August already? How did that happen? Both our kids are spending some time with us here in Switzerland over the summer. As it happened, they are both moving from Asia to Europe this year too. My daughter finished the school year in Beijing and will start her new job in Milan, Italy next week. My son quit his job in Singapore as well and is now looking at two job opportunities; one in London and one in Zurich. Guess which one I want him to take ;)? On the other hand London would be a cool place for a young person to live and work and for us to visit. In any case, it's lovely to have the whole family on the same continent again.
Since the weather has been beautiful and it's been quite hot (too hot for my taste) we took the opportunity to go on a few day trips.
This is Gruyere, a small medieval village with its historical castle dating back to the 13th century.
As you might have guessed, Gruyere is also where the famous Gruyere cheese is made and although it was hot, we had to have an authentic Gruyere cheese fondue.
On another day we went up to Kandersteg from where we took a cable car up to Oeschinensee and a leisurely hike brought us to this wonderful little mountain lake. The fresh air up there was just heaven.
On the way back, we stopped at the Blausee (meaning blue lake) and it's easy to see why it's called that
Since the weather has been beautiful and it's been quite hot (too hot for my taste) we took the opportunity to go on a few day trips.
This is Gruyere, a small medieval village with its historical castle dating back to the 13th century.
View from the castle over the manicured garden
It was blessedly cool in the castle with its thick walls.
As you might have guessed, Gruyere is also where the famous Gruyere cheese is made and although it was hot, we had to have an authentic Gruyere cheese fondue.
On another day we went up to Kandersteg from where we took a cable car up to Oeschinensee and a leisurely hike brought us to this wonderful little mountain lake. The fresh air up there was just heaven.
On the way back, we stopped at the Blausee (meaning blue lake) and it's easy to see why it's called that
and the obligatory selfie ;)!
We also spent a lovely day in our cute capital city Bern. It was another scorcher of a day and lots of swimmers came down the Aare River. Unfortunately I didn't catch any on my camera.
a cold drink under a sun umbrella in front of the Parliament Building.
It was indeed a gorgeous day, but I still think Bern is the most beautiful in winter covered in snow. Oh boy, I can't wait!
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And surprise, surprise, I even did a bit of sewing.
Block 3, 4 and 5 for the Aunts' Quilt are now finally completed. Just one more of the big blocks to finish and then I can get going with the side triangles. I know I'm hopelessly behind the "official schedule" but I'll get there as I'm still enjoying this project a lot.
I've been very lucky as I've won a give away by Rita of Red Pepper Quilts fame, sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop. These lovely boxes of Aurifloss arrived on my doorsteps
and a look inside - can't wait to try them out.
That's it for today. I hope you have survived the heat or the cold, depending on where you are.
Vreni x
17 comments:
What stunning photos! Switzerland looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing. And your quilting blocks are so beautiful.
Love your pictures of Switzerland. We’ve made some trips to this beautiful country in the past and the first time I saw mountains covered in snow I fell in love!
Your Aunt’s Quilt blocks are awesome! Congratulations on winning such a fabulous price!!
woohoo.......how wonderful that your kids are moving closer............
OMG what gorgeous pics of your country.......
Wunderschön sind Deine neuen Blöckchen geworden, und die Bilder Deiner alten neuen Heimat finde ich sehr schön.
Hab eine gute Zeit und liebe Grüße
Roswitha
Hallo Vreni,
Du hast bestimmt schon lange keinen Schnee mehr gesehen. Die Chancen stehen aber gut, nach so einem heißen Sommer folgt bestimmt ein schön knackig kalter Winter. Du zeigst schöne Urlaubsbilder, da macht gleich Lust auf Bergurlaub!
LG
KATRIN W.
love your pictures, beautiful country
Just beautiful pictures--nice that it's cool..so hot and sticky here.
I love your blocks--the light cheerful colors are just gorgeous...enjoy hugs, Julierose
Beautiful! What a fun tour we got of your adventures. Your quilt blocks are wonderful too. I just spent a week with some of our children and grandchildren. It was loud, busy, fun, food, games, etc. Now it is over and our house is once again too quiet for my liking. A few are coming home for Thanksgiving in November so that is fun to look forward to also.
Lucky you, Congratulations on your win, I hope you enjoy using the thread. Some lovely shots of your travels, so picturesque, Great that you have been able to share it all as a family.
Liebe Vreni,
tolle Bilder, das Fondue sieht sehr gut aus, da bekomme ich direkt Hunger.
Deine Aunte's Blöckchen sind wunderschön geworden, toller Fortschritt, die sind ja doch sehr aufwendig.
Liebe Grüßle,
Sylvia
Switzerland looks so beautiful. The mountains, the lakes, the trees, the gardens - it's all gorgeous. I really will have to get there one day. Your sewing is beautiful too - you're right not to rush it. Thank you for the selfie. It's nice to see your lovely face.
Oh Vreni! It's so good to see YOU (I do believe this may be the first photo I've seen of you!), and that you're out and about, enjoying your return to Switzerland. Gosh, the places you've visited are simply lovely! Gruyere is gorgeous, and you don't know how much I would have loved to indulge in that fondue with you! I know you'll do something wonderful with that Aurifloss. The win couldn't have been sent to a anyone better. Thanks for sharing what you've been up to, and I hope for your sake that both your kids aren't too far away. At least you're all on the same continent again!
Hallo Vreni, so gute Nachrichten von dir, zusammen mit den so typischen (und schönen!) Bildern aus Schweizer Gegenden. Du scheinst wieder "daheim" angekommen zu sein und bald wird auch deine Familie in der Nähe sein (London zähle ich auch schon dazu ;-) !). Ich freue mich für dich!
Wünsche dir weiterhin frohes "Werkeln" an deinen Blöcken.
Liebe Grüsse, Barbara
What a beautiful place to visit. Thank you for letting me visit too from my desk. Your blocks are lovely.
I love your blocks, so sweet :-) and congratulations on your giveaway prize.
But, what a blast from the past - many years ago DH and I spent a winter holiday cross country skiing in Kandersteg, and couple of days we took a cable car up that lake and practice there (it was DH's first time skiing).
We absolutely loved it, had a great time!
It is nice to see summer pictures from there too.
xx
Switzerland looks beautiful Vreni, especially Blausee. Your blocks for Auntie's quilt look so bright & fresh, just lovely :) x Gisele
Vreni!!! How did I miss this post? (Gone I guess LOL.)
How FUN to see YOU -- you cutie you! And you Lucky LUCKY girl!!! I LOVE Switzerland -- one of my most favorite places on the planet. (Btw, when I was in Scotland, I played the "Name your top three places in the world" game with all of my hosts -- guess whose home country was at the top of my list??? ;-D)
Your Aunts' Quilt looks fantastic! I love the colors and fabrics you've used -- it's so fun to see all the different versions. You don't have that much farther to go -- you'll be done in no time!!!
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