Visiting, once again

This first appeared in As Diana O Sees It on August 24, 2023.

The train pulls into the Swiss alpine village station. I lift my suitcase onto the railcar and plop down onto a seat by a large, clean window. I take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.

It’s great to be unhurried. Age has mellowed me. There was a time when I’d rush for trains and planes.

I have a flashback.

I’m 15, summer break is ending, and I’m leaving Switzerland to return to boarding school near Boston. My grandparents have brought me to the station, as they did each visit. 

After boarding, I look out the window. They stand, waiting on the platform.

When the train I’m on starts to move, we wave to each other. Grossmouti wipes a tear from her eye, and Grosspapa takes out his handkerchief and wipes his nose. We won’t see each other for many months; and I’m the only family they have left.

This time, when the train starts to move, I look out the window and see no one waiting on the platform. I take another deep breath and acknowledge the sadness in my chest.

The train bends, creaks, and winds its way through verdant meadows. We pass by the level crossing in my old neighborhood. Two cars and a tractor are waiting to pass. I vaguely recognize the drivers’ faces. For 13 years, my children and I were a part of this farming community, but now, I’m a visitor once again.

Red sky at morning, sailors and shepherds take warning

As you may have noticed, blog posts from the Swiss Alps have been scant, due to the fact that I've been fishing off the New England coast.

Come to think of it, there are some similarities between the alps and the ocean. Both are breathtakingly beautiful. Both are food sources. Both can kill, especially when storms arise. Both provide horizons to expand one’s perspective and to expand one’s mental possibilities.

Both abide by the saying: "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning"

Both attract similar characters: strong men and women who need time alone to connect with nature. Mountaineers and fishermen face harsh elements, watch the weather, understand animal psychology, and know local topography.

Both mountaineers and fishermen live simply and are patient.

A return to the Swiss Alps

After a year-long hiatus from this blog due to coaching and writing articles on personal development and leadership, I am back and happy to entertain you again with musings from the Swiss Alps.

As I write you from Gstaad, the leaves have turned yellow and orange and are falling off the branches, and the temperatures hover near freezing. Some apples still hang on their branches, ready for the first freeze. For about two weeks in October, the neighbor’s cows grazed on our land, and last weekend, they moved to a different property offering fresher grass. Pretty soon, the snow will come and they will remain in their barns.

Fritzli, our new mini Schnauzer, is adorable and demanding lots of attention. He’s learning to come, sit and fetch. I am trying to teach him not to jump up on people, but he can’t help it, being so sociable and excited. He also has a disgusting attraction to cow poop. I have to clean off his feet every time he comes in after his ballads in the fields. And of course, he is exhibiting a strong Napoleonic complex when interacting with our neighbor's cows.

New venture

Starting a new venture is never easy, which is why you haven't seen many articles on this blog recently. Since 2016, I have been working on becoming a life coach. The good news is I am now a Core Essentials graduate from CoachU and am pursuing an advanced corporate coaching degree and ICF certification as well as supporting my amazing clients.

So, if you want to follow my writing, go to my new coaching site's articles. I will keep Life in the Swiss Alps up and running as a reference. And... who knows... I may write again for it when time allows.

Back from hiatus

After a four-month break, I am back!

For those of you who may have been wondering what happened to me, well I am happy to report that I began a new job. I now work for a media software company based in Gstaad called Consenda AG. Consenda caters to local and regional newspapers and it has developed a content delivery system that enables local newspaper publishes to bring news and advertising to digital users. In the meantime, please send me your ideas for future blog posts!