Wohlen

June 23: Easy does it

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After yesterday’s meltdown of gigglical proportions, I feel better – but not enough to actually do any exercise! Part of me thinks ‘start afresh on July 1’, another says ‘just start now and stop moaning’. I wanted to do more than walk to and from the bus today, but once again, I fell asleep on the couch for an hour this afternoon. I really don’t understand why I’m so tired? Probably because I’m not moving enough!

One thing I have taken on board from all the lovely comments and suggestions (thank you) is to take it easy. Not only with putting the wheels back on the wagon but with myself. Sometimes I can be a hard taskmaster and have to learn how to expect less to achieve more. Or does that sound self-defeating?! What I’m trying to say is baby steps chasing that carrot.

On the walk home from work I saw this wonderful hummingbird hawk-moth. I’ve only seen one twice before, in my garden, in three years. The first time, I was convinced it was a hummingbird! Ha! They’re amazing to watch, and incredibly hard to photograph well on a phone because they’re so fast.

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The best of 15 attempts!

The light had a really nice glow to it this afternoon, after heavy rain overnight and this morning.

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Chickens on the loose in Oberwohlen

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Lovely colours at the farmhouse with the chicken run

Had a productive day today and I’m looking forward to going again tomorrow. Marko is on holidays from Thursday-Tuesday so I’m trying to soak up as much as possible in case orders come in while he’s away.

Kevin Spacey has been on my mind a lot lately, because I’m thoroughly enjoying him in the series House of Cards. Does any current actor have better facial expressions than his? He really conveys emotion so well with just the slightest lift of an eyebrow, a glance, a breath. I find him mesmerising!

It’s nice to immerse yourself in a television series now and then. We seem to be doing it quite a lot lately (to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever watched so much television in my life!). But at least it’s quality, and without the dreaded commercials! The irony of that comment is I used to make those commercials! Bwahahahahahah.

I’ve fallen behind on my 30-Day Challenge, learning plant names, but I’ve found a new ally. The Dojo is very close to Bern’s Botanical Gardens, so I intend on spending time there tomorrow, pen in hand. But for now, how about some Allium shoenoprasum, or chives as they’re commonly known. I have some planted with the thyme and rosemary and love the purple flowers.

The I Quit Sugar program is going well, but perhaps that’s what’s making me so tired at the moment. I have been pretty good but tonight I couldn’t resist two small chocolates from one of Leo’s birthday presents. They were so small, wafer thin, I possibly couldn’t … say no.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

February 22: A 20-minute walk for eggs

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Inspiration came from … ummm … somewhere … on Friday and I baked a chocolate and raspberry cake. Then yesterday, I baked a loaf of bread. Stop me now! Both were incredibly easy and healthy, and turned out just like the photos in the recipes. They’ll be made again. (I should mention this baking/cooking thing is very unlike me. Very.)

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The bread and what’s left of the cake

Making the bread used up our last three eggs, so if we wanted a hearty Sunday breakfast, Leo suggested we walk to the nearest village to buy eggs from the honesty-box shop. It had stopped snowing but for some reason I really wasn’t interested in going for a walk – too cold, too lazy! But Leo’s coaxing did the trick and once we were outside, it was totally worth it.

I moved from Australia to Switzerland just over three years ago, and still find snow intriguing – especially the way it clings to things and the squeaky noise it makes when you walk through it. Hopefully the novelty never wears off (like it must have if you’re living in parts of the USA and Canada right now). There is a disclaimer, though – while snow can be fun, I really don’t do well in the cold.

When we arrived in the village, a chicken was cackling like an old woman; an infectious laugh and soon we couldn’t stop either. I could totally see her as a woman from the 70s, with a cigarette in one hand and a wine glass in the other, leaning suggestively over a table of hors d’oeuvres as she told the most hilaaaaarious story, darling. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a photo of her, as she was hiding under a small tree in her pen. Highlight of the day, after eggs on toast for breakfast of course!

It’s Sunday, so this pleasant 20-minute round trip is today’s fitfor15in15. I’ll raise more of a sweat during the week, promise. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

February 10: Beautiful day for a 90-minute walk

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Despite still being around -2 degrees, the sun was out and it was time to walk! I may have walked the regular path, but there’s always something new to see, a subtle change, something unexpected … Today’s fitfor15in15 was magical!

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A clear and bright sunrise promised big things … and delivered

The birds seem to have come back in the past few days. I bought some bird food yesterday after collecting my work visa (yes! We celebrated last night with an Aperol Spritz. Yum), but there haven’t been any nibbles so far, despite seeing and hearing plenty of my favourite little sparrows.

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Come on birdies! Come and get it!

The path at the start of the walk had been churned up by a tractor, which made for a hard slog, but once out into the sunshine, it didn’t matter!

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A harder slog than normal

Then it was through the houses and up and over the hill in to Möriswil …

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A funny little cloud

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Another house has put out some food for the birds

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An icy, uphill path made for some interesting times

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These sheep have never been here before! What a great surprise!

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Friendly faces (and not so friendly-looking bums!)

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Their clanging neck bells made a stop-start melody

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This path leads to Möriswil, but the village in the distance is Säriswil

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People have put a lot of love and care into this fellow!

And again, Möriswil provided new things to see and experience …

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A lovely piece of nature’s art from a gutter

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Drainage art

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An old Stoeckli used for storage now. A family probably lived in it 100 years ago, or more. Our Stoeckli is over 150 years old

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One of the beautiful houses in the neighbouring village of Möriswil. I walk here often

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A heavy duty icicle at the little ponies’ house

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Smooth to the touch

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The horses weren’t interested in a pat today – they had fresh hay! Move on woman!

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Not many hours spent in this hammock at the moment! Can you spot the dog in the driveway?

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The trusty yellow Wanderweg signs

Then it was back into the forest and out the other side for a big surprise!

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This sign means trucks CAN’T go through here at any time. In Australia, a slash through the middle means you can’t, but here, just the red ring means no permission. “Kein Winterdienst” means the road isn’t serviced/maintained in winter

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Walking through snow like this reminded me of walking barefoot through soft sand. Hard going!

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Someone’s been wanderwegging through the fields!

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I jogged through the colder, shaded sections

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Straight and true

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Patterns

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Unfortunately, the trampoline had a private sign on it. I was keen for a bounce!

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A misty Alpine outline

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Talk about getting a surprise! This skier came out of nowhere. I’d never seen anyone skiing around here before! It’s farmland!

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Peter stopped for a photo and we talked for a while. He’s lived in this area his entire 67 years, and had been exercising/skiing for two hours when we met

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Off he goes. Thanks for the chat!

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Bye bye Peter! Would have been lovely, looking at the misty Alps the whole way home to his village

I did my best impersonation of a first-time roller skater on a frozen section of path, and almost fell over from the shock (and laughing at what it must have looked like!). All part of the winter fun. Then it was home to do some work.

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Achtung! I nearly came a cropper on this icy section. It would have been hilarious to watch as I over-corrected myself for about five seconds

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I love the contrast between all the colours. So fresh and clean, you can almost smell it

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The final stretch home

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Patches where no snow goes

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Hey! Another snowman

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A little less elaborate, but still just as sweet

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Back home. There was a flower garden in there a few months ago. Who walked through it?

Have you been for a walk in your neighbourhood recently? You might think it’s boring and you’ve seen it all before, but it’s an ever-changing experience. You never know what you might see or who you might meet – I wouldn’t have seen the sheep and met a true local today if I’d stayed at home. Go on … go for a wander.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

February 9: A momentous day!

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Well, today goes down in my Swiss history as a very important day. This morning, I collected from the local council office … my very first Swiss working visa!!!

After three years, I am now allowed to apply for any job in Switzerland (before a company would have had to prove to immigration that I was the only person in the EU who could do the job, because there are no work agreements between Australia and Switzerland. I’d applied for several jobs with no luck) – that’s two years earlier than the standard five-year waiting period for non-EU people.

And I can now volunteer as well! Without the work visa I couldn’t even offer my services for free. Hopefully there’s an animal shelter nearby that could use some help … or a farm that needs apples picked in season … or people who require assistance with their English … the list goes on. It’s such an incredible feeling! Endless opportunities.

I walked down to the council office feeling a huge amount of trepidation. The letter arrived last Thursday, saying my visa was ready to be collected, but it didn’t say if it was the work visa or just my regular yearly visa (which didn’t allow me to work). I couldn’t go on Friday, because I was in Lausanne, so today was the day.

That walk will stick with me for a long time … the feeling of what if … or maybe what not … but I was almost unwilling to arrive for fear of bad news. I took photos on the walk … wasting some time perhaps/putting off what felt like the inevitable … and then I walked in and the woman said “Yes, it’s a work visa!” I told her I could almost cry, and I almost did. Instead, I did a little happy dance in the foyer, which is a very un-Swiss thing to do!

So today, things have changed. I’ve even applied for my first job already!

Now for a quick 15 minutes of fitfor15in15 exercise, so I can celebrate with champagne when Leo comes home! Maybe I should just dance around the lounge room like an idiot?!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

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In the distance, they’re chopping down trees from the forest. Hopefully they’re also planting some new ones too

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Until now, this little pond has been free from ice. It was a cold weekend

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A local artist has many figures in his or her garden

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This little shop, in another garden on the walk to the bus, sells eggs, potatoes and so on, using an honesty-box system

January 25: Two-hour walk in the neighbourhood

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Going for a walk on a Sunday just seems right, doesn’t it? We left at 12.45pm and arrived home at 2.45pm. The change in the weather was really noticeable, going from grey to brilliant blue, and by the time we were close to home, walkers were everywhere.

We went through villages and forests, where we stomped our way through mud, but were lucky enough to come home with clean shoes thanks to the endless snow.

I hope you enjoy the collection of photos from today’s two-hour fitfor15in15 walk from our house to Möriswil, Sariswil, Wohlen bei Bern and home again.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

January 23: Clean and simple

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On average, once a month, my neighbour asks me to clean her house when she’s really busy. I’m happy to do this because she and her husband are very good to Leo and me. Like tonight, for example. We were invited for an amazing fondue dinner (which I enjoyed so much, I forgot to take photographs) and we spoke German and Swiss German for hours.

I’m always appreciative when my Swiss German friends speak High German with me, because, really, it’s a foreign language for them. Yes, they read it on a daily basis, but they don’t speak it. It’s kind of like requesting a Spanish person to speak Portuguese when you live in Spain. A neighbourly language, sure, but not really the same thing.

Today, I cleaned my neighbours’ house for four hours. I repeat. Four Hours. My back is broken but I feel like I’ve done something good for people who mean a lot to me. We have neighbourly dinners quite often, and they’re always a good giggle … with conversations such as how do you annoy a Swiss person, and how big is Australia in comparison with Europe.

I haven’t done my fitfor15in15 “15 minutes today” because, hell, I’ve done four hours. Cleaning a house where two people and a dog live takes time. I’m meticulous. I don’t even clean my own house as well as I clean the neighbours’. For me, it’s a labour of love. Tomorrow, it might be hard to touch the toes, but it’s worth it for the camaraderie and ongoing friendship. I like helping out when I can.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

January 18: Walking to Möriswil

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Yesterday’s weather induced cabin fever, so when the sun came out today it was time to make the most of it. Plus I’d promised to make things a bit more interesting, too, and that means getting out of the house!

The walk took us on a snow-covered Wanderweg path to the little village of Möriswil, around the forest and through some empty crop fields, back past my favourite house and garden (apart from ours, of course), then home.

I hope you enjoy the gallery of photos from our 90 minute wander.

From green to white, overnight

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From green to white, overnight

I know why yesterday was a weird day, but it’s all white now. Badoom tish!

Well, whadiyaknow?!

Yesterday’s strange, pressured feeling all makes sense. The snow express has delivered again – from green to white, overnight! And at 9.41am, it’s still snowing quite heavily.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

January 14: Weather turns the day upside down

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Pastora, Iva, Jaime and I planned to do a five-hour walk today along the winding Aare river, from Wohlen bei Bern into the city. The rain gods decided to have a hoedown, or maybe it was a rave, at 5am, and that was the end of that idea.

It rained all morning – the ground was mush, the wind was high, the seas were rough … I made that last one up.

So we turned a day of activity into a day of inactivity. We ate too much, drank a little, talked non-stop and played a board game Iva brought along. Importantly, we laughed a lot. We may not have that satisfied kind of exhaustion we were hoping to have from a long walk, but we achieved it in another form from solid rainy-day fun.

Hence, I’ve just completed 15 minutes of strength exercises before going to bed. My arms and shoulders certainly feel yesterday’s yoga efforts, so I thought I’d try five minutes of stomach crunches (arms behind the ears and elbows out of sight), five minutes of upside down cycling (lying on my back, legs in the air, peddling fast) and then five minutes of squat variations holding my trusty chick pea tins.

Not sure if the cycling achieved as much as the other exercises, other than noticing my noisy knees, but it was good to do something new.

Speaking of new, a friend, Jac, suggested my next exercise challenge should be to dance like no one is watching, and tomorrow I’m going to do just that. I might even tell you my play list.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

January 12: A walk into Wohlen and home again

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Wohlen bei Bern is a little village about eight kilometres north west from Bern main train station. I’ve been here since December 2011 and love it.

We live between the villages of Wohlen and Möriswil, and it takes 20 minutes to walk from our house, called a Stoeckli, down to the main street, where the buses go every 30 minutes into the city.

Today’s exercise involved dropping a letter off to the council offices, so instead of doing it tomorrow, when I will be catching the bus into town to meet a friend, Sandra, I thought it would be a good opportunity to take some photos and show you the area where we live.

With my walking boots on, I followed the Wanderweg (walking) path through some farming fields and down to the council office, and then back a different way via our favourite local restaurant.

I hope you enjoy this gallery of photos from our little village.

Wishing you a wonderful day.