Saturday, May 31, 2008

Switzerland is starting to grow on me...

You may recall that I was a little conflicted about moving to Switzerland. Well, I'm starting to think maybe I could get used to this.



I'm working as a consultant, so I end up visiting various companies in Switzerland. The above photo (like the photo below), shows the view I see when I get off the commuter train and climb up the Swiss hillside to one of the companies I'm working with.



It's the most amazing thing!! I get off the regular commuter train from Zurich, hike up a hillside (on a public path) through a vineyard, pass through a charming wooded residential neighborhood, then take a path with green pasture and cows grazing on one side, and the other side is a protected wetland full of thousands of frogs. Then I arrive at a building that looks basically like the set of a sci-fi film to work on some super-high-tech stuff.

This whole set-up completely blows my mind!! Given zoning laws, I would suspect that such a place would be not only impossible, but illegal in the U.S., and I'm starting to question whether zoning laws are such a good idea...

Anyway, since my whole family consists of amateur biologists and amphibian enthusiasts, I decided to take the family on a weekend trip to work.

Here I am with Nico, carefully making our way through the reeds to see the frogs:



Leo was less enthusiastic about that part:



And here's one of the frogs we saw:



And Nico was psyched because he'd never seen damselflies before, but had learned all about them from his David Attenborough documentaries. He even pointed out two damselflies mating:



My husband recently expressed concern that all these nature documentaries have perhaps a bit too much sex and violence for a six-year-old kid. He may be right. Not sure...

All I know is that I had a great time! I've always loved observing frogs (I know I'm different), but I'd never in my life seen so many in one place! I also got to see them puffing their little green cheeks to call, too. All in all, a great day in Switzerland!!! :D

7 comments:

Maddie said...

Beautiful!

Aerin said...

What a great view on your way to work!

There was a turkey vulture nesting on a section of the building I work in. You can see it from a window in a hallway there. It was neat walking into work (or from a meeting) and looking out to see the perch.

C. L. Hanson said...

Thanks Melliferous!!!

Hey Aerin!!!

Wow, that's cool!!! It's fun to mix a little business and nature watching. ;^)

So did you see any baby birds?

beatdad said...

Wow! Those are some breathtaking views. Eliot did not tell me that they were living in such a beautiful place. He did mention cows....

My wife has a similar experience on her bike commute to work along a creek. She has seen river otters, and had great blue herons flying alongside her; and that is all inside city limits.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Wayne!!!

That's cool -- it's nice that urban living doesn't have to mean giving up on seeing nature!! :D

Unknown said...

My husband recently expressed concern that all these nature documentaries have perhaps a bit too much sex and violence for a six-year-old kid. He may be right. Not sure...

I was a bit envious at the ease you talked about Nico seeing the damselflies mating. It seems completely natural and not in any way inappropriate to me.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey O.G.!!!

Yeah, I don't think that a six-year-old learning about how animals mate is a problem at all. The problem is that it leads him to extrapolate and talk about human mating in a manner that (again) I think is okay, but my husband was worried that if he talks about this in front of other people, they might think he's a weirdo/pervert...