The time in Switzerland and our little home leave is progressing. Since we are somewhat regionally bound - Gerd works locally in the office - we are circling in and around Biel.

On the long weekends, we go to the Jura, the Seeland or the Ämmitau. Next week we'll head for Gruyères. Most people only know it for its cheese (Gruyère or Gruyères). We know the region more for its natural beauty.

Around Biel, in the Seeland and in the Emmental we have found beautiful places. The days are hot, so we look for shady places, the nights cool down much better in the forest and by the rivers than in the city: so out we go.

In the meantime, it's quite sweet: I give Gerd my parking space and he comes to me by bus or postbus after work. Home, so to speak. Whereas home is very mobile and constantly changes location.

No matter where we stand, we get a super friendly welcome. People ask why we are standing here (most campers with a Bernese number are probably further away during the summer holidays!) and when they learn that we live in Felix all year round, they beam: "Oh, we should have done that earlier". Or, "How nice that a housecleaning only takes an hour!" It is especially nice that they introduce themselves when they see us for the second time in the same place. "I'm René, I always feed the swans here." Or: "I'm Brigitt, I take care of the cats on the camp property!"

By now we also know the names of the dogs (and also their preferences and idiosyncrasies), we know that the pair of swans did not hatch any eggs this year and that the bird photographers are always waiting around 6 or 7 a.m. with huge telephoto lenses for the most beautiful morning bird flight rounds.

We sleep with the window open (I'd love to sleep with the back door open, but I'm afraid of bears, wolves and spiders), the cool evening wind refreshes us. The croaking of the frogs doesn't let us fall asleep for a long time. The chirping of the birds wakes us up very early again. We observe how the Alte Aare, a renaturalised nature reserve, behaves in rain, fog and sunshine. How and when which birds announce themselves.

My new favourite app (Merlin ID https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/) is used every day, I listen to the chirping and then try to spot the many birds. Gerd is already laughing, he suspects a tender, budding love of ornithology. I'm not so sure, but I realise how nice it is to fall asleep in the forest or by hidden little ponds and lakes and to greet nature through the bedside window in the morning.

Oh yes, Gerd has found his hunting instinct again: hunting the mosquitoes in Felix. However, since I explained to him that karmically he is probably going to mosquito hell - I described to him exactly what the mosquitoes will do to him - it has quietened down. The running around at night with headlamp and catcher's towel has subsided. We have the mosquito bites anyway, so we just leave them with us for a few days. Eventually they disappear by themselves.

All in all, a nice, quiet time here. And we are quite happy to experience Switzerland so close to nature for once.

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Merci for "travelling with us

We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.

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