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9<br />
Travel<br />
May 2017<br />
I arrived at Zurich Airport<br />
yesterday and followed my host,<br />
Luisa's, very clear instructions:<br />
Take train S2 on Gleis (platform 1),<br />
destination, Zieglebrucke. Go to<br />
the last stop. Sit upstairs on the left<br />
and you will get a view of Lake<br />
Zurich as you travel along. She<br />
wasn't wrong. It is a stunningly<br />
beautiful train ride. Fast, punctual<br />
and picturesque.<br />
Luisa met me at the station and we<br />
drove to her house along a scenic<br />
route which is full of picture<br />
postcard images. We arrived at<br />
Diary of A Freebird<br />
Freebird Club member Gaetano Forte visited hosts Luisa and Joseph Roesli at<br />
their home overlooking Lake Zurich in Obstalden, Switzerland.<br />
thehouse and were greeted by<br />
Luisa's husband, Joseph. Over a<br />
cool beer, we started chatting and<br />
did not stop until well into the<br />
evening.<br />
They are a fascinating couple who<br />
are so hospitable and warm, that I<br />
immediately felt I had known them<br />
for a very long time.<br />
Sitting on the terrace, we had a<br />
Raclette, a famous Swiss dish of<br />
grilled cheese poured over<br />
potatoes with pickles, chili and sun<br />
dried tomatoes. Delicious. The rosé<br />
wine was very slippery and I went<br />
to bed in a mellow mood. I woke in<br />
the night and looked out the<br />
window at the stars. Because the<br />
area is away from light pollution<br />
they were spectacular. This is a<br />
really magical place.<br />
Day 2<br />
Woke up to the sound of the birds<br />
and the sun streaming in the<br />
window of my loft room. Sat down<br />
to a breakfast of farm fresh eggs,<br />
ham, home-made bread and coffee.<br />
Lots of chat around the table.<br />
Really important decisions to be<br />
made, like where should we go for<br />
our picnic. Looking across the lake<br />
to the imposing cliff with its<br />
spectacular waterfall, we decide to<br />
travel to the top, by car I hasten to<br />
add, and look at the view from<br />
there.<br />
On arrival we make a short walk<br />
along a road through farmland<br />
populated by cows grazing<br />
peacefully in the sunshine. The<br />
land is fertile and pristine. The<br />
smell of new mown grass is sweet<br />
and sublime. At the top we stop at<br />
the viewing platform and gaze at<br />
the view which is really beautiful.<br />
There are boats on the lake,<br />
pleasure craft, water buses, kite<br />
surfers, water skiers and<br />
swimmers. Below us, an eagle soars<br />
on the thermals. This is nature at<br />
its best. Alongside the natural lake,<br />
there is a canal, built to combat<br />
flooding, which links to Lake<br />
Zurich. The only sound is cowbells<br />
and birdsong.<br />
Back in the car for a short hop to<br />
our picnic spot. We find a patch of<br />
green and pull up some small logs<br />
and spend an idyllic hour sharing<br />
food and conversation surrounded<br />
by wild flowers. It doesn't get<br />
better than this. We visit a small
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