Alpine sky

When it was clear, the sky was the most intense shade of blue.

Snow bike

Zak on a snow bike. He said it was easier to steer than a sled.

The pyramidal structures behind him are part of the avalanche prevention system.

Chamois

I was surprised and thrilled to see this chamois when out for a hike on Tuesday.

Gimmelwald mountain view

Gimmelwald has about 120 residents. It's perched on a ledge above the valley floor, and is 

accessible by foot or gondola. 

Gimmelwald mailman

On Monday, our first full day in the Alps, we trekked up the hill from our village of Gimmelwald to Mürren. 

About halfway up, we encountered the mailman on his way down in his postal sled. The three of us sledded 

down this path several times, about a 10-minute ride.

Skating

Katie and Zak had a skating rink all to themselves yesterday in Mürren, a ski village in the Alps.

Auberge in Hauterive

Hauterive is a neighboring town to Neuchâtel. Local shutters are yellow and blue.

Nidelkuchen

We visited Morat on Friday. It was very cold, so we warmed ourselves at a tea shop and sampled 

the local pastry called Nidelkuchen: a springy bland cake covered in an eggy custard.

Mixed hedge

Hedge yin yang.

Railing

The base of the railing for one of the staircases at the Natural History Museum.

American-style popcorn

The prominent display of ***American style*** popcorn caught my eye at the Coop grocery store today.

External elevators

We've seen several buildings retrofitted with external glass-enclosed elevators like this one. Friends of ours rent the top floor apartment of the house with the red shutters. Over dinner one evening, they told us their house was recently purchased for 1.5 million Swiss francs. (One Swiss franc is roughly equivalent to one U.S. dollar.)

Neuchâtel train station mural

Bern, Basel and Neuchâtel's train stations have panoramic murals of the local landscape. This is one of
the four murals in Neuchâtel's train station: life by the lake shore.

Neuchâtel skyline

Neuchâtel is named for the new castle that was built here in 1011. This is a view from the hill 

where the castle sits. The belltower of the Eglise Rouge can be seen in the distance.

Sycamores

Sycamore trees line many of the boulevards in town. This one had particularly beautiful bark.

Dried sausages

The dried sausage selection at Aux Gourmets, the shop in town most likely to carry 

hard-to-find ingredients for American recipes. For Wayne, the family sausage maker.

Squirrels

I was pretty excited the first time I saw our resident squirrel. Zak photographed him Sunday morning.
His dark ear tufts and tail make him look pretty devilish.

Eglise Rouge (Red Church)

The Red Church stands a block from Zak's lab. It has the most beautifully hinged doors.

Trails

These little yellow signs that mark hiking trails are everywhere. The Mittelland Skate Trail #3 is one of three
national skating trails. It is almost 250 miles long, and connects Lake Constance (called the Bodensee in
German and on Google maps) on the northeast border of Switzerland with our part of Switzerland, called
the Three Lakes Country. www.schweizmobil.ch

Neuchâtel housing

Five minutes of walking takes us to this bridge that crosses the train tracks. There is very little in the

 way of single-family homes here. It's easy to see how challenging it was for Zak to find the apartment 

we wanted: one with garden access and away from traffic.

Monkey puzzle trees

To date, we've found six monkey puzzle trees in town!

Chocolate selection

The chocolate aisle at the local Coop grocery store.

Abbaye de Fontaine-André

We have passed this abbey, which sits above Neuchâtel, several times on our long Sunday walks. 

The striped shutters are common in our part of Switzerland. www.fontaine-andre.ch