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Thirsty Thursday: Swiss Mountains

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Liquid Crack (aka, 2007 Scheid Chardonnay)

Just a little post tonight from the Switzerland trip. I've been working on the images for what seems like forever, but I'm close to calling the project complete (about 20 or so photos left to edit). But enough shop talk, on to the pictures. The story isn't exciting or thrilling but the snow covered mountains are gorgeous. The trip to the top is a long train ride on the Junfraujoch line through a mountain. The views on the ride are also fantastic and of course the views at the top are simply awesome. Hopefully, these shots give you a glimpse of what it was actually like to be up there on the "Top of Europe." If you've read some of our previous posts, you know that we have been doing a bit of backpacking lately. Thus, I have to comment on one of the shots and say, that we are not to the point that the skier with the backpack on...we're not ready for that...we're semi-fair-weather backpackers. And besides, the Mas would need to learn how to ski...and I'm not sure if she's ready for that. Enjoy the shots and enjoy your weekend.

Thirsty Thursday: Zurich at Night

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Tazo Awake Tea

Ok, so I'm late posting this tonight. It's also going to be a late night tonight which is why I'm drinking tea with caffeine. I'm going to keep this posting tonight short as I have other (more important) things to work on tonight. I'll let the pictures of Zurich speak for themselves. As it is late, I figured night shots were appropriate. These shots are all mine. I'm sure Beth will post hers at a later date. Although I wasn't a huge fan of Zurich, the architecture was pretty cool...especially at night.

Thirsty Thursday: Somewhere In Between

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Sonoma Hills Chardonnay

Sometimes you find yourself somewhere in between. In between jobs, in between decisions, in between vacations, in between dreams. And sometimes things seem to be over your head but underneath your feet. Maybe it's a good thing to be in the in between, or maybe it's not, or maybe, just maybe, it's spectacular. Somewhere Switzerland floating in between the mountains below and the mountains above near Schilthorn. If you're ever lucky enough to realize you are in an in between that's spectacular, enjoy it, take it all in...and if you happen to have a camera, take a few shots so that you can share it with the rest of us! I'll always remember this in between.

Thirsty Thursday: View From the Top

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Handcraft Petite Sirah

I know I haven't written a blog post in a while, but Beth has been carrying it. I still haven't been through all my Switzerland photos and now I have about 1600 more photos to go through. But, after a little convincing from Beth, here are a few photos from the "Top of Europe".

The views from the top are spectacular and I'm not sure the pictures do the view justice. And as for the buildings, who thinks to build structures in those places...only the Swiss.

Thirsty Thursday: Sunshine and Mountains

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Hammond Grenache

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Terry is headed off to Colorado this weekend, so I figured a few mountain scenes containing Terry were in order.

Have I mentioned on this blog that Switzerland was abso-freakin-lutely beautiful?! Even without the cute boy the scene is nice to look at. Get out there and find your own pretty mountain scene this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Luzern Night Bikes

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2010 Longhand Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Good evening and welcome to another Thirsty Thursday...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Since its getting a little late, I figured a few night photos were in order.

We spent our second night in Switzerland in the beautiful medieval town of Luzern. Absolutely beautiful during the day, and thanks to our jet lag, we had plenty of time to explore at night, too. Thanks to a random (and apparently not so gentle) TSA baggage inspection, we were down to one tripod between the two of us. I let Terry have the tripod to take some photos of the city reflecting in the the river and I headed over to the car-free area.

Bikes were whizzing through the car-free area at a steady rate. I love visiting other countries where bicycles are the predominate mode of travel through the city. It was a cold night, the sky trying to spit rain, yet these hardy Swiss folks were simply going from Point A to Point B under pedal power. I bumped up the ISO of my new 5D Mark II to 3200, knowing that the increased noise would look good in black and white. So I played around panning and stalking the night riders. Here's what I came away with...

I think Thirsty Thursday is having a good influence on me tonight...I might actually go ride my bike this weekend, perhaps with camera in hand. We hope you can get out and have your own little adventure this weekend, too!

Thirsty Thursday: Insta-Swiss

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Sangria...actually, no, but it would be nice to have a good Sangria recipe (hint hint Terry G.)

Thirsty Thursday again! Its been a busy week, so not much work on the Swiss vacation photos got accomplished yet. But with Instagram making some pretty big headlines this week, I figured I steal a few photos out of our Instagram photostream from our trip. I promise, one day, you'll get to see our actual photos and hear our stories.

Here are a few travel photos...you know, planes, food. Especially the food. And the chocolate. And the coffee! A few random views from here and there... Now for my favorites...the mountains! The Alps were more amazing than I could have ever imagined! And we got to play like crazy in that snowy wonderland. Hope you get out there this weekend and take some photos of your world...with whatever camera you have in your hand!

Thirsty Thursday: Off to Interlaken

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Tolosa Rose de Grenache

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! We are still sorting through the Switzerland photos, but we are making progress. This week we share a few more.

Our first two days in Switzerland were spent in cities--Zurich, then Luzern. Both beautiful in their own right, especially Luzern, but I was ready to get on to the Alps! So in true Euro fashion, or perhaps true Welliver foreign travel fashion (we love public transportation in every country except the US...how can the rest of the world get it right?!), we hopped on a train and headed to Interlaken. Interlaken was our home base at the foot of the Alps for the next four days. I was incredibly excited for my first glimpses of the Alps, but of course it was a snowy, dreary day as our train lumbered down the tracks. Yet, still beautiful. When we arrived in Interlaken my outdoor fever got the best of me, so we quickly dropped the luggage at the hotel and started exploring the town. We found ourselves on a road headed out of town, and just kept walking down it, wanting to see what was around the next bend. Soon we found ourselves on a quiet country road leading up into the hills. A hiking trail popped up on our right...we took it. We climbed up a hill along a lovely, well-marked trail. Then again, I think every hiking trail in Switzerland is well-marked. Daylight was fading, a light mist was falling, but we didn't care. About a mile and a half later we came out at the top. Turns out a cog railway comes up the other side of the hill in summer. Tonight we had the hill top overlooking Interlaken all to ourselves. A great little afternoon adventure in the foothills before our big adventures in the Alps started the next day. Hope you can get out and enjoy a little adventure this weekend, too!

Thirsty Thursday: Just a Mountain View

Rambler: Terry

Drink in Hand: 2004 Parrot Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon

Life has been pretty busy since we returned from the land of many mountains. Beth has managed to get further along with her photographs, but I'm still struggling to get through them all. So, today, here's just a little tasting of the mountains. More to follow....someday. Enjoy the view and enjoy your glass.

Thirsty Thursday: What a View

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2007 Lockwood Reserve Red Blend

Its Thirsty Thursday once again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I was pretty excited to share one of our adventures from our recent trip to Switzerland, but a busy week and work topped off with a dog who made friends with a skunk on the trail run tonight means I haven't had time to put together a good photo story from our adventures in the Alps just yet.

So tonight I share just one photo. Its one of my favorites from the Alps. It makes me happy. We'd just hiked to the top of Faulhorn above Grindelwald. The view was great, as was the company. Terry. Eiger. Mönch. Jungfrau. Awesome.

Stay tuned for more photos from the Alps. And in the mean time, get out there and do something this weekend...and if you're in California, try to stay dry.