Finding joy

 

It’s such little things. Throughout the morning a friend and I were WhatsApping back and forth about how dumb the weather predictions are: “snow storm” indeed. My last post to her was around 12:30 when I had actually had perhaps 10 “flakes” hit my windshield on my drive back from town.

Nothing, nothing, nothing, until around 15:30 when it actually did start to snow. So beautiful to watch the mud, the dead leaves and branches, the dirty sidewalks and streets

Disappear.

 

I wrote another friend that we “finally had snow”, the earth was decked in a light mantel of snow. “One must find joy where one can”. Then I realized: it’s true, it doesn’t take much to feel joyful, one only needs to look!

 

 

Snow day in Switzerland…

It could be worse.

Oh yes, it was back a couple of days ago when the temperatures were 8.5°C just outside my kitchen window. But who would have thought that snow would stop everything in Switzerland?!!!

Now I do remember that back when I first arrived in Switzerland - just across the border in France – winters were “normal”, ie it did snow and sometimes the snow actually stayed for days or weeks on the ground throughout the winter.

Those times have changed and this year’s winter has been a hodge-podge of spring, summer, and finally winter (ok if you call Siberian cold and -8 +C “winter”).

Now, and again for once as the weathermen predicted, it is the first day of the meteological “spring” so of course it snowed. Now only did it snow – remember this was predicted – it snowed enough (again predicted) to totally wreck chaos in the public transportation system.  Even the airport was shut this morning.  We have had so many warm winters the past 20 years that busses no longer have snow tires or chains and when as was the case this time the snow goes down on frozen solid ground, streets become skating rinks and busses and cars the fun (for those not employing them) of the bumper cars that one finds in amusement parks.

Believe me it is a lot less amusing in real life, but the snow is beautiful, I was warned so set the alarm early enough to walk to my first appointment if necessary. But managed with the car - just slow.

However, later in the day (much later and I expected things to be clear!) I had to go into town for another meeting - total chaos. Apparently in the city of Geneva they no longer salt the streets. That being said I didn't see a snowplow of any sorts and the busiest cross streets were the worst with either lumps of frozen snow hard enough to pierce a tire or slush so bad that one couldn't get through. My return to the countryside was a delight as here our local departments did salt, did plow and the streets were actually better than in town. I mean really!

Will enjoy the pristine white at least until tonight when it is supposed to rain.

From my balcony this morning

The front drive once I shoveled out the gate

Looking through the side window

One of the reasons…

I love where I live: the seasons.
Spring is a great new beginning, summer is wonderful as long as one can get either
to the mountains or the beach for coolness. Fall is my favorite, but winter needs to also
be winter. 

This past weekend we finally got snow.

Corsier - looking towards the lake Friday night

Details of the above

Sunset in the alps Saturday

Early morning sun on the alps

The cows with extra thick pelts

Peek-a-boo with the alps

First day of Winter, oops

I mean of May.

Which is turning out to be one and the same in any case.

This year has been topsy-turvy and weird all around: no winter to speak of, I think it snowed once at home and certainly didn’t stick, and in recent past we have had horrible, gray, rainy and cold days, interspersed with lovely 20° C days where one would have been forgiven to think that summer was coming early.

I have moved my things back up to the summer rental – so, of course – it is logically that winter followed me, especially since I swapped my winter tires for summer ones just Friday!

Big thick flakes at 6 a.m. this morning made for lovely pictures when I went out mid-morning for a walk: sticking scrupulously to the paved roads – after all the broken bones in my arm are finally solidly knit and I really, really, really, don’t want that to change.

6 a.m. May 1, 2016

This is Spring in the Swiss alps – even at low level as I am at only 1’100 meters.

Magnolia

A cup of snow

Forsythia

Tulips

Purple sticking out of the snow

Snow covering purple flowers

Spontaneity and Playing hooky

I know that I have mentioned that word – spontaneity – as being my leitmotif for this year. After the rain yesterday, we again awoke to a most gorgeous beautiful-blue-sky kind of day. I was so not motivated to get back to work on my taxes that when a friend called enquiring as to what my plans were for the day, I replied: “nothing, whatever you want to propose”!

Ten minutes later we were off to France and a mountain resort that, believe it or not, I had never visited.

Megève is well known to those with money to burn or a wish to hang out with the upper echelons, there are even flags pointing out the Michelin starred chefs. However, there are also the more classic attractions: a wonderful church, St. Jean the Baptist whose construction corresponds to three different periods (XIVth, XVIIth and XIX centuries). The St. Anne chapel next door was started in 1500, the church itself “only” in the early 1600s.

St.Jean the Baptist church in Megève

Then there were the local “taxis” – horse drawn carriages, each one unique in its decoration. 

rear of one wooden sleigh

rear of another wooden sleigh

Shadows and light, a typical-to-the-region lunch, mountain peaks playing with the clouds, warmth in the sun and not too many crowds made for a most pleasant day of playing hooky.  Tomorrow will suffice to get back to the duties that call.

shadow of photography

windy on the peaks

sun playing spotlight

firs and mountains

overlooking the valley from the Altiport in Megève

A weekend in the Swiss Alps

It is a well-known fact that I love to travel and that I do so rather frequently. Many of the trips involve actually leaving the country (probably about 80% of the time) and most are also long distance visiting family in the USA and in Germany.

The only “short” trips are those to the flat that I rent during the summer months as that is roughly two hours depending upon how many times I stop or take side-trips on the way. The shortest trips otherwise are the 3-hour train rides to Paris, or the 7 hour ones to Southern France/Northern Germany.

When my younger son decided that he would like to hold a party at home (he is currently living here – another story entirely) I said, no problem, I’ll go stay in a hotel for the night. Well that became, oh yeah, maybe I should go somewhere that I haven’t seen and, for the comfort, also take the train.

Up to Leysin it was.

One of many such chalets

Detail on a cow bell

Many lovely displays in this chalet

And what a fun weekend it turned out to be. Last minute reservation at the Mercure hotel (not going to rave about it – it was adequate) then joined a friend who was dining with other friends Friday night and Saturday night.  First though the tour to a local restaurant and mini alpine museum where they make the cheese in the old-fashioned way – in a large caldron – three times a week for the evening fondues. Then it was off to an Italian restaurant: five adults and one child. Three were of Italian origin, one of those was married to a girl from Cameroon and of course me. All were polyglots.

Cheese Restaurant in Leysin, Switzerland

Old-fashioned way of making cheese

Saturday my coffee buddy and I went off to Bulle (nearest larger city to the castle of Gruyère always a hit with the tourists) to attend the indoor flea market. I was at the tail end of a weird flu episode so after a couple of hours needed to sit and went and found the cloakroom and a bench: these indoor events rarely have seating and I didn’t think it polite to simply sit down on someone’s stall – or antique chairs. Entertained myself reading a brochure that some kids were peddling then the lady who’s stall was just outside the cloakroom asked if I would watch her stand for her whilst she went to the bathroom. Not every visitor finds them self a temporary saleswoman: fun.

Traveling there we took the back roads and mountain passes – something that as a family we had never done. Started snowing on the way back so ever so “typically Swiss” and we stopped for coffee in an authentic mountain “bistro”. 

That night we continued the oh-so-international theme when we joined the cousin, his companion and another woman in the latter’s chalet for sushi!  D’s chalet was a most wonderful blend of traditional Swiss and zen Japanese: she trained as an artist, in particular ceramics, and taught at Scripp’s in L.A. as well as at the University of Bern before turning to teaching in order “to make a living”. All the dishes used were her own works and I’d love to talk her into coming out of retirement as an artist. The other woman’s history was just as fascinating. Main language of the evening: Italian with a smattering of French as well as German between three of us when S. discovered that I spoke it.  The cousin was more than entertaining and the word “mass” will forever make me laugh as at one point whilst discussing how the artist had put one leg on solid ground and the other on not-so-solid thus falling forward he described it as her “mass” made her topple meaning of course mass and velocity (he was an engineer) as opposed to weight (she was top heavy), but he had a hard time back peddling out of that one.

Best sushi ever!

The of algaes salad was devoured by all

Again late to bed, but no matter as Sunday there were no plans. Late breakfast followed by simply relaxing, partially in the sun, after touring the village and admiring how the snow, which had ever so conveniently fallen during the night, covered the slush, mud and rocks that had been apparent upon my arrival.

Fresh snow powdering on the trees

Must have been a strong wind at some point

Christmas lights and snow make the branches festive

Huge rocky mountains

La Tour d'Ai

It was a true break (tried checking e-mails the first night as the hotel supposedly had wi-fi, but although I could go online for the news, etc. couldn’t seem to get passed the barriers for e-mails etc. so decided that a computer-free weekend was perhaps a good thing) and returning home somewhat of a let-down, but never mind I have another adventure with my housemate coming up mid-February.

Winter

Where I like it…

On the tops of the surrounding mountains with just a dusting

Trailing down into the valley.

24 hours at the end of May

in the Swiss Alps where you can have fall, winter, spring and summer all rolled into one day:

May 23 17:30

May 24 9:00

May 24 9:30

May 24 13:00

May 24 13:00

May 24 14:00

May 24 17:00