Excursion: Hiking down from Rigi

Happy New Year!


In my opinion, one of the many perks of being "based in Villigen" is the easy access to pretty scenery. For example, using public transportation all the way, one can reach Rigi Kulm in 3 hours and 10 minutes. This photo is one of my favorites of the year (not for the quality of the photo, rather my memory of the view that it depicts) and it seemed appropriate for the last post of 2007.

Here's looking forward to 2008! Best wishes to you all!

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Purple cluster

Beautyberry (Callicarpa), perhaps?

20071230 Nikon Coolpix 950

Red remnants

Rose hips. The pomaceous fruit of the rose plant (Wiki).

20071213

Iced vegetables

Following on the tracks of yesterday's post, these plants are also still green and growing. Leeks, I think.

20071228

Green fuzzy things

Just a few things still have color this time of year. What are these plants?

20071213

Anticipating leftovers

Fondue Chinoise (pieces of fish or meat cooked in bouillon or broth at the table) is a popular Christmas meal in Switzerland. Fondue is somewhat of a misnomer in this case, but the basic concept is the same as the cheese fondue (Wiki).

Although I had intended to, I didn't manage a photograph after the pot was filled and the table was set. Two days in a row!

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Villigen, reflected

Good wishes to all.

20071205

Toy store in Brugg

No crazy shoppers over here.

Season's greetings to all my visitors!

20071223

Coming and going in Brugg

Most shops in Switzerland are closed on Sundays, but there's a special license granted to operate the last two Sundays before Christmas. Today there was a Markt in Brugg, complete with pony rides. I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of it all: people enjoying time with their dear ones.

This park with an underground parking lot (called Eisi Parkhaus) is the same one with the lighted benches (1, 2) from last March.

20071223

In the spotlight

Some days, I can sit for hours watching the change in the light on the land. This is a shot from our balcony.

20071203

The cherub and the wild man in Baden

20071221

Frosty lookout ...

... at the top of Besserstein, the hill that overlooks Villigen.

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Rathausgasse Baden

After the shoppers have gone home. In some cases, home might be one of the upstairs flats seen here.

20071217

'Tis the season VIII

A sweet depiction of the Nativity scene at an upscale home furnishings shop (Form+Wohnen) in Baden. For a few more photos, please visit my overflow site:
Weihnactskrippe

20071217

'Tis the season VII

The low-key decorations at the Schwarz produce outlet. A daytime summer view of this building can be seen here: Street corner. Other posts about Schwarz at this link.

20071213

'Tis the season VI

Another jolly fellow, this one gloveless, unlike the other one with the green gloves...

20071213

'Tis the season V

Edelweiss, of course. One of my favorite photos is one I took of some real edelweiss. I've uploaded the photo to my overflow site:
Edelweiss

20071213

Two little birds

One of my neighbors has bird feeders in our shared backyard area and these little creatures have recently started to avail themselves of the offerings. I spent many happy moments photographing them. The runner-up to this photo is on my overflow blog:
Four little birds

Update: Thanks to reader Alice for identifying these as the blue tit (Parus or Cynanistes caeruleus - Wikipedia entry about them here).

20071214

'Tis the season IV

I'm not going to say much, but I'm quietly cheering. For those of you who might be interested, here's a list of my previous posts on politics. Oh, and here's a link to a post about this subject by blogger Margaret Powell, with a great spoof of the black sheep poster some of you might recall.

20071213

Trotte

The building in the center and back is the Trotte (link), now used as the meeting place for the official village gatherings and available for renting for events such as weddings. It has been recently renovated (at great cost) and the rental includes the use of the industrial grade kitchen (link to pictures -- the walls appear to be a somewhat strident yellow), overhead projection and audio systems.

20071205

Broken

20071205

'Tis the season III

Santa caught out by the rising sun.

20071209

Peaks from Würenlingen

Occasionally, just occasionally, the air is clear enough and the light just right to make the tall mountains visible from our area. It makes me catch my breath every single time I experience this! Please check out my overflow blog to see a photo from three days and two minutes later, to see how different the mountains look as the light changes. I had a tough time deciding between the two photos.
Snowy peaks from Würenlingen

Würenlingen is across the river Aare from us, and home to a huge Coop (pronounced cope) supermarket which we frequent. There's an overbridge that spans the railway tracks there and it provides a great spot from which to take photos.

20071205 16:35

Light and shadows

Sometimes the interaction between clouds and the sun produces such wonderful effects. Regretfully, this photo is but a poor imitation of what I actually saw.

20071208

Tools of the trade

20071205

Wagon wheel and keypad

The juxtaposition caught my eye as I was walking through the village yesterday. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where the CCD registers less than the eye. The range of light and shadow was too much for my camera and the details of the hub are obscured.

20071205

That doggie in the window

How much is that doggie in the window? (Wikipedia entry about the old song here.) Actually, I'm quite sure he's not for sale, as he's making a scene in the window of Möbel Baumann, a furniture store in the village.

20071205

'Tis the season II

Twenty four families in the Gemeinde (community) of Villigen have signed up for special window displays. Sort of like an Advent calendar. Here's a Wikipedia entry about these calendars, and their origins from the German Lutherans.

20071203 Dorfstrasse Stilli

Waiting

I found these beauties waiting for their person outside one of the supermarkets in Brugg.

20071203

'Tis the season

People all over the village have started to put up their Christmas decorations.

20071202 Kumetstrasse

Daily photo theme day: Bridges

Villigen has a lot of water in the direct vicinity in the form of the river Aare, as well as many mountain (hill?) springs. There are a few proper bridges (click on the bridge label below if you're interested) I've written about, but today I want to highlight this little private footbridge. I took the photo from another little bridge, one just large enough for cars.

The first of the month is theme day for the daily city photo blogging community and this December the topic is bridges. Due to some *ahem* technical problems, I was unable to register with the community this time, but please visit Gerald England's Hyde Daily Photo page to check out the other bloggers who are participating today.

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