Juan Convers

Last week, with summer weather in full swing, I took the ferry from Ouchy to Évian. Once there, I took a nice walk along the Rives of Évian-les-Bains. Maybe I had always missed it before, but this time I noticed something in the lake—a massive eagle perched on one of those metal platforms near the ferry terminal. The statue is quite realistic.

Curious, I looked it up later and found out the sculpture is called L’Atterrissage (“The Landing”), created by Vanly Tiene. The eagle and its nest together span nearly five meters and weigh around three tonnes. It was installed just after Christmas.

I also learned that this piece now stands where a swan sculpture once floated—until it was destroyed by a storm. It’s really quite a beautiful sight.

A couple of days ago we did our usual day trip from Basel to Bern, but this time we took a really nice walk along the river Aare. We passed by Freibad Marzili and ended up at the Bern Tierpark, enjoying beautiful weather all along the way. We wrapped up the trip with a well-deserved drink before crossing the Kirschfeldenbrücke again. It was the perfect way to unplug from the daily routine!

Earlier this week, on my way back to Lausanne, I took a quick walk by the port in Thonon and stumbled upon an interesting bronze sculpture of a mermaid. I was curious so I took a picture, but I wondered about its story. Soon I discovered on the internet that this piece is called La Sirène, a reproduction of a work by Marguerite Peltzer, a Belgian-born artist who made Thonon her home.

The original sculpture has been available the Town Hall patio since the 1960s, but this new bronze version now stands in the lakefront, bringing Peltzer’s art into public view. I was very lucky to stumble into it!.

The Eurovision Song Contest, created in 1956 in Lugano, Switzerland, is considered Europe's longest-running international music competition. Currently includes over 40 participation nations, celebrating a broad variety of musical styles and cultural expressions.

This year the competition is taking place in Basel for the 69th edition (third time Switzerland is hosting) and the city has transformed itself in Eurovision town!. Certain public spaces like Münsterplatz are adorned with heart-shaped decorations like the one you see above.

Last weekend, we passed by the Rathaus on the tram, where the Turquoise Carpet event was taking place. Once again, for these few weeks, the capital has transformed itself into a hub of cultural celebration for Eurovision.

Bern has become one of our favorite destinations for weekend day trips. The fact that it's only an hour from Basel, with plenty of connections throughout the weekend, makes it incredibly easy to just hop on the next available train without much planning at all.

Our usual routine is to get off at the central train station and walk straight to the BärenPark, passing by several iconic Bernese landmarks like the Zytglogge and the Einsteinhaus, and crossing the Nydeggbrücke bridge over the Aare River. The walk always ends at the Gelateria Eiswerkstatt, tucked inside the old tram depot, where we treat ourselves to some ice cream.

It was right there at the BärenPark where I took the photo you see above—on a day when the weather was perfect and the light couldn’t have been better for capturing the moment.

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