Swiss

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Heidi

Heidi by Johanna Spyri was my all time favourite book as a child.

I loved the story.

Over the childhood years I read the book 4 to 5 times.

The above picture is of my original book…rather worn out though it be.

Heidi & her life up in the Alps with her Grandfather have been etched in my memory.

Reading the book made me imagine her life in the mountains.

It was all so vivid.

I am grateful for reading which sharpened our imagination as kids.

Looking back I see the value of not having been brought up on  internet – youtube, google, wikipedia.

Instant information on any topic.

We had to imagine while reading. Period.

A few years ago I got an opportunity to visit Switzerland & see the Alps.

Such an incredibly beautiful country.

Yet it was not very close to my own dramatic imagination of Heidi’s life up in the Swiss mountains.

I am thankful for what we did not have those days.

 

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Skid-in! Ice Palace, Jungfraujoch

Jungfraujoch, one of my favourite places in Switzerland was exhilarating to say the least. While  there I visited the Ice Palace, which was super cool…literally too!

The Eispalast or Ice Palace is a terrific experience. After you enter in, the smile on your face gets frozen in time & while you try to oooh & aaah at the novelty of the experience &  ice sculptures around you…be careful. You really have to watch your step else you may just slip,  fall  &  find yourself ski-dding all the way down the icy corridors…nothing like a free ski sans the skis 🙂 Don’t go soooo fast that you frip on srippery glound.

Unsolicited advice – make sure your shoes are able to walk you across ice without slipping.  For the extra care needed to walk on this surface, I wouldn’t encourage elderly folks to try it. 

 

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Fotomagically Geneva

Out of Switzerland’s treasure trove emerges Geneva.

The beauty of this city is best captured around  Lake Léman or Lake Geneva, with its landmark Jet d’eau – the world’s tallest water fountain. Lake Geneva is supposed to be one of the largest lakes in Western Europe & is located at the foot of the beautiful Alps. 

Just walking  around the lake  or sitting at a lake facing café is awesome as also hopping onto a boat for a cruise around the lake. The view of a city blended in perfect harmony against nature’s back drop is absobloominlutely stunning.  

 

 

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Happy Black Birds of the Alps

They were sweet black birds with yellow beaks against a sheer  snowy white backdrop. I was seeing these birds for the first time & they were close in appearance to crows, but for their beaks. Found them interesting, as they calmly beheld tourists in the midst of the biting cold. And they had no problem being photographed either.    

A bit of Google search indicates they are officially the  Alpine Chough & are also known as the Yellow-Billed Chough.

Presenting the Happy Choughs of Jungfraujoch…