Sight seeing in Switzerland

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.

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!

Source

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

I'm back!

After almost a whole month in Switzerland we are now back home again. It's been a busy time looking after mum, sorting her house, meeting up with friends and family and doing all the things one does on home leave, like doctors appointment, shopping and too much eating!!! Mum is hanging on although we've noticed a definite decline since we last saw her. She has no concept of time anymore, asking every morning what day it is, then asks again and again. We were finally able to perused her to use a "rollator", as she didn't think she was old enough for one of those. Here she is at her first "driving lesson". 

When we first arrived the weather was pleasant and it felt like spring, but that changed pretty fast. Here we are having a cup of tea in the garden

and here the same scene a couple of days later. It snowed three times while we were there. I wasn't complaining as I've been hankering after snow for so long. But I think I might have been the only one as everybody else was sick of winter and was longing for Spring to arrive. 

Nothing is better than a cheese fondue on a cold evening.

But Spring was apparent nevertheless; I loved these flowers around this door, incidentally the entrance to a private bank!

The flower stalls at the main market were bursting with colour.

The Townhouse dating back to the 14th century.

When my Dutch friend came for a visit, we headed to the Picasso exhibition at the Kunstmuseum. Basel (my hometown) has  always had a special relationship with Picasso, you can read about it here. Unfortunately it wasn't allowed to take pictures at the exhibition, so I show you "The Burghers of Calais" by August Rodin instead. It adorns the entrance court of the museum. 

Then I came across some art of a different kind. These lovely hens were knitted by the ladies at the old people's home where my friend's father is living, as part of the Easter decorations. Aren't they cute?

 

When I got back home I found a parcel from Lynda waiting for me. It contained the bag I won at the recent give away on her blog along with lots of other lovely goodies. It was a bit like Christmas!  Thanks again Lynda!

As you might have seen in my last post, I've installed "Bloglovin". If you would like to keep following my blog, you can do so by clicking this button: 

                                                       

I didn't sew much and I didn't blog either while I was away but now it's time to get back to both again, once I'm over this wretched jet lag, that is! 

Until next time, stay happy.

Cheers

Vreni xx