Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Picture Perfect...

Edelweiss is the national flower, the country has more lakes than can be counted, the cottages are quaint and the landscape like a story book. Switzerland has always been home of Heidi to me, A book that I loved and re read many many times. Once again yesterday took it out from my daughter's collection to read. We did pass the village of Dorfli on our way to Engelberg, the village where Peter lived.

Here are some landscape picture postcards taken on our way around...

Zurich Lake as seen from a suburban village..

Boats anchored in the calm waters of a lake...



One of the many lakes scattered around this country


A waterfall, a small hamlet and the railing of a bridge..

The sleeping Lion of Lucerne..built in memory of the brave soldiers who fought and died during the World warII..


The Rhien falls..

The city of Lucerne...

The chapel bridge..

A village somewhere in that country..
The Rotairs to Mount Titlis..

The city of Muren at the foothills of Schilthorn..

Pretty flowers everywhere...
The fountain in lake Zurich..a monument of love..showing that love is not static..
Picture perfect postcard from the Matterhorn trail...

Once again thanks to the official photographer.. the last shot is by another tourist who took the same trail with us..

35 comments:

amrit said...

Look at that smile on everyone's face in the last photograph! Naaice I say! :)

SJ said...

ooo so pretty! I like that orange yellow houses/flats. I would love to live in one of them!

Meira said...

I am reminded of the Sound Of Music every time I hear of Switzerland. Awesome pics:)

Aparna said...

The water fall was great. And so was the bright orange house against the mountains.
The last pic was superb.

Kalpana Bindu said...

Wao! the pics are so beautiful thanks again Sujata for taking us around the Swiss world...

I really loved your pic with your family.

2Shaye ♪♫ said...

Sujata, I just want to thank you for posting so many lovely pictures of your trip. I am captivated by each one and feel as though I had the chance to travel along with you briefly. I've never been to Switzerland (but I did travel briefly through Germany, Austria, Czech, Prague, and Hungary in the 90s). I long to travel again one day and see the beauty of other lands far, far away. For now I'm enjoying what my land has to offer. But I'll look you up one day when I'm ready to head in your direction. :)

~Shaye

Kavita Saharia said...

I liked all of them...particularly one of the village with dark orange house,the fountain and your family picture was icing on the cake...can we have some more(hey i am sounding like my daughter asking for more helpings of icecream)...thanks for sharing

Kavi said...

Wonderful ! Thanks for all the snaps. The place looks awesome.

And man, they have order. Even in the way in which the boats are parked ! :)

And it sure looks like one happy family !!

Thanks again for the snaps

अनिल कान्त said...

photo dekhkar maza aa gaya...wow
and last one is gr8...family photo

NR said...

Lovely...i always had this in mind that whenever i'll marry i go to Switzerland for my honeymoon...lolz...now definitely!!!

If anyone has promoted Switzerland after Yash Chopra...it definitely going to be u Sujata :)..lol!!
I think the swiss govt should honor u...wht u think?? :)

Great....that was a nice family pic!!!

taka care

Bhavya.B said...

Literally picture perfect.Thanks for sharing thepics with us.

Pesto Sauce said...

I don't think I have seen anything prettier than this

Best snap is the last one....all visibly happy faces

Rajesh said...

For me Switzerland has been land of snows and skiing and the Bank. But, today you have shown me different side with lakes and gorgeous falls, and wonderful buildings. The snaps are very beautiful.

Rush said...

the colourful building in the middle of all the green...so picture perfect..the orange yellow one, its fab..loved ur pics..so much green,how was the weather this time of the year?

Tall Guy said...

Some Great pics!!

Balachandran V said...

The best photo was reserved to the last!!! Great family!

R. Ramesh said...

awesomeeee....hey i am not going to visit s'land. i can always visit yr site and get to c it..hahah..how u like my idea? S, it needs a good heart to speak good words..your encouragement shows your good heart..cheers friend.

Onward said...

wow..loved the hamlet waala pic..and also the sleeping lion...and the last pic is real cuute too :D..

U r making me ever so jealous!!

hmmpphhh

luv
amith

♥ Braja said...

European cities are beautiful, aren't they? You're on holidays there Sujata?

Urmi said...

Very beautiful pictures.I feel like visiting the place.Family picture is absolutely marvellous.

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Sujata,
Nice pics. and apt title! Thanks for sharing.

Arun Meethale Chirakkal said...

Vow, vow, vow…you know what, last Sunday I read a piece in the Sunday Magazine of The Hindu about Alps, Austria. The pictures; the undulating greens, lakes…! I was just craving for more. And here you have provided that. Thanks. Great pics and description. Great stuff. Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, huh?

Hey, one doubt: During the last elections a political party had promised that they would do their best to bring back the money stashed away in Swiss banks if they were voted to power. And there were debates and reams of newsprint were devoted for the same. One particular article I read in a magazine had pointed out that trains in Zurich, the capital of Switzerland, have advertisements in Hindi particularly to attract Indian millionaires whose sole purpose to visit Switzerland was to invest money in the banks there. Have you noticed any such advertisements in Hindi? I’m curious to know.

JD said...

hey, those are nice pics.. went thru ur previous posts too. Edelweiss reminded me of the song 'Edelweiss' from sound of music..

I have been to kashmir. I guess i will put up the pics someday..

Nona said...

Nice pictures! Hope you bought lots of chocolate from there! You should also post the picture of the chocolate platter. :)

sujata sengupta said...

@Amrit thanks those are monk smiles!!

@SJ life looks beautiful but is very very tough for the residents..the waste disposal system there would be enough to occupy all my brain space..another post on that sometime

@Meira Sound of Music was in salzburg, Austria but both being neighbouring countries the landscape is almost identical

@Aparna thanks..we are so goddammed photogenic..thats the genes again!!

@Imagination thanks

@Shaye you are welcome dear your tour seems to have be exhaustive, you covered quite a lot of counties..I cannot manage more than a single country in 10 days..esp with two young kids it becomes very hectic. You are most welcome to my part of the world to come and stay and look around with us. Always remember that.would love to have you and your family over
love
sujata

sujata sengupta said...

@Kavita thanks dear..yah you do sound like asking for more ice cream..but that endears you all the more

@Kavi not only the boats the goats too walk in a straight line with their bells all ringing the same tune in total synchrony..robotic!! maybe I am biased but the goats definitely lacked spunk, I felt.

@Anil thanks

@NR if you had blue chiffon sarees in mind for your wife for the swiss honeymoon..forget it..it would freeze her to death..but surely make the trip and enjoy the place saw a lot of indian couples honeymooning..but all were in sweaters and jackets!!

@Bhavya B thanks

@Pesto Sauce..I am surprised that we managed that smile that snap was taken after a 1 and half hour climb up the mountain trail of Matterhorn..I guess pics do lie..I atleast was not feeling like the smile I am smiling!!

@Rajesh thanks

@Rush the weather had it all..most of those ten days were bright and sunny, but two days it rained heavily and the mountain tops we had snowfall temps were around 18 in the day and 12 or so at night

@Survivor thanks

sujata sengupta said...

@Bala thanks

@Ramesh thanks do not know about the heart but your posts are lovely!

@Pakkaramu thanks

@Braja yes they are! I went to Switzerland for 10 days on a holiday

@Babli thanks

@Eye-in-sty-in thanks

@Arun thanks I did not see any such ads on any trains..I travelled extensively throughout that country only by trains. But I did see signboards in Hindi at many tourist spots and also a lot of Indian food stalls serving vada pav, idlis etc. The banks I hear are now getting more transparent and the whole concept of stashing away the black money in swiss banks is coming to an end. The major bank UBS was all over the country

@JD what a lovely song isnt'it? and the voice it was sung in..always made me feel teary eyed!! Really shows the love ofor the country. Do put up the pics and a post on kashmir, I would love to see them

@Nona thanks..the chocolate platter and the boutiques lining the roads selling the chocs were awesome..but I dont have any pics..

eye-in-sty-in said...

You have an award @ my blog
http://eye-in-sty-in.blogspot.com/2009/07/michael-makes-comeback-and-overdue.html

Sumandebray said...

Nice pictures... nice location...
But where are all the people gone!! :)

SOM DUTT JOSHI said...

very good.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Lucky you! Edelweiss reminds me of Heidi and the Sound of Music and chocolates and the Alps. And of course, Roger Federer is a cool Swiss. Lovely snaps, it sure looked like you were all having the time of your life.

G S Pillai said...

hi, good to see u r back.

its interesting how one comes to miss some people one barely knows, even if its just a week or so.

I just so loved the pic of you with your son on the train, snow-capped woods in the background. While its imp to have family time, its equally imp that we have quality moments with each individual. Am sure both u and your son will come to cherish that photo and the moment it captured as one of your better moments.

I love the pics, and am sure u must have had some pretty anecdote-worthy experiences and made some observations that hit right on target, as always. Eagerly waiting.

sujata sengupta said...

@Eye-in-sty-in thanks for the award, will def post it in due time.

@SumanDebRay thats exactly my point..no people at all..its like a two dimensional picture..a postcard where everything is in order, everything is perfect..but the life is somehow totally missing!!

@Som Dutt Joshi welcome on board hope to see you again

@Sucharita Thanks, did miss out on Basel though..else would have posted Federe's ghar ka snap for you!

@Bluebird thanks a lot, am touched that I was missed. the pic with my son is one of my favourites too.

Gymnast said...

hey the pics are really nice. Seems like you've taken them keeping the massing and perspective in consideration.
Hope i get to see all these places too
Someday...

Deepali said...

Brilliant pictures...