February 2018 – Reflective Saddle

It is supposed to be cold in January but it is not. At least not for folks in the Northern Hemisphere. Well is it wet? Yes sometimes. Does it rain? Yes but more like a drizzle actually by Malaysian standard of rain. Fortunately except for one almost blizzard like day the rest of the month was mild. That means great outdoors and great hikes. My weeks goes like this in January. Monday and Wednesday morning hikes. Friday morning Coffee Morning with English speaking community. The rest of days attending Networking events with the leadership coaching and learning community in Basel, Zurich, Bern and Geneva. Ok I do some shopping and cooking for the family as well. Thats keeping me busy these days. Thankfully still managed to have some cycling done zipping here and there around Basel city.

January brought me places like Zurich, Geneva, Colmar, Bern and Andlau ( Thank you Kevin).

It’s great to be outside on days like these.

Its neither sunset or sunrise, just cloudy winter’s day. A bit confusing at times.

Winter wonderland. Somedays you get to see this but only for a short while as all will be melted away in awhile as temperature rises in the afternoon.

OK picture of me. Enjoying and happy being outside

Quaint Colma. Spent the day exploring Colmar, France. I had a un used ticket that I redeemed as not to waste it, I initially had a bus ticket to Zurich for a meeting. The meeting was cancelled and I could not get a refund. I was able to change the location though so I picked Colmar. What a great decision. I picked the right day too. It was raining and the day that all museums were closed. So the town was devoid of Tourist. Yay !

The real Colmar, France not Colmar Bukit Tinggi ya.

Colmar, France hardly anyone around. My gain.

Basel Museum Night. One night from 7pm to 2am where all museums are open and with one pass that cost Swiss Francs 24 ( Around RM 95) you can visit all the museums in Basel. All 30 plus of them !

My Day out at Geneva. Will be attending an ICF Chapter Meeting in the evening. So might as well be a tourist first.

Lake Leman, one of the biggest lake in Switzerland. What a beautiful day to be out. So warm for winter. More like spring weather.

I eventually took the jacket off as it was too warm.

Wonderful day out for lunch outside. Some crazy folks were swimming in the lake!

You can take ferries across the lake like a bus or tram. No need tickets as I have a free city day pass from the hostel I am staying at.

Now thats what I call a great view to end the day of city exploring. Need to get back to the hostel to freshen up and get ready for the meeting later in the evening.

Some days its foggy and wet but we still hike

Look what I spotted! A Malaysian flag flying proud by the river. Next to an Indonesian flag as well.

Dear friends, sorry for the silence. I am on the road ( out of Malaysia) but this time not cycling. Well to be accurate not cycle touring. I have been with my family in Basel, Switzerland since end November 2017. The only cycling I am doing is city commuting which is wonderful too. Basel is a great city for cycling. Organised and very bike friendly. It’s bicycle track flows well and works so it is convenient, safe and a joy to commute via a bicycle.

December went by in a flash and January too. Basel winter was surprisingly mild this year. So far I have only seen 2 to 3 days of snow. Temperatures hover mostly above 0C and somedays can be as high as 15C.

Most of my days are spent doing some house chores like shopping, a bit of coaching related project work, attending social meetings and networking and also lots of hiking in the forest nearby.

Nothing incredibly adventurous but I am enjoying it. Here are a collection of photos to share my experience so far. Enjoy.

My first hike after arriving in Basel.

A rare wintery vista on the hike

I make frequent shopping runs to Germany on my commuter bike. Love the scenic forest route.

Christmas is soon

Wonderful sun in the winter across the vineyards around Aesch

This is ready for a stomp

The Monday Hiking group from Basel

The skinny tires are not really suitable for this kind of weather but I just had to try it.

Winter Wunderland. It was a nice day out

Seems like a lot of snow and very cold. If you walk fast enough, it would be OK.

Vitra Museum Cafe. Time for coffee after the hike.

Merry Christmas to all

Winter is not the time to stay indoors. Not especially with walks like this.

Happy New Year from all of us in Basel.