We arrived in Arosa a little after lunch. Arosa was the perfect place to wind down our trip to Switzerland. It is an alpine resort town that is a little off the beaten path so it felt like the place where the Swiss go to vacation instead of some of the other destinations that seemed like where everyone else went to vacation. Central to the town is a nice lake where I got some nice pics of summering waterfowl. It is not clear which of them were there on their own volition versus ones that maybe were brought in.
Red-crested Pochard
Eurasian Wigeon
The view from the town
Black Redstart
Eurasian Red Squirrel - dubiously named as I saw nothing red about it.
Carrion Crow
Eurasian Collared Dove - I was looking hard for European Turtle Doves but no luck.
European Crested Tit
Coal Tit
Northern Nutcracker! A major target for me.
Eurasian Coot
There was still plenty of light left in the day so we decided to take a hike. It ended up being my favorite hike of the trip. It was late afternoon, almost dinner time, so there was no-one else up there and we had the place to ourselves.
That's Melissa lagging behind me for once, I think because she was on the phone with her parents.
Water Pipit
Chamois! This guy was quite far off on the hillside, but the light was excellent so even with heavy cropping the photos were good.
The evening light made this place magical.
Alpine Salamander
Another Water Pipit
Eurasian Linnet
Female Linnets
Common Redpoll
Young Northern Wheatear
Somehow we made it back in time for a late dinner at the Velsana Hotel which was excellent. I had a Beet Gazpacho to start and Zander for the main course. Zander is the lake perch which is the default fish in alpine spots. It was delicious. We also had Campari Orange cocktails. The only thing that could have made the day better is if Argentina had won the World Cup. It was kind of an anticlimactic game.
We spent a full day in Arosa the next day, so I will have a post dedicated to that.
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