Had a visit

My brother Franz and his wife Elsbeth are vacationing in the region and I had them over for a merenda (snack) this afternoon and to drink with me the bottle of wine their daughter Gabriela brought me years ago on a visit, a Brestenberger, vintage 2000. Decanted several hours before consumption, it was excellent.

The vinyard from which this wine comes belongs to the castle Brestenberg in Switzerland, which is now operated as a hotel, undergoing renovation at the moment, I believe.

Frog in my pond

Looking out of the upper-floor window I see a frog sitting on the plank I put in the pond for his – or is it her? – convenience. Is there a way of knowing a frog's gender just by looking at him, ie without a close physical exmination?

Follow me on Twitter

I started my Twitter account yesterday, with the member name Snowbird756. Click here to go to my account and if you like what you see, follow me.

Mama bear shows her offspring who is the boss

When I saw this video clip today I knew I had to share it with you people. These bears were filmed in the bear park in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, a week ago, on 29 April 2010. One of these days I shall go and see them live.

The mother is called Björk, the twins are Urs (male) and Berna (female). I don't know which one of the twins is on the tree. The father, Finn, is not in the picture.

Flight is booked

My flight to Thailand is booked, at Girair in Agno. Eastward bound early in December, return flight last week of January.

I am a Snowbird

The term Snowbird is used to describe people who spend a large portion of winter in warmer locales. Resident in Switzerland and Thailand, I like to spend much of winter in Thailand whenever I can manage it.

In this blog, I will talk about my life in these two countries, trips I make, people I meet, places where I eat, etc. I meant to do this blog on Google Sites but unfortunately they do not allow comments by readers. I shall be happy to receive comments from everybody, in any language (if it is a language I don't understand, I will use translate.google.com to translate it)