la récolte des oignons

Here are some onions from the garden here at the office, put on a bench to dry.

l'année dans les Alpes

Here in the Alps (actually the pre-Alps), the traditional way of life of dairy farmers is tied very closely to the landscape, and the way of life adapts to the seasons. Here in Rougemont, we see can see small herds of cows (and sometimes a few donkeys, sheep, and goats) dotting the mountains around us. When cows are near, we hear the cacophony of their bells. Small dairy farming is very much alive here, the terrain is too steep to permit large-scale industrial farming.

My colleague said that here in Switzerland, each bit of grass is precious. The grass feeds the cows, the cows produce milk, which then produces a plethora of economic activity (in the morning, I can see farmers driving up to the cheesemakers' next door, unloading milk destined to become cheese or yogurt). Apparently, one must not walk in pastures-- the farmers will be angry that you are disturbing the grass!

This time of year the herds are descending from their summer place in the high mountains. Some families and even whole towns celebrate the "Desalpage" (de-Alping?), the farmers dress in traditional costume and decorate the cows with flowers and ribbons, and they parade through the street. I saw a family doing this last Saturday, it was very charming. The family I was with at the time was very excited and leaned out the car window to cheer on the farmers: "Bravo!"

Here is how it works, for maximum grass efficiency:

In summer, the cows move to the high mountains. It's not too cold up there then, and there is not much snow-- the cows have plenty to eat. Some farmers stay beside the herd in their "summer house" up there, some ascend once every few days to check on the cows. In the meantime, down below, farmers grow hay on the empty pastures.


In fall, the cows begin to descend. I see a herd across the way at about this level. Some families have yet another place to stay at this "in-between" place on the mountain.


In the winter, the cows take shelter in barns in the valleys, and eat the hay that was prepared during the summer and fall.

Le vendange à Lavaux

une balade dans les Terrasses de Lavaux

Today I had a beautiful walk in the Lavaux terraces, a grape-growing and wine-making region on the north slope of Lake Geneva. Right now, the harvest (vendange) is on, so families were out to pick, wash, and press grapes, and many winecellars (caves) are open for tastings.

The terraces have been cultivated since the middles ages and are now a UNESCO world heritage site. It is an astonishingly lovely place-- the green patchwork of vines covering steep slopes, the warm southern sun, and the calm blue of Lake Geneva in the background. I felt like I was impelled to attempt the classic tourist photo of the stunning terraces. Then I realized I could also look for and photograph signs of the landscape systems and work that make this place what it is: the open drainage canals, the tracks that carry loads of grapes, the plastic grape bins and barrels, the yellow tape (what does it mean?), and families out working in the vines. More photos to come!

Funiculaire, Monte San Salvatore

I took the funicular up Monte San Salvatore, the mountain to the southwest of Lugano, upon the suggestion of one of the staff at the tourist office. The length and steepness of the ride made it difficult for me to stomach! The funicular takes you up about 1,970 feet, over a length of 5,344 feet, with maximum grades of 61% (about 31 degrees). I'm not sure that this photo does justice to the steep grade-- I had the impression I was getting on a huge roller coaster, which luckily crawled along quite slowly.



At the top are several viewing platforms, along the trail are several signs with reproductions of old Swiss posters advertising funiculars and ski lifts around the country.



Besides the views, there is not much to the experience of being at the top of the mountain, the way that it is designed. You stand on the platforms and look out-- I think I spent about an hour doing this, and that was a stretch. There was nowhere to hike and see more of the mountain, unless I planned on walking all the way down-- a 2.5 hour trip.



When I arrived home, I looked at a book of the Ticino landscape architect Paolo Burgi (who designed the oak bosque in Mendrisio). I learned about his projects at Cardada in Ticino, for a mountaintop like San Salvatore. For this project, he sought to remedy the design problems at such places, where you remain quite separate from the landscape you are there to see. These interventions are much more elegant, light, and sensitively-related to the landscape. I wish I had known to go there, although perhaps I would appreciate it more now, having seen, in a way, the "before."

La Nuit à Lugano

For dinner in Lugano, I had a delicious meal of seafood and pasta. With my check, they gave me 5 or so little goodies-- butter cookies, cocoa cookies, and a little biscotti. I was well taken care of. On my way back uphill to the hostel, I saw Monte Bre all lit up.

some public spaces in Lugano

I thought this was an interesting idea-- the "Park and Read" had a table with books arranged by category, and green beach chairs for sitting and reading.





There is an allee of trees all along the lakefront, it is a good place to promenade or to sit in the shade and watch the water and the scene.

Lugano

language check

There are three main languages in Switzerland: German, French, and Italian. A small population speaks a language called Romansch. Most people are bilingual, trilingual, and on up!

At our office, we speak English and French, depending on the speakers, the context, and the flow of conversation. Four members of the office are trilingual. Often, someone making a phone call first asks, "Parlez-vous francais?" or "Do you speak English?"

At the conference in Mendrisio, the local language was Italian, but many attendees were from German-speaking Zurich, while the common language of the conference was English. Our group was the only one based in a francophone region of Switzerland, and three of us were the only ones who did not speak German.

In Lugano and Bellinzona, some hotel and restaurant staff spoke English with me, and some French, but Italian and then German were the main languages. On the train ride home, I traveled through Italian and German speaking regions before arriving home in francophone canton Vaud, in only 5 hours!

Mendrisio

In Mendrisio, our conference was held at the architecture school of the University of Swiss-Italia. For me, the place was strangely familiar despite the language and cultural difference-- I did, after all, spend 3 years in a very similar setting!

During our breaks and before and after the meeting, we sat in this bosque of holly oaks outside the school. The trees were a bit small still to shade us from the strong southern sun.

We were treated to very elegant appetizers on our breaks, and waited in line for espresso drinks!

en route à Mendrisio

Last Thursday, several of us drove "cross-country" to the south of Switzerland, in canton Ticino, near the border with Italy. The low-elevation and proximity to lakes makes the climate quite mild and more like the Mediterranean.

Of course, the drive there took us through some stunning landscapes. At one point we realized that the color palette had completely changed, here you can see more reds and ochres-- perhaps the elevation or geology caused a shift in plant ecology.

Chez Amy

Amy's rabbit Lily and her things for chewing


Amy has a rainbow of jams. We played the game where you finish your soft-boiled egg, and then turn the shell upside down in its container and ask your friend-- would you like an egg?


My first fondue in Switzerland. Afterwards, we were glued to our chairs-- no going out for us!

Gerignoz

Yesterday after work I went with my co-worker and his girlfriend to a cliff nearby where they did some climbing. For me, just standing at the edge of this cliff and watching was enough excitement for now. There were also two Swiss-German guys who were real pros, and climbed with amazing speed and skill.

Rougemont / Geneve / Rougemont

I had a lovely weekend in Geneva with Amy. For now, here are a few photos from the train ride there and back. Several Swiss people have told me that this is indeed one of the best train rides in the country.

On the way there, balloon rides somewhere around Chateaux d'Oex




The terraced Lavaux vineyards between Vevey and Lausanne


On the way home, sunset as we climbed into the mountains from the lake

Voyage a Bern

Today we had a meeting in Bern, two hours away by train. We went east and then north, and so we were soon in the Swiss-German part of the country. We passed through Gstaad and some amazing valley/mountain views, including my first views of snowy mountains tops (glaciers?) and also the gorgeous lake at Thun and Spiez.

We were in the meeting all day except for lunch where we sat in a park and enjoyed some delicious sandwiches and these adorable little bear cakes-- the bear is for Bern (apparently the origin story of the city involves a bear... I will have to ask once more for an explanation!) We sat under a horse chestnnut tree where from time to time the big chestnuts fell around us... but thankfully not on us.

la randonnee

Yesterday I took a walk to see a bit of my surroundings, first walking through the village and up the slope, and then down and to the river. Grey clouds were beginning to pass over the mountains so I stayed relatively close to home. Doing "la randonnee" or walking is a national pastime in Switzerland; the extensive path network is well-marked with charming little yellow signs.

I found a nursery that had the "bat face" flower that Dad and I saw in Birmingham:


The clouds moving in from the south:



Today Guillemette (another intern) and I took a walk further up the mountains despite the light rain. We saw many wildflowers, some very familiar like Queen Anne's Lace, clover, and what looked like Scabiosa, but also some that were new to me like the autumn-blooming crocus. As we climbed higher, we entered a spruce forest of impressive heights:





This fascinating and curious pattern on the mountainsides is in fact created over time as the cows walk along the pastures. It is called "le pas de vaches" or the steps (or hooves) of the cows. These compelling traces of activity on the land show how culture has shaped the landscape, and in turn how the landscape has shaped the culture. The patchwork appearance of the pre-Alps, where areas of forest are interspersed with grassy pastures, is another result of cow-farming; the cows graze in these mountain pastures throughout the spring and summer. Otherwise, the entire mountainside would be covered in forest, the undulating shape of the slopes hidden behind the evergreen trees.

chez nous

The office and intern rooms are located in the former priest's house-- in the center of the first photo.



To me, it seems like a house from a Murakami anime, or of course a fairy tale-- and other buildings around here are even more so. There seems to be a local tradition of these boldly pained shutters. On the front of the house is an espaliered pear.

le potager

Craig and Cristina planted a vegetable garden here, right now it is producing broccoli, a ton of chard, cabbage, pumpkins, zucchini and summer squash, fennel, and leeks. If anyone wants to pass on some recipes using the above, please do. The price of groceries here is astronomical-- perhaps twice the cost at home. So, the garden will help me save some francs. We also have hens; today I let them out of the coop and they passed by my feet, cooing, out into the yard. And then, I had an omelet for lunch with fresh eggs. Merci, les poules!

sounds of Rougemont

the coos of the chickens

the loud hum of the train

the chaotic ringing of cows' bells as they march through the street

the church bells

La danse dans le ciel

This afternoon, as I was eating my lunch outside, I saw a group of parachuters spiraling down from the sky! Another intern told me that the mountains create good conditions for parachuting because hot air rises adjacent to them. I see on the internet that the neighboring town of Chateau-d'Oex has a parachuting school! I do not think I will be trying this anytime (ever!) but imagine that it must be the experience of a lifetime.

rentree de Yverdon-les-Bains

The ride home in the evening from Yverdon-les-Bains was gorgeous, as an amazing field of clouds stretched over the sky. Perhaps the Alabamians would call this a "buttermilk sky?"





As the sun began to set, it cast a golden, later pinkish, glow over the mountains:

Jardin de creche, Yverdon-les-Bains

Yesterday afternoon I went with Jeremy from the office to Yverdon-les-Bains, where VWA designed the landscape for a pre-school. The garden was installed one year ago, so this was a follow-up visit to check the number and health of the plants and to address any other landscape issues with the contractor, who met us later along with the principals of VWA and the local architects (who carried out VWA's plans).

VWA chose several edible plants for the garden, and I saw at least one boy eagerly harvesting some strawberries (directly into his mouth, of course). There is also a line of raspberries and a few cherry and pear trees.

Jeremy counting plants


This ramp seems to lend itself to imaginative play, although the adults had to council the children to walk, not run down it. Later some of them bounced a ball down the ramp. The ramp also shapes a more social, visible "inside" to the space (with slides, stage, seating, sand area) and defines a more private, hidden "outside" (with a path alongside planted areas). The designers intended to create a space for the children to wander and be more independent, but at least one of the teachers felt this made it too difficult to supervise the children.