Bookworm Press

It was December 26 and still no snow in the lowlands of Switzerland. So I ventured into the mountains. Friends of mine have an apartment in Arosa, a well-know mountain resort, and invited me to stay with them for a few days between Christmas and New Years. So I was able to escape the gray, wet cold and enjoy snow and sun. What a wonderful experience it was!

Below are my friend Bente, her daughter, Christina, and Amy, Christina’s dog, And there is snow, finally!

Bente and  Christa

Christina and Amy

After a day of sledding, we relax at home in the cozy apartment.

And more snow and sunshine.

And here a few “Stimmungsbilder” (atmospheric pictures) of a winter evening in the mountains.

After a few days of delightful weather and great company, it’s back down to the foggy gray. But my nephew and our new family member, Owen, an Irish Setter puppy, made the return worthwhile!

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Whoever said Facebook friends are not real friends? I’ve met a bunch of wonderful people on Facebook. A few of them are writers, originally from Scotland and England, who live in Switzerland–Linda Huber, Alison Baillie, Louise Mangos, Cass Grafton. When I come here for a visit, we get together, go for walks through the city of Zurich, talk shop (our writing and publishing), enjoy good food, drink mulled wine (Glühwein) in winter and Prosecco all year round. And, most of all, have a lot of fun!

Here we are in front of the Christmas tree, decorated with the beautiful Swarovski crystals, in the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station) in Zurich.

A walk along the Limmat-River

Below: Lunch and Prosecco in the venerable Commihalle in Zurich

A little Christmas shopping

Below is one of the old buildings of the city I love so much.

Wishing you all Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, wherever you are and however you celebrate this season.

My stay in Switzerland began with a trip to Seelisberg, a small town in the mountains of Central Switzerland, near the “Cradle of the Country”, the Rütliwiese. Here in 1291 people from three surrounding counties swore what’s called the “Rütli Oath” which in time led to the foundation of the country. When I grew up every child would take a least one trip, usually on a school outing, to this place. It is still a popular tourist spot and each year on August 1, Swiss Independence Day, celebrations take place.

Below the view from our hotel in Seelisberg. In the distance two mountains, the small and the large Mieten.

Here my family and I celebrated my two great-nieces’ thirtieth birthdays.

What’s missing yet at this time of the year is snow. Instead it’s raining and much too warm. I’m longing for the first white coating, mainly because it looks so pretty during the holiday season. Here is one from a former time I spent Christmas and New Years here. Perhaps, we’ll get some of it later.

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I had the pleasure and honor to meet the celebrated Canadian author, Louise Penny, my favorite mystery writer and one of my favorite authors in general. She gave a talk at the Theater of the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The books in her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series are fascinating, profound, psychologically astute, and full of quirky characters, who all live in the beautiful imaginary small town of Three Pines in the Quebec area in Canada. Louise Penny entertained us with very funny anecdotes about the beginnings of her career as an author.

Of course, I got her latest book in the series and, now I have to apologize for the short post, because I’m busy reading A BETTER MAN. Like all the others before, it promises to be another fantastic book.

Here are a few photos of the theater at the Ace Hotel, a marvelous venue in downtown Los Angeles!

Back to reading …

Our next target during our exploration was the area around Temecula and its smaller cousin, Murrieta. In spite of all my research into wine (for my trilogy “The Wine Lover’s Daughter”), I missed an important wine area around Temecula, south of Los Angeles and about one hour and a half north of San Diego. Sorry Temecula, I apologize for my ignorance. This town doesn’t only have excellent wineries but a fun and scenic downtown area. Although Temecula is more well-known than Murrieta, its cousin is catching up fast. As a safe and still affordable place to live, it’s gaining in popularity.

Here are a few pictures of scenic Temecula.

Love these old houses and look at that garden below!

It was a warm and sunny day and after our walk through the old town of Temecula, we relaxed in a cool coffee shop that served the best cafe latte I’ve ever had–a so-called Mayan latte, spiced with a shot of chili powder. Excellent!

Below, a collage of beautiful handmade booklets with poems

And here finally, the vineyards of Temecula and Murrieta. Friends of ours drove us around and invited us to this marvelous winery. I’ll definitely have to do some research here for my next “vineyard novel.”

Cheers!

My friend Diane from Cincinnati, who used to live in Los Angeles and wants to move back into warmer climates, came for a visit. We explored properties in California and enjoyed our time together. Here we spent a relaxing day at the Getty Center with its wonderful museums and beautiful gardens.

The Book of Beasts was a marvelous exhibition. It shows how animals, both real and fantasy creatures, were used as religious and artistic symbols in the Medieval World.

Cheers!

And onward to the next adventure.

Enjoy her blog!

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Here is another fun post. Have a good laugh!

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