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Switzerland – the second destination of my European tour. Switzerland is a country full of very clean nature and picturesque scenes. (Today, I want to share not the well-known familiar places but scenes that captured my attention and my camera.)

A lake in Luzern

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It was here that I saw a swan for real for the first time in my life. People say that swans may appear elegant on the surface but are actually paddling like mad underneath the water to stay afloat but my personal investigation (the water was so clean and clear that I could see the inside) revealed that the swan was still elegant even when swimming (although, this is strictly a personal view).

A swan floating elegantly against the sunset.

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Two swans coincidently captured in my lens right before sunset.

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The lake that I happened to discover walking around the camp site one evening was such a beautiful and quiet place that was frequented by many couples and families. The residents here surrounded by such beautiful nature appeared so relaxed and peaceful just like the nature itself. Maybe out of jealousy or out of the desire to learn the composure, I sat near the lake watching the lake, doing nothing and thinking of nothing for hours.

A lake at Interlaken

A beautiful lake caught my attention on my way back to the campground after doing some grocery shopping at the center of Interlaken that I was forced to stop by. So I pulled off the car to the side, sat down near the lake and ate the baguette sandwich I had prepared for lunch. The lunch I had overlooking a spectacular scene was better than any of the expensive fancy restaurants. As with the saying “Hunger is the best sauce”, a beautiful scenery is better than any appetizer.

An emerald colored crystal clear lake

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Next to me, a family was spending time at the lake. The father and son were enjoying fishing, the daughter was riding the bike and the mother was resting inside the car. Our group enjoyed our lunch next to them.

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The water was shallow here that we could take off our shoes and wet our feet in the water. Although it was summer, the water was very cold. The clean and transparent water seemed to wash away the worries in my mind.

Near the lake

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With the lake in front of me, a different breath-taking scenery awaited me when I turned my back. Just an ordinary road but it couldn’t be more beautiful! Photos that I took were all so awesome that it misled me to thinking that I was a born photographer.

Although I’ve only seen two lakes in Luzern and Interlaken, I hastily made the following conclusion (And again, a strictly personal view. J): There are so many beautiful lakes in Switzerland!

Near a campground at Interlaken

While walking around the camp site I stayed at Interlaken, I was forced to ceaselessly press the camera shutter ““ in a desperate attempt to capture more scenes.

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The camp site where I stayed is located to the North of Interlaken city center and the road that led up to the camp site was amazing. Pretty wooden buildings in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape”¦. Walking around the campground, I promised myself that I will remember these nice buildings and build one myself for my loving family, someday.

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Picturesque scenes in Wengen

I hopped on a train at a train station near the Interlaken camp site and headed towards Wengen, a village located higher up in the mountains. Wengen was a really small village and the small and cute hotels lined up along the road hinted that tourism was the main business of this village. The higher I went up, the dizzier and out-of-breath I felt, but the landscape was truly beautiful. ;->

Wengen station. Photo taken right after getting out of the train.

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A road that leads to the village from the Wengen station.

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Maybe because it was quite early before lunchtime, the village was quiet with not many people walking around. Small, quiet and calm”¦ Wengen was a perfect place to enjoy the beautiful landscape and contemplate.

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The prairie in Wengen that is truly picturesque! “˜A picturesque scene’ is a phrase you often hear but really seeing it with your own eyes… was kind of.. surreal”¦ Looking at the prairie, I was reminded of ““ out of the blue, really ““ the lyrics of an old Korean song that goes like this. “How I wish to build a picturesque house on the green prairie and spend the rest of my life with my darling”¦” Really, the lyrics literally jumped to my mind the instant I saw the prairie.

The villages in Switzerland, which ever you are at, all make you want to live there someday.

A cat in Gruyere, a little village in Switzerland

Switzerland is famous for chocolates. (And so is Belgium.. J) Since I am in Switzerland, I thought that I should visit at least one chocolate factory and that is how I got to visit the little village called Gruyere.

And the beautiful scenes I encountered here”¦ Here again, as I mentioned at the beginning of this posting, I want to share sceneries that I personally find enchanting, rather than the typical famous destinations.

A cute cat I met in Gruyere.

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The cat didn’t run away even when people approached it. Instead, it seemed to enjoy the attention. One thing I noticed in Switzerland is that many people have dogs as pets, but just as many with cats as well. Furthermore, the cats I met in Switzerland all happened to be friendly, approached people first and seemed to be very comfortable being with people. I got the feeling that these cats had trust in people. For many, pets are no longer simple pets, but a companion animal or a family. Maybe because they have been treated and cared for as a member of a family, the cats in Switzerland seemed to trust people and also consider people as part of their family.

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All photos, above, have been shot with the Samsung WB1000(TL320), which has been provided by Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd.

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