ruth up at the airport!