Saturday 11 October 2014

:: a hidden treasure of beauty and peace ::

Yesterday, with a dear friend who spent most of this past week with us, we visited a beautiful little lake in the forest at the bottom of mountain. We have also been here on three other occasions, in different seasons, first in the winter, then in the spring and then shortly before we moved to Switzerland in the autumn. It's one of my favourite little spots - tucked away in the forest and so peaceful. The autumn colours are starting to arrive lower down the mountain, so this time the colours were in between seasons. The weather was just starting to close in, so we were thankful to arrive just minutes before the wind picked up and the raindrops began to fall. So beautiful!



















Tuesday 7 October 2014

:: une grillade beside the lake ::



One thing I have always loved here is to make a fire and cook our dinner over it. For our last evening with our family in Bevaix, the proposed plan was to go down to the lakeside and do just that. The morning had started off rather grey and miserable looking further up the mountain, but as the day went on the sun appeared and the clouds dispersed. After our venture around the countryside, we arrived home and helped prepare quickly to go out again before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. It was a calm, warm evening with hardly a soul about, and it was a wonderful way to spend the best part of our last evening together, in the beauty of nature, with delicious food and fun company. It was equally special to see Eti's aunt and uncle, interacting with and loving our little people with much laughter and fun, as two little girls had turns riding Dutch-style on the back of Aunty Linda's bicycle, and then had a joyful game of cache cache (hide & seek) in the dark while waiting for us to catch up with them.







:: la pointe de l'areuse : neuchâtel ::

:: bevaix ::


Last week we spent a lovely couple of days with Eti's aunt and uncle in their new home beside the lake of Neuchâtel. Previously they owned a home in this village and we lived in their upstairs apartment - a lovely home with beautiful views and one that will always hold precious memories of our time here in Switzerland. We had a great time with them discovering the area they now call home with a variety of modes of transport - from bikes, to scooters, pushchair, boat, car and by foot. The weather was beautiful!

One thing I love about Switzerland and miss is the ease of access all over the countryside. There are many pathways that are free of cars. In nature - fields and forests - there is very little private land and public access is granted almost everywhere. In this particular area there is a long pathway alongside the lake that, for the most part, is only for walking and cycling, so it makes it a very safe place for children learning how to scooter and bike!



The lake was like glass during our first day. We eagerly took up the invitation to go out on their boat and enjoyed a rather unique way of travelling to the nearby playground!


As in our local region, the landscape was striped with vineyards. It is currently the vendages, the time of grape harvesting. Like in Alsace, we passed tractors and vehicles carrying large bins of freshly picked grapes.














After the playground we navigated a very territorial goose in the port and returned back home across the smooth waters, enjoying the beautiful views and the company. We're thankful for these moments to catch up with people who mean a lot to us and to be treated by such generous hospitality, weather and moments that we are so thankful for.