(not necessarily in that order)
Here’s something I love about Switzerland.
You can look up as you exit the car on the way to visiting a friend, and see cows grazing on the other side of the parking lot.
Yet, as you can see from the buildings, this is not out in the boonies somewhere but in a rather densely populated area.
Yet another delightful thing about this beautiful country.
Although the weather in Lugano Centro was cold and rainy as we ran errands this afternoon, we had some thoroughly enjoyable encounters with a number of delightful people. And that always makes my day.
Good friends. Beautiful home. Delicious dinner. And an anniversary to celebrate.
It was all completely delightful. Who could ask for more?
Here are three little videos to give you a sense of the delightful experiences we had yesterday.
First of all, as we were walking up the driveway on the way to our walk in the forest, I just had to stop and listen to the joyful birdsong.
Then, while we were still standing there, we noticed that noise was coming from the funicular track. We waited a few minutes in order to video the funicular passing by — one going up to the top of Monte Brè while the other headed back down to Lugano.
Finally, while walking through the forest we heard a cuckoo call. I had never heard a live cuckoo until I lived in Italy.
I always get a special kick out of hearing them because of playing Mahler’s 1st Symphony back when I was a student at the SF Conservatory of Music. Mahler famously orchestrated the cuckoo’s call, although his cuckoo sings the interval of a perfect fourth, while the actual bird sings a (not-so-perfect) third.
Writing this blog post made me curious why I’d never heard the cuckoo before living in Europe. I learned that there actually are cuckoos in the United States, but the numbers in California have declined drastically in the last 100 years due to destruction of their preferred habitat and to pesticide use. 😕
At any rate, it was lovely to hear not just one, but two cuckoos going at it. And then the church bells started to chime! It was the perfect “aural” nature experience.
(The cuckoos were fairly far away, so you’ll have to listen carefully — maybe with headphones — to hear them.)
I’m getting back into a walking routine — building momentum before next week’s bone marrow transplant — and really enjoying the variety of charming sights in the neighborhood.
From little fairytale houses to unfamiliar trees to canine rest stops, it’s all quite delightful.
