Blog posts about Bern (Berne)
“Bern” (or “Berne” in French) is the federal capital city of Switzerland, as well as the canton containing the city.
Sundlauenen to Merligen
Catching the ship from Faulensee to Sundlauenen, hiking through the forest past St. Beatus Caves to Merligen, and then home by paddle steamer. Approaching Sundlauenen by ship St. Beatus Caves, Beatenberg Sundlauenen quarry The funicular from Beatenbucht to Beatenberg Traditional house in Merligen “Blümlisalp” paddle steamer in Faulensee…
Schilthornhütte, Switzerland
A small mountain cabin overlooking the Bluemental valley serves as a restaurant for hikers in the summer and for skiiers in winter. Between seasons, when the restaurant is closed, the spot is a blissfully peaceful point on the mountain, to which only determined walkers come. The Birg mountain station overlooks the scene, and on a summit in the distance, the…
The boy on a pogo stick
Roses wave gently in the breeze, and a wood pigeon coos from a tree, unseen. A cyclist glides silently by and a muffled, childish swear word echoes quietly from a nearby football pitch. Bees buzz, breezes waft, and a boy bounces past on a pogo stick.
The view that isn’t quite there
Somewhere in the hills which push up the wall of rock on the western end of the Bernese Alps, there is a view. A view of rolling hills, green trees, little farm buildings and forested land. Beyond them, the sparkling turquoise-blue water of the Thunersee, with the impossibly white, impossibly high range of mountains which stand guard over the Jungfrau…
A new role at WordPress agency cubetech
After six years with my current employer, the time has come to move into a role which better suits my abilities and which will provide me with new challenges. I'm really excited that I've been asked to join WordPress agency Cubetech in Bern as Head of Development.
Iseltwald am Brienzersee
A spring-like day and an afternoon stroll around a little village on the shore of Lake Brienz. …
Heaven is this
Sitting, cross-legged, a couple of arms’ length from the edge of a two-and-a-half-thousand foot drop to the valley floor, watching clouds drift across the lake into the distance.
The view around the corner at Susten Pass
Finding a magnificent view of a scene I know well, by going up a little road and turning a corner.
The vineyards on Lake Biel
A great spot to photograph the vineyards and sixteenth-century church at Ligerz, on the shores of Lake Biel.
Stunning
There’s a trend these days for people to use the word “stunning”: from tabloid newspapers to t.v. presenters. And their use of the word so often makes everyone else use it. A view of the sea: “stunning”. A fashionable dress: “stunning”. A film star looking average on a red carpet somewhere: “stunning”. I think that use of the word needs a bit more…
Oeschinenalp to Blüemlisalp glacier via Heuberg and Oberbärgli
Hiking along a panoramic path above the lake at Oeschinensee and then over-doing it on a much steeper, rockier path on the way to the Blümlisalphütte.
Photographing the Milky Way
I’m certainly no stranger to long-exposure photography. But during the few years that we’ve lived in a flat with a balcony and an unobstructed view of the night sky, I’ve come to realize that I’d never photographed the Milky Way properly. The first time that I can even remember seeing the Milky Way at all was when we were in…
Chüematte to Gemmenalphorn
Whilst many travel up to the top of the Niederhorn ridge by cable car – one of the most expensive ones by distance in the whole region – there’s a much better alternative for the fitter visitor. There’s a private, tolled road leading up from Waldegg, at Beatenberg, to farm buildings on the mountain, which drivers can use by purchasing a…
Nature.Urban.Lights
It’s always nice to enjoy a time lapse sequence filmed in Swiss locations. Even more so to enjoy one filmed in places across the region I call home – Canton Bern.
Gwatt lake shore, Thun
The shore of Lake Thun at Gwatt is a great place to photograph the sunrise and the sunset.
Oberhofen Castle
A thousand-year-old castle on the lake shore near Thun, with wonderful gardens, terrific views, and a hideously ugly restaurant.
Precise photographic viewpoints at Bern’s Rosengarten
When finding a great view, most photographers will raise their camera and take a picture. By finding the best viewpoint, most photos can be improved.
Someiyoshino in Bern
The Someiyoshino (Japanese cherry trees) on the hillside below Bern's Rosengarten park were given as a gift by Yoshiyuki Urata in 1975, after he visited and was very taken with the city. They bloom in early April and the spectacle only lasts a few days, before the blossom falls. I was lucky enough to get time to photograph them in sunshine this year.