The Enzian belongs to the gentian family (Gentianaceae). This one shows the Clusius-Enzian which can be found up to 2800 m in limestone areas. The deep blue makes it a special flower. It is protected by law, but can be found in many places in the Alps.
Enzian
I have been busy with too many things, so I apologize: no techy blog post this weekend. But what I can share is a unique wonder of nature encountered during a bike trip today at the end of the Klöntalsee:
Trees growing on a tree (click to enlarge)
I love to commute by train, and I use three different Swiss train companies for my daily work commute to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in Horw, near Lucerne. Returning this evening, I enjoyed a beautiful view to the snow-covered mountains from my home destination. I’m lucky, and this is yet another reason why I love my commute:
View from Train Station
Amazing to see what a few sunny and warm days can do in nature:
Spring Awakening
Happy Springing 🙂
It has been a sleepless night with Föhn wind up to 100 km/h. The compensation for this is a mild temperature of 15°C. Plus that beautiful sunrise this early morning:
Föhn Sunrise
Happy Föhnig 🙂
During cold winters the Lake Lauerz gets covered with ice. And if it is cold enough for a few weeks it gets enough ice to have it completely covered more than 15 cm of ice. That’s the time of the year to enjoy a walk or to play ice hokey:
Schwanau mit Mythen
Cold and humid air are forming beautiful sculptures these days. The image shows the leaves of a Japanese Umbrella-Pine (Sciadopitys):
Frosted Sciadopitys Leaves
Happy Frosting 🙂
A benefit getting up early on a Sunday morning is the chance to watch a beautiful sunrise:
Red Morning
Happy Sunday 🙂
‘Inversion‘ is an interesting meteorology phenomena: normally the air temperature gets colder the higher you get up in the mountains. With the inversion situation it is the other way round: cold air in the lower areas building a sea of fog, and warmer air and sunshine up above. Perfect for a hike, so sharing pictures from last weekend.
The first one is from the Haggenegg in Canton Schwyz, with the view to the South:
Inversion, view from Haggenegg (click to enlarge)
The Carlina Aucalis (we call it locally the “Silberdistel”) is native to alpine regions in central Europe. When all the other flowers disappear in fall time, the Silberdistel is worth a stop while hiking in higher alpine regions.
White Silberdistel
MCU on Eclipse 