Montrose Basin

While we were in Scotland we had a day trip to Montrose, first we visited the Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre. Afterwards we stopped for lunch and then proceeded towards the Montrose Basin which is a nature reserve and home to over 50,000 migratory birds. These include pink footed geese, Artic terns and Red Knot to name but a few. You cannot actually walk around the area but the views were sensational!

I am not sure but these birds may be the pink footed geese. There were so many of them quite amazing really!

There is the Scottish Wildlife Trust!s Visitor Centre which we did not visit but seeing some of the reviews the place gets it sounds very much worth a visit. We did visit another bird centre near to Loch Leven called Vane Farm, that was also quite interesting. Alessio got to look through binoculars, read information about the visiting birds and there is cafe too.

Turnip Parade Richterswil 2014

The famous annual Räbeliechtli (turnip) parade took place in Richterswil on 8th November and it was as usual very busy. This was only the second time I have seen it and it was a mild november day too.

The effort put into making these floats is amazing, just the thought of having to carve hundreds and hundreds of turnips is enough to make to run the other way. And it is not just the floats and the school kids all the buildings, shops and flats have to be decorated too!

The end result is quite stunning once the lights are put out and it is completely dark, it is well worth coming to see this at least one time.

And of course there was lots of stalls of food and drink to keep the hunger fangs away, I had my first Glühwein of the season. Still got lots of time for more, maybe even today in Zurich!

Photo of the Week - Pink Sky

Photo of the week was taken on the 1st November, in Horgen from a roof terrace! Lovely pink sky and I managed to the get half a moon too on some other photos!

Holmenkollen Ski Jump Oslo

Our trip to Oslo, Norway in April was a busy 5 days and we managed to see lots of the city and the surrounding area. We took a train up to the Holmenkollen ski jump which opened in March 2010 it towers above Oslo and it boasts the name of the world´s most modern ski jump and

It also houses the ski museum which we did not visit, it is quite impressive to see it and imagine someone jumping off it! Of course I think it would be much more impressive covered in snow, completely busy and some ski jumping going on!

Anyway it also offers some amazing views of the Oslo fjords and while we were up there, we stopped at the Frognerseteren restaurant and had some wine. We were still able to sit outside albeit with our coats still on. Alessio amused himself playing on the grass.

Apple Juice Making

Here it comes!

Into the funnel and glass jar!

Freshly made apple juice

Shop to buy fruit and other stuff too!

One of the trips we did with the kids from work was to visit a fruit farm and see how apple juice is made, also to make some for ourselves. In Wädenswil we took the bus up and got some lovely views of the lake, once at our stop it was a short walk to the farm.

The farmer showed the kids which fruits they grow such as apples, grapes, plums and kiwi to name a few. Then it was time to get ready for the first part of the apple juice making. In field the kids had to pick up lots of apples from the ground and to make sure they were not bruised or just did not look nice! Then they put the apples in a crate, once the farmer said they had collected enough if was over the road and back the farm area again.

Then the kids took turns putting the apples into the machine and turning the wheel so the apples got squashed. Once all the apples had been used they were then pressed with a heavy block of stone and we could see the apple juice coming out.

It was amazing to see how much apple juice the kids made, then they each got a turn to fill up small bottles to take home. And of course to taste the apple juice after all their hard work! And yes it did taste very nice and they all loved it.

I have been on many trips with the kids and they usually always love to go somewhere and have fun. This was an especially good one as they got to see how apple juice is made and the many different processes it has to go through before they get the end product at home.

Photo of the Week - Red Door!

In Scotland during the autumn holidays I was waiting for my mum to come out of church one Sunday and next to it was this door. Not sure if it is a garage or something else, but I liked it!

Riverside Museum Glasgow

Glasgow Tower in the distance

While we were in Scotland in October we spent the day in Glasgow. We visited the Riverside Museum which is situated on the river Clyde. The museum is full of different types of transport from trams, trains, cars, bikes and many others. It also informs the public a bit about Glasgow from the past. It has a cobbled street, some of the old shops which you can go in and a screen that gives information about the place.

Alessio enjoyed himself a lot, outside there is a tall ship which you can go on and see below the deck. There are also great views, you can see the Glasgow tower which we then went on to visit afterwards. The museum last year (2013) had the accolade of being the winner of the European Museum of the year. Also which can be important when visiting a museum it is free to get in, as some museum charge quite a lot for an entrance fee!

The actual building was designed by Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-British architect, she has also designed the BMW Building in Leipzig, the Guangzhou Opera House and Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi among the many.