Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Into the 6th week of my stay




I have almost spent 6 weeks out of my 12 weeks now and it feels like time is flying away -- faster than the trains here. My work is progressing at a satisfactory pace and I hope to write down some results before I leave. From where I left my last blog, I met some of the thinkswiss fellows at Lausanne and went out for dinner with them, tasted the famous swiss fondue, went for tapas at a spanish place, went to Bern with Erin and Nasreen and visited my labmate back from Chicago at his place in Como, Italy. The last one accounted for the most enjoyable weekend during my stay here so far. I reached Lugano on a saturday afternoon, the train ride to which was the most scenic and magnificent one I have had with mountains, lakes, river, farms and a wonderful sunny weather all through luzern to Lugano. I met my labmate, stefano and his father there and they drove me to their place. The entire weekend was dedicated to home-made delicious italian food-- lots and lots of them. It was like being at home with people around you taking care of everything. I got to see the city of Como as well.
The weekend before that I traveled to Bern, the capital city with Erin and Nasreen which was just a one hour journey from Lausanne but a big change in the culture and language as Erin pointed out in her blog. Its the most beautiful city I have been to with its cobblestone streets, trams running over them, water fountains at every block, clock towers, a magnificent church and a very green river Aare running through the city. We were however not fortunate enough to spot a bear in the bear pit. I had my first swiss Rosti there which tasted great and was reasonbly priced. The last point where we went to, was a rose garden at an elevation that allowed for a breathtaking view of the entire city along with a bunch of beautiful roses.
Next weekend we have plans to go to Zermatt and paraglide there if the weather is favorable.

No comments: