This afternoon I braved snow and sub-zero temperatures with my new hiking boots. The destination was the small village up and over the ridge which looms behind our apartment. The first time I was there was in summer, when DS and DD spotted a water-rat in the lake. Since then I've observed many a horse and rider trekking through the forest, as well as various water birds, dogs and even hogs.
Today, however, the place was silent, the lake frozen over. I didn't see a single bird, and the only movement was from the
occasional pair of walkers or joggers as they passed. As I walked further up the hill I could feel my face growing numb, but I have to say this was
nothing in comparison to our most recent excursion to Chateau-d'Oex, where the Hausfrau and family spent four magical days in what could only be described as an idyllic place to while away the hours and bring in the New Year.
As the church bells chimed midnight the Hausfrau and company
wrapped themselves in blankets and stepped onto the balcony of the chalet to see flurries of fluffy snow settling on already snow-laden branches, chalet rooves, and the twinkling town in the valley below. Flashes of fireworks colour smeared the mist, totally out of sync with the explosive bangs. And as we returned to our wild and crazy New Year party - er, Scrabble game - unsecured shutters slammed, and more snowy weather moved in.
Having pooh-poohed people who go on and on about the weather, I am about to go on and on about the weather. Let
me qualify: when your mouth gets so cold it can't form words properly, and when chocolate simply gets ground into a kind of chocolate pulver in your cheeks (as was the case for us when we visited the local Flumserberg slopes after Christmas with my own DB), you tend to notice that yes, it is kinda cold.
Indeed, as we skidded and crunched our way through snow at Château de
Gruyères, DD and I agreed that living in a castle looked like it'd be a lot of fun (especially if you were on the set of her newest favourite tv show,
Merlin), but the reality would've been kind of chilly, especially without long johns.
I personally enjoyed zooming through all the different rooms in the chateau, but was mostly taken with the amusing evidence that humans are reliably (well, apart from the odd Shaker) driven
to decorate or beautify
furnitures and dwellings. To add our personal touch? To warm up an otherwise cold room? Who knows. Maybe it's because we just can't help ourselves.
This afternoon I braved snow and sub-zero temperatures with my new hiking boots. The destination was the small village up and over the ridge which looms behind our apartment. The first time I was there was in summer, when DS and DD spotted a water-rat in the lake. Since then I've observed many a horse and rider trekking through the forest, as well as various water birds, dogs and even hogs.
Today, however, the place was silent, the lake frozen over. I didn't see a single bird, and the only movement was from the 
occasional pair of walkers or joggers as they passed. As I walked further up the hill I could feel my face growing numb, but I have to say this was 
nothing in comparison to our most recent excursion to Chateau-d'Oex, where the Hausfrau and family spent four magical days in what could only be described as an idyllic place to while away the hours and bring in the New Year.
As the church bells chimed midnight the Hausfrau and company 
wrapped themselves in blankets and stepped onto the balcony of the chalet to see flurries of fluffy snow settling on already snow-laden branches, chalet rooves, and the twinkling town in the valley below. Flashes of fireworks colour smeared the mist, totally out of sync with the explosive bangs. And as we returned to our wild and crazy New Year party - er, Scrabble game - unsecured shutters slammed, and more snowy weather moved in.
Having pooh-poohed people who go on and on about the weather, I am about to go on and on about the weather. Let 
me qualify: when your mouth gets so cold it can't form words properly, and when chocolate simply gets ground into a kind of chocolate pulver in your cheeks (as was the case for us when we visited the local Flumserberg slopes after Christmas with my own DB), you tend to notice that yes, it is kinda cold.
Indeed, as we skidded and crunched our way through snow at Château de 
Gruyères, DD and I agreed that living in a castle looked like it'd be a lot of fun (especially if you were on the set of her newest favourite tv show, Merlin), but the reality would've been kind of chilly, especially without long johns.
I personally enjoyed zooming through all the different rooms in the chateau, but was mostly taken with the amusing evidence that humans are reliably (well, apart from the odd Shaker) driven 
to decorate or beautify 
furnitures and dwellings. To add our personal touch? To warm up an otherwise cold room? Who knows. Maybe it's because we just can't help ourselves.
