Monday, October 10, 2011

Kirchlindach Views

It has been a quiet week in Bern, mostly working, especially as our weather has changed from those crisp golden days of autumn to the colder, wetter days of looming winter.

Darrell gave a talk on his research Friday at PAGES (PAst Global changES) where he is working.  And Hanna arrived from Stockholm to begin work on a large paleoclimate data base with Darrell.

Darrell and Hanna in the field
Martin invited us for dinner at his house - and so, when the rain broke on Sunday, we found ourselves on a walk near his home.  Kirchlindach is just to the north of Bern and these photos area all looking back to the alps - glowing with fresh snow!

Kirchlindach, then Bern, then the alps!

On our hike up to a viewpoint we found a beautifully etched plaque with all the mountains drawn and labeled.  It turned out that Martin and his father had made the plaque 25 years earlier for the 800th anniversary of Kirchlindach!  It had amazing detail and matched the view perfectly.

Notice the cows in the foreground!
When we got to Martin's house he explained how the weather fronts work in Switzerland; he can tell by his view to the mountains when the rain is going to come, or when it is going to be clear.  The mountains obviously play a huge role in the weather here.

Closer view of this quintessentially Swiss landscape
We all enjoyed a delicious dinner by the fire, with the alps glowing pink as the sun faded.  And then we capped it off some of Martin's homemade walnut liqueur.  The perfect ending to another beautiful day!