Week 2: all by my onesies, volley & futball, Lucerne, and Tour de France

Hi All!

My second week was just as grand and even more eventful than the first. It flew by so fast - partly because of all the events and partly because I was on my own in the lab! My post-doc took a holiday in Italy and left me with a laundry list of experiments and data to collect. Come Monday I was quite intimidated by the expectations to repeat techniques I had just learned the week before . . . By the end of the week, however, I found that I had completed everything I had set out to do and without any major catastrophes! It was really nice to be trusted with some responsibilities and confirm to myself that I am ready to start doing my own experiments as a grad student.

July 15th, Ouchy: Although a group of us weren't able to see Harry Potter since it was sold out, we caught a beautiful sunset in Ouchy instead! The picture on the right shows the port in Lac Leman. Other attractions in Ouchy include the huge Movenpick hotel (the best ice cream you will ever consume), the Chateaux d'Ouchy (a ritzy hotel right on the water), good food and an esplanade. We ended up buying a half gallon of Movenpick and picnicking on the grass at the waterfront. At one point, a couple of tourists stopped and ask where we were all from. At that moment, we realized we each represented a different country!

The couple happened to be from England and Greece themselves (with their Mexican dog), so all together we represented England, Greece, Mexico, Canada, Russia, America, Hungary, Romania, and Taiwan. Below is a picture of the us the kind tourists insisted on taking - I still think it's amazing how so many different people can come together in one location and find commonalities with which to share with each other.




Saturday, July 18th: Lucern or Luzern? This sign was posted outside of a small resaurant in Lucerne - my first experience in the German part of Switzerland - and I think it sums up the Swiss culture pretty well. This small city was especially warm and welcoming and there was so much to see! There is a lot of history in Lucern like the old 1400 year old wall and the dying lion carving commemorating the Swiss Guards in 1792 before the bloody part of the French Revolution began. The old city wall is still standing with towers every few hundred feet you can climb up to see a view of the city and lake. Below you can see one of the towers and also a little chalet in Schwyz where we spent the night at my first European hostel! Which was also a great experience.
Finally, Sunday we went to the 15th stage of Tour de France! We went to about 4k before the finish line at the ski resort Verbier and it was simply amazing. The views were breathe-taking and I literally could have touched the cyclists as they passed us by. Check it out! More excitement next week I hope . . .

Unfortunately, a light appears at the end of the tunnel

Salut tout le monde! (Hello everyone!)

With less than 2 weeks of work left, I am starting to realize the brevity of my stay here in Switzerland. I come to this point with mixed emotions, as I miss the people from home (not to mention sharing a time zone with them) but am so loving my time here. The people in the lab are so helpful, nice, diverse, fascinating, and overall great to work with. I think, though, that I will return home with absolutely no regrets. I have pursued this experience, both the science and the travel, with no holds barred.

I realize at this point that I have not said much about my research since I first introduced myself, so I'll take this opportunity to explain. I said before that my work would include UV-induced DNA damage responses. In layman's terms, UV radiation (among many other things) can damage a cell's basic instructions for life, i.e. its DNA. Depending on how these instructions are altered by UV radiation, the cell can make poor decisions that lead to tumors. Cells don't normally figure out that they're damaged until they're about ready to divide and replace themselves. At that point, they are faced with two options, they can either fix the damage or kill themselves (called apoptosis). Inside the cell there are a lot of voices to be heard, and the decision between repair and death is made by committee. I work specifically on one voice in the crowd (a protein called PIDD) that we have reason to believe is quite important, and I get to figure out who its friends are. PIDD's friends influence his decision, so it is important to figure out who he talks to and when in order to understand or control the overall fate of the cell.

Given that, I do a number of different things in the lab to figure this out. One thing I've done much of is irradiating cells in something that looks like a microwave, then seeing how PIDD and his friends react to the change. I also do something called an IP (for immunoprecipitation), meaning that

I break cells open and figure out which friends PIDD is stuck to (and thus talking to) currently. You can see these proteins via something called a western blot, where you put protein into a jelly-like matrix and use electrical force to move the proteins through it. Imagine an adult and a child trying to get through one of those playhouses at McDonald's with all the tubes...the child is

going to go faster because he is smaller and less restricted by the size of the maze. Same goes with proteins, the smaller proteins move faster than the big ones. You can't really see anything yet, because proteins aren't visible to the naked eye (or even under microscopes). Instead, we transfer the gel's protein (using electricity again, but in a different direction) to something easier to work with that proteins love to stick to, which looks a lot like glossy paper. Then we subject this paper to a solution containing antibodies (just like those in our immune system) that sticks only to the protein you're looking for (for example, the antibody recognizes PIDD). You still can't see the protein, so you use another antibody that sticks to the first one. Sounding silly yet? Not really, because the 2nd antibody helps you see where your protein is. The 2nd antibody has something attached to it that will glow in the dark if you put the right chemicals on it, so we basically add the chemical to our protein-containing paper and place x-ray film over it in the dark room. Voila, you get dark bands on the film corresponding to the presence of your protein. And this is how we biologists see things that one can't really see with modern science, at least this is one of the easier ways!

After a week of work, I went out with some other ThinkSwiss Researchers and their friends to the Festival de la Cite in Lausanne. Every year the city puts on this grand event with manycultural and musical expositions. There is food and drink galore, served at one of many temporary carts around the Cathedral in the old town. The Cathedral just shines at night in the green and purple lights they use to illuminate the tower (Picture 2). I had some excellent African food, thanks to the number of African immigrants from French-speaking nations. There was also plenty of Asian and European specialties, all of which looked delicious as well. One of the most interesting Swiss traditions is this rock-stacking, whereby a highly skilled man puts one oddly-shaped stone on top of the other, creating a very stable, but unstable-looking, tower of rocks (Picture 1). It was a great night, and I only wish I had enjoyed more nights of the great food and atmosphere there!

So on to the traveling! I went to Zermatt the weekend before last, a beautiful little valley town beneath the Matterhorn. This is one case in which the Disneyland version is not moremagical. I went with Ishita, her roommate Nasreen, and Nasreen's friend Ifsa. Other than the obvious natural beauty, Zermatt is quite different than other places I've visited in Switzerland. It's incredibly "touristy", and amazingly popular with Japanese tourists whom I have not seen in my previous travels. The town is car-free, and even though I'm told you can drive to the town (although most people take the panoramic train), you would get immediately stopped and fined. They do have buses and small shuttles that run for free throughout the town, as well as some horse-drawn carriages. The four of us girls, however, opted first for a tandem paraglide (Picture 3, taken from the air, me and the Matterhorn). This was a first for all of us, and although a little expensive (150 CHF), it was worth every last cent! After coming down from a "high", both literal and emotional, we finished off our day with a trip to the Gornergrat (Picture 4). This viewpoint (about 3100 m) is reachable by cogwheel train and provides a great view of the Matterhorn (4478 m) and the town below. After coming back down, we strolled down the main street of Zermatt and along the river that flows right through the center of town (Picture 5). This was one of my favorite trips during my time here, but there was more to come the next day!

Although I had mentioned Interlaken as my Sunday plan, we were just too tired after Zermatt to do another active day. We instead decided on the city of Basel, a fascinating, cosmopolitan city situated on the border with both France and Germany. The town itself is full of history, and is the home of the Basilisk, a mythical monster of the Basel fountains and now one of the city's symbols. Walking through the city brings many sights, and like every other Swiss city, it too is cut through by a river (the Rhine in this case). Although it's not excessively touristy, it is very user-friendly, as the city has 5 distinct "walking tours" of old town marked out. You get a map at the tourist center (how I will miss the ever-helpful Swiss tourist centers) that shows 5 walking paths through the center of town each symbolized by the head of a famous Basler and a color. All walks start from city hall (the Rathaus) and are marked out with the head and color of the trail. One of the neatest things about Basel was the Tinguely Fountain (Picture 6), a large, shallow pool containing iron machines that just move water around in awesome ways. After walking through the city, seeing the bright-red Rathaus (Picture 7) and the historic Munster (cathedral), we walked through a park and into Germany. All we did was cross a creek, and we were standing in a wheat field in another country. It is so very unusual for me to pass over a border without any formality, but here it's an every-day occurrence!

This past weekend was also a whirlwind of amazing travel. I spent Saturday in beautiful Lucerne, the "gateway to central Switzerland". It sits at the foot of the Alps and right on picturesque Lake Lucerne. It is home to the "once-oldest" and oldest bridges in Switzerland, the Kappelbrucke (Picture 8) and Spruerbrucke, respectively. The Kappelbrucke, or Chapel Bridge, was built in the 14th century and is made entirely of wood. Attached to that bridge is the Wasserturm (water tower), the symbol of Lucerne and a prison/torture chamber/treasury during early city history. The Kappelbrucke was partially destroyed in the fire of 1993, so the Spruerbrucke (built in the early 15th century) then became the oldest. It is a similar style, but by the crowds on the bridge, you know the Kappelbrucke is still everyone's favorite. The old town is completely pedestrian, so you can wander through the streets freely and visit one of the many shops in the town. Lucerne is also home to the breathtaking "Dying Lion" Monument in memory of the Swiss guards that died in the Tuilleries during the French Revolution (Picture 9). Lucerne is home to many other natural wonders, like the glacier garden (a tourist attraction where you can see marks in natural rock from receded glaciers) and the mountains (notably Titlis and Pilatus). There was more to do here than time to do it in, but I would definitely go back to this beautiful city on the lake.

Sunday, however, was one of the best days in the entirety of my stay. Nasreen and I went up to the Jungfraujoch, the so-called "Top of Europe" (Picture 10). At 3454 meters, it is the highest cogwheel train station in Europe and is home to a famous glacier and ice palace (Picture 11). It's a 2+ hour train ride from Interlaken to the top, so our entire trip to Jungfraujoch from Lausanne was more than 4 hours. It is also one of the more expensive trains in Switzerland, but again, it was worth every cent. Up at the top, you stare over beautiful mountaintops covered in eternal snow and glaciers that stretch to the far distant peaks. You can even walk along the glacier and admire the below-freezing temperature at the top (it was -3.5 C when we went). The ice palace is really an unforgettable experience, as you walk through these tunnels made only of ice (you're even walking on an ice floor) and passing by many ice sculptures. This was probably also home to the most diverse set of tourists I've seen yet, with many Japanese, Indian, Middle Eastern, American, and European tourists. The number of languages and cultures walking around the top of this mountain just made the experience that much more interesting.

So I think that's all for now, and I've only one more weekend to go. I'm trying to enjoy every last minute of this experience, as there are so many things I'm going to miss. Hopefully I will be able to visit wine country this week or weekend, and then I have decisions to make about where to go this Saturday. Au revoir!

Horror story beginnings and fairytale continuations

It was not a dark or stormy night; it was not even particularly cold. The scenery was not a hideous warped old forest but instead was the clean and pretty city of Lausanne. Regardless of the setting, I was frightened. I am a 20 year old student named Steph and this was the beginning of my first trip out of the United States. I was delayed on both of my flights and they lost my luggage. That was frustrating but not at all scary. It didn’t do much to dampen my mood. It was the failure to find housing that night that got to me. I had been delayed four hours and by the time I got to my apartment there was no one there to give me a key. I searched with a non-English speaking man for a hotel but, as I would later find out, the Festivale de la Cite Lausanne was going on. This meant that there were no vacancies. My first night abroad and it was looking like I would be sleeping on a park bench. I was very afraid of could happen in the night.

With the above as evidence, my first day and a half in Switzerland was not the best. I ended up sleeping at the house of the man who had tried to help me find a hotel. It was uncomfortable as I don’t speak French and he didn’t speak English but it turned out alright. He kicked me out at five am the next morning because he had work but not until I had eaten. This is a prime example of how nice the people here are. He and his roommate took in a random stranger that did not speak their language, let me shower, gave me clothes, fed me, and refused my money when I offered it.

After that troublesome experience, my trip has gone quite well. My apartment is spacious and clean. The other people in my suite are all very interesting and my floor is full of other students.

My time, when I am not working, is full of exploring Switzerland, be it just Lausanne or taking a train to see what there is too see. The first week was the Festivale de la Cite Lausanne. The cathedral was beautifully lit and was surrounded by music and food. I went there often. It was fun when the weather was good and still beautiful in the rain. Sitting under a tree there with a bottle of wine listening to a pretty little girl perform while watching sun showers pass over the city below will be an image that stays with me for quite some time. So far I have also gone to the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Blues Balls Festival in Luzern. Both of those cities were fun to wander through even in the areas that did not have tents or festival related paraphernalia. The day after my first trip to Montreux I hiked with some other students to Rochere de Naye. The sights were breathtaking. The mountains here are beyond words and pictures do not do the area justice. If you think the cities are nice wait until you breathe in that mountain air.

Pretty as the mountains are, Luzern was also beautiful. After spending a day there sightseeing and spending some time at the Kunstmuseum Luzerne, I headed off with some friends to Schwyz where we stayed in a hostel for the night. The next morning we were off to Arth-Goldau to hike over the mountain and down to Weggis on the other side. From there we took a ferry back to Luzern. The boat ride was like something out of a fairy tale; there were castles and patches of farmland amongst these majestic mountains. Coming to the city was like waking up from a dream because the city came from nowhere and took over the shore.

You don’t need a train ticket to see great things though. There is a ton to do around Lausanne. The lake is always worth going to, there is soccer to be played and there are parties to be had. Fuseball and ping pong are just two of the worthwhile pastimes I have found here. You can even go see movies if you want to (cough cough the new Harry Potter film cough). This really is quite a fun place.

My lab is the icing on the cake. As the main focus of this trip, I could not be happier with my research. The people here very nice not to mention the topic is interesting. I am working with an enzyme involved in to onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. There is a lot that remains unknown about the disease and the enzyme so there is a lot of ground to cover. This means that I am really making a contribution to the field in just the short time I am here. I couldn’t be more excited.

I wouldn’t change the lab work at all but sometimes I do wish my co-workers spoke more English. Anyone considering a trip to a foreign lab should really prepare themselves for the language barrier. Even if everyone can speak English enough to present their work many labs function in a different language. This doesn’t make the work any less interesting but it does make for quiet lunches and breaks. You also lose out on the lab experience where you can learn from those around you and bounce ideas off one another. The only English I get is direction which is great but not enough to have me start developing ideas or helping as much as I would like to in the lab. Still, my lab has really made this trip fantastic.

That is all for now. Sorry it was so long. I will try to remember to do this more often so you will not have to read through so much. I alos apologize for the scattered style of this entry. I will be better organized next time. I hope you are all having a fantastic time, where ever you are!

Hello from Liza

I suppose it is my turn to introduce myself briefly. I am Liza Litvina, coming from Wesleyan University in the US, where I major in Neuroscience&Behavior and Science in Society. I arrived in Switzerland two and a half weeks ago to begin working in the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience (under the direction of Prof. Blanke) as part of the Summer Program in the School of Life Sciences at EPFL in (near?) Lausanne. I will learn and play here until the end of August. While normally I work on a mouse model of epilepsy, this summer I am trying out the other side of neuroscience by working on a project about gut interoception (conscious awareness of the stomach, or the possibility thereof) headed by a postdoc Dr. Ionta, my supervisor. This work is actually not the central theme of what regularly goes on in the Blanke lab. They are more focused on the somatic aspects of consciousness, dissociating different senses to probe consciousness, I suppose; the stomach work is the start of a visceral complement to this work. So far I have been recruiting and running subjects, spending the rest of my time reading. We are using EEG to record brain activity during the experiment and EGG (…gastro…) for stomach activity—and while I have a vague idea of what the EEG records, the way it is interpreted is a mystery to me to this moment (having a better physics background would help, I think). I’ve also been shown how some of the analysis is done, but this is another thing that is, at this point, out of my mental grasp as far as details go. It’s quite interesting though, and the background theory about the role of visceral afferent pathways in the formation of emotion/subjective self is exciting to think about. The lab appears to be pretty laid-back, but then again, it is summer. I imagine working is a little more hectic during the school year when all members are around and lots of students are willing to be subjects. The interactions I’ve had with my P.I. have been entirely positive (I’m impressed that he found time to talk to me through some of the background and framework for this project).

My stay has been pretty great so far. I arrived here a few days before the other students in the program, and got a jump on figuring out the city, transportation, food, etc.. I live very near campus in student housing with people who normally study here (and are not away for vacation, on and off), which is great from several perspectives… So far Switzerland, its people, its labs, and my fellow visiting students have all been friendly and welcoming. It’s great to interact with so many intelligent people from different backgrounds, countries, languages (I envy the languages). Having acquired a demi-tarif card, I am not working hard to make its price worthwhile by taking the train whenever wherever possible. Today, for example, I did a marathon through Fribourg, Neuchatel, and Yverdon-les-Bains—a fact I will use to excuse the rough nature of this particular entry.

More in the future, including pictures.

Ways to get free wi-fi in Lausanne - if you don't have access to the internet yet

I thought about sharing this with those of you who recently arrived in Lausanne and haven't been able to get consistent internet access yet. Having gone through the process of getting a working internet after work, it's rather unbelievable, but to acknowledge the hardships that a few of us need to get through to get wireless connection outside of work.

There are a few free wireless hotspots in Lausanne, if you need it (listed in order of availability)

1. The square in front of "The old Academy", right beneath the Lausanne Cathedral in the old town. If you see a square-shaped fountain in an wide open area, you're probably at the square.
This free wireless service is provided by the city of Lausanne. Service stretchs even into the Metro station beside the square, if you need shelter. Unlimited usage and availability.

2. The McDonalds in the Lausanne part of town.
Get out from the bel-air bus stop, and head up the hills. You will see a McDonalds' with red-glasses - that's the one. However you need a functioning cellphone for them to SMS the codes to you to use the wireless. From what I heard it's also unlimited usage.

3. Starbucks opposite the McDonalds in (2.)
If you absolutely need wireless, go buy a cup of coffee and ask the cashier for the wireless. Access is free but only for 30 minutes.

The downside is that you'll need to have good battery life since I haven't been able to find electrical sockets in either of those 3 places.
Good luck to those who are just arriving in Lausanne!

Only Connect

A flash of lightning instantly brightens my room, suddenly awakening me. I remember a trick learned during childhood and count, waiting for the deafening presence of thunder -- ten seconds pass, then eight; the storm is getting closer. It's 1:30 am and I get up to closer my window, through which rain -- an amount I've never before experienced, being from the desert of Southern California -- is streaming into my small room. The next day, everyone at work was speaking of the storm. "Well, it was so hot yesterday -- thunderstorms were only to be expected!" This is so counterintuitive to my Californian mentality; it never rains in the summer, and most especially not following a hot spell. Being a tiny bit English at heart, I enjoyed the rainy weather and the opportunity to stop feeling pressured to be a tourist. It was instead the appropriate time to relax and curl up with a cup of tea, a novel, and good company.
The weather, although predictably unpredictable judging from the weather reports (it will be sunny and rainy everyday this week!), has been very nice during my time here. It’s already been almost five weeks (I am afraid my blog is a little bit late) but I feel I’ve taken advantage of the warm, clear skies. Two weekends ago I found myself courageously hiking to the top of the Saleve, the mountain genevois that is actually in France. The difficulty of the ascent was offset somewhat by a quaint town halfway up where I was able to stop and rest before continuing on the journey. Here I met two friendly German boys who were spending the summer, much like myself, working in Switzerland. They were nice enough to let my friend and I use the pass they had bought for the telepherique, a cable car that carries passengers to the top of the Saleve and back, so that we wouldn’t have to hike down the mountain.

Before reaching the top I met another friendly couple who invited us to have drinks with them at the restaurant on the top of the mountain. He was a graduate of UC Berkley, incredibly outgoing, and had moved to Geneva 25 years ago to be with his wife, who was Swiss German and a marathoner. Full of advice and charm, they gave us a tour of Geneva and France from the peak. The view was absolutely astounding and I’m sure the hike made it all the better for the effort. They pointed out the Mont Blanc and the Swiss borders, told about the prevalence of Marmots (which appeared in stuffed form at the gift shop), and gave us lessons on Swiss culture. Apparently it is difficult to meet people in Switzerland, especially Geneva, as people are wont to acknowledge only people to whom they have been formally introduced. “It’s not like it is in America. They think a friend of a friend is fine – they know he is a good person – but with others…they’re not so sure.” Now, in light of this conception, I feel blessed to have met so many incredibly friendly and generous people in the city.

During a trip last weekend to the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva, I was fortunate enough to meet David, a former student of art history, and had a day which could have come straight from the movie, Before Sunrise – minus the romance, of course. He was enjoying the exhibit at the museum as well, taking in the beautiful sculptures and paintings (some done by painters from Geneva of Lake Leman and Mont Blanc, others painted by various famous artists) and was surprised to run into someone else at the museum (it was very quiet for a Saturday and apparently is always so). He treated me to coffee on the terrace and, being a native Swiss French familiar with the city, took me on a long tour, showing me everything -- places to see live music, good restaurants to try, open-air cinemas, the lake by boat, and even somewhere where I could try basil-flavored ice cream. It was nice to find someone who didn’t fall into the steotype that the couple at the Saleve described as I had a completely wonderful day discussing art, literature, and the differences between cultures with someone I would never have met otherwise!

Other than these excursions and more days spent lakeside, I have been throwing myself wholeheartedly into my work at the lab. My project involves analyzing MRIs (or IRMs, as they say in French) taken at a term gestational age from preterm neonates; the ultimate goal is to be able to accurately prognosticate based on values acquired from the MRI. I’ve quickly realized that 99% of the battle in clinical research is getting the data from your patient population in one place and ready for analysis. When I started and saw that we had over 100 patients and immediately thought that this was great – everyone was always complaining about the number of subjects included in a given study, and here we were with loads of data on our hands. Only days later, patients started slipping through my fingers as I found that there were at least five different protocols used when taking the MRIs meaning that data was inconsistent across patients (a common problem when data is acquired over a period of years and better scans become available), ten patients were missing crucial scans, and 23 needed the data reconstructed (a process that we weren’t entirely sure was going to be possible but, thankfully, were able to figure out on Friday!).

Aside from these minor mishaps (which are a part of all research), I am so grateful to have stumbled upon such a wonderful lab. My P.I., Dr. Huppi, is such a role model as a clinician scientist and has been incredibly generous in giving me advice about my future career options. The other neonatologist that I’ve been working with closely, Dr. Lodygensky, was generous enough to lend me his beautiful office with a gorgeous view from the 4th floor of the entire city (he explained that he was abandoning it as the hospital puts ridiculous constraints on the internet – a statement which turned out to be true as it took me a few weeks to figure out how to gain access to e-mail). As a huge Mac fan/user, I was delighted to learn that all the computers used in the hospital and for research are Macs…and that program help is but a call away to someone who has now become jokingly referred to as my “best friend.” Dr. Lodygensky was also kind enough to steal a pair of scrubs for me and give me a personal tour in English of the NICU/PICU; he even took me see an examination of a very preterm (26 weeks gestational age) preterm neonate that had just been delivered by cesarean section. “As neonatologists, we run to wait,” he explained, after we had sprinted from a meeting with two Dutch physicians only to find ourselves sitting on the terrace, drinking espresso and waiting for the baby to be delivered. The whole lab threw a party in celebration of the 4th of July, taking me to a beautiful restaurant on the lake in France where I tried traditional Perche caught from the lake and leaving me incredibly touched and a bit surprised to be celebrating this definitively American holiday in Switzerland.

Already, I feel myself being pulled in the direction of neonatology and neurology and am very much looking forward to starting rotations in the hospital. Perhaps I may even be able to come back to Geneva someday for a subinternship (although, it might be best to learn French before then)! Until then, I’m hoping to make some progress on this project in the final stretches of my time here (sadly, only three more weeks left) and enjoy the opportunity to connect with the new friends I’ve made.

First 3 weeks in Lausanne (and its surrounding)

I realized this is seriously overdue, but living without consistent internet access after work apparently has not been that convenient after all!
Anyway, I arrived in Lausanne about 3 weeks ago on June 22nd, only to realize that the 3 weeks to follow are simply amazing, at times breathtaking, and certainly enjoyable. Thus I'm going to fast forward the past 3 weeks in this post!

Academically, without prior arrangement I arrived right on time for Cecam, an European-based computational modeling workshop/mini-conference. Funny but true, I learned more about computational modeling (my field of work here at EPFL) in those 3 -4 days than I did for the past 3 months working on my research project in the same field at Northwestern. The environment here is extremely conducive to research and academics. Being able to learn from, and work alongside leading world experts in science really reminded me a lot of the basic reasons and motivation why I went into science in the first place - something that I nearly forgotten in the midst of the hustle and busstle of the business-based Chicago.

And then every weekend just seemed to be the "life" part of the "work-life balance" aspect of (I guess) an European lifestyle. It's a trivializing statement to only say that Lausanne has the benefit of Lac Leman and the Alps - being able to stand in the hilltops and mountains overlooking the lake truly brings out the best in this amazing landscape.
The first weekend was basically a trip around Lausanne city, it's neighboring outskirts, to get myself accustomed to the people, language and certainly directions. I think it's a bliss for the Swiss, living in a city in and around which nature and development co-exist. Simply, the view for the Palais du Justice not far from Lausanne old town is breathtaking enough to end one's day
from work (below).



I'd highly recommend going to the nearby Lac de Sauvabelin, for those who are just maneuvering yourself around the city. A path through the forest and the Sauvabelin tower gives not only a 360° view of the city but also the peace a small forest can give (below).



Then on my first Sunday (it was a very warm... day) I went to the Lutry vineyards. Breathtaking likewise, but amazing scenery aside it was actually a bad choice otherwise since nothing is open on Sunday. Including wine tasting and everything else. But the view was certainly worth the walk up the hilltop!



And then it's Monday. I finally got my project this week, working rather independently first on data mining and then on statistical regression of the data, to find heats of formation of biochemical compounds.

And time flies ...... it's the weekend again! (I'm just trying to back track all 3 weeks thus the rush LOL). This weekend I rest in on Saturday (woke up at 3pm..), but finally put on the courage to hike the not-too-hard-to-do peak behind Montreux - the Rocher de Naye. What they say about mountain hiking is absolutely true - the view at the top is always, and absolutely worth the effort to get up there. Though I didn't really try that hard (since I'm really tired this weekend I hiked the first 200 m, and took the train to almost the peak haha), it still was an amazing experience. Rocher de Naye oversees Montreux, Lac Leman, and Lausanne at far. The view from up there is simply spectacular, only describable with pictures and perhaps an analogy to the Sound of Music:



Again without prior knowledge, I went down the Rocher de Naye right in time for the 8pm concert at the Montreux Jazz festival - and the best part is, one of my favorite Chinese pianists
Lang Lang had his world premier performance with Herbie Hancock at the concert! Though I didn't like Jazz that much (still), the fusion of classical pieces by the orchestra and jazz on piano wrapped up the Sunday well for yet another week of work to come the next day.

Fast forwarding to the previous weekend (July 11th), I probably had my best and real hiking experience ever. With Jason Qian and 4 of his friends, we went up the Vallorcine, a mountain by the Fraco-Swiss border at South-East Lac Leman, all the way up the Col de la Terasse (@2648m), and then through the valleys of Le Beut etc, and down [refer to Jason's post for more details of the route/location. My complete ignorance of the French language render me susceptible to not knowing where I am... ;) ]. The experience of actually hiking up more than 1000 m, and then down the same altitude was, although painful and scary at times, one of the best outdoor experiences I've ever had. Again, the view at the top is breathtaking. The best part? We saw snow and actually hike through them!




Plans for this weekend? I'm not sure at all! There's lots of options, including exploring nightlife in Lausanne.... etc. But there's one thing I'm absolutely certain about - Switzerland will absolutely quench my thirst for nature this summer!