Switzerland




Rain greeted our landing in Zurich, but weather would improve through the trip.




We visited our friend Tavis who teaches in Zuoz (Engadine Valley, eastern Switzerland).  Here's the view from his balcony.




Amanda and Tavis in front of the glacier near Pontresina we hiked to.  The sign on the right shows where the glacier edge was 7 years earlier.




Amanda sits on a fallen boulder, which sits above a large fissure in the ice.




Trying to get a better look into an ice cave...




Inside, angular slabs of blue ice portruded from alternating sides as meltwater flowed along a zigzagging course.




Bakery treats and mint tea after the hike.  We ate very well during our stay with Tavis, mainly thanks to his culinary prowess.




Sunday we got ambitious and hiked about 1500 vertical meters above Zernez.




For any hiker to get a good view of an ibex is considered great luck.




To see another 23 or so ibex after that is rather incredible luck. 




As we hiked up amongst the avalanche barriers, snow became a minor inconvenience.




But by the time we got near the top, there was far too much snow to contemplate a descent into the next valley, so we had to turn back.




Another day, another hike!  The bright blue backs of this moth's wings are slightly visible near the top.  Also note the striped antennae. 




Tavis and Amanda pause to watch a pair of marmots near the entrance to their burrow.  We saw many more by the end of the hike.




Most of this Swiss breed of cows are solid brown, but this one had an "ice cream sandwich" pattern.  It slobbered up the length of Tavis's arm, then followed him down the path for a while.




Amanda and I set out west through the mountains on the Glacier Express train.  She diverted north to fly home from Zurich, while I continued west to reach a conference site.




I stayed overnight in Martigny.  A double rainbow arched over the hillside and Roman colosseum.




The conference was set in a remote mountain valley near the village of La Fouly.  The jagged rockline of Le Dolent dominated the view from our lodge.




After the conference finished on Saturday, we walked up the valley and witnessed the curious local tradition of cow fighting (yes, cows, not bulls).  Mostly they just grazed, but sometimes two would have a little pushing match.




Then we hiked up to this mountain lake, with its tesselation-like ice formation.




A group of us went over another pass above the lake, and this time we just ran right down the snowy slope on the other side.




On my way back to Zurich... a family of swans on Lake Geneva, with misty blue mountains beyond..




Chateau de Chillon, a castle portruding out into the lake.




The view from the tower - complete with suspended spider.