The 15th started like the 14th with me birding out back of the hotel in Kriens (suburb of Lucerne).
Marsh Tit - tits can be tricky, but this one was calling.
Common Chaffinch
It was also weird to see Common Mergansers that were completely unafraid of people.
Red-crested Pochards were abundant but most of the males were in a raft in the marina which made them hard to photograph.
After the public park we headed into the city to walk around. While Melissa did some window shopping I went back to the riverfront with the intent of getting some photos of the Alpine Swifts.
Lo and behold, a nice male Red-crested Pochard was cooperating for me right in the city.
Alpine Swift - the locals probably thought I was crazy with my long lens pointed at the sky, whirling around while trying to lock onto the swifts. Alpine Swifts are huge compared to the Common Swift.
Red Kite in the center of Lucerne. Note the deeply notched tail.
Black Kites too! Note the squared off tail.
Black Kite - really more brown than black, but certainly not red.
Alpine Swift for the win!
Just another castle on a hill overlooking Lucerne.
For lunch we followed a local's advice from the hotel and ate at a wonderful pizza place. Melissa usually will not eat pizza because of the gluten in the crust and the cheese too, both of which are not good for her autoimmune disease. However, when we travel abroad she is more adventuresome and we have found that dough in Europe gives her far less problems because the long "fermentation" time which is akin to what she does with her sourdough baking. This allows the yeast to eat all the gluten leaving delicious bread that is more healthy. I suspect the same is true of the cheese which is not processed in the same way in Europe.
The drive to Kandersteg was uneventful. I actually stopped on the way in a town to look for Reed Warblers but by the time we figured out where the marsh was and parked the car, it started to pour and we had to pull the plug. I think the drive to Kandersteg was only 2 hours and it was beautiful so it went fast. We passed Interlaken on the way which is a small picturesque city between two impossibly colored lakes, hence the name Interlaken. Kandersteg itself if a really nice little town that is used as a jumping off point for some of the famous hiking trails in the area.
This was the view from our hotel balcony! Amazing.
It was raining off and on so we didn't go for a long hike that afternoon but I did explore some of the little trails in town.
Crested Tit
Western Bonelli's Warbler - The Phylloscopus warblers are tricky but this one has unmarked lores which the Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff does not have.
The Firecrest is very similar to our Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Melissa took this pic of me looking for birds.
Common Magpie
We made the mistake of going out quite late for dinner and most places were closed but we found a delicious restaurant and I just had to try the Raclette. Raclette is an alpine cheese that is traditionally melted and sometimes charred so it has a crust. The word literally means to scrape which is the way they usually get the charred bits off the melted block.
Although it was late, it was still light out when we turned in for the night so we could be fresh for our big hike the next day. Kandersteg is the town where you take the Gondola to get to the famous Oeschinensee loop hike which is probably the most photographed and famous hike in Switzerland if not Europe.
Stay tuned for pictures from that hike and more.
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