The Snow (2):The Spring Snow at ‘Top of Euro’

My second snow experience is on my trip to ‘Top of Europe’ in Switzerland. 

The unforgettable, wonderful GoldenPass rail journey (expensive as well, because it is private-owned) took me to Jungfraujoch-the famous Swiss holiday resort in the heart of the Alps.

 
 

Standing there, the temperature was -34 degrees Celsius! Yet, it was not so frozen in reality.

And when I visited there in March, which means the best skiing season in a year, the weather gradually warmed up and the snowfall can be very plentiful. Therefore, not only I saw people wearing sunglasses and skiing on the groomed runs and the off-piste areas (for those more courageous!), but ice sculptures inside a cave and chairlifts on the blue sky. 

The snowy caps of the Alps peak is one of the most otherworldly things I have ever seen.

I enjoyed roaming around different spots by the train for two days. There is no strong wind at all but peaceful snowflakes and beautiful scenery telling their own stories in the great mountains.

The Snow (1): The Winter Snow at York (UK)

My first snow experience is at the University of York, U.K. many years ago, while I was a student there. It was only about one-week long snowing days.

The snow falling to trees, tops of the campus buildings is quiet and friendly without dreadful winds.

And the falling amount is much enough to cover animal tracks on the grounds.

Some students quickly pile a snowman on the campus, so I could see them every day when I passed through the campus building during snowing week.

Happy New Year with Wonderful Radishes

One of the meaningful ways of understanding our nature environment is taking a field trip. And this winter, my friend Fennie offers me a great opportunity to have one.

I still remember that there is a very funny family story about “pulling out a huge carrot (or radish?)” in the elementary textbook. And I never have a real experience for that. Therefore, when I know that I can visit a big radish farm, which located in Tainan countryside, I can’t wait to see those radishes with green leaves and get a real vegetable-touch. In addition, it is wonderful that all the radishes are only used to be nature fertilizer for this land, not for sale. In other words, maybe they are not 100% “organic” which needs to fit certain criteria, but they are totally non-pesticide vegetables.

Compared to carrots, radishes are seldom mentioned in terms of nutrition. And I don’t plan to discuss this issue here, although, I do believe both are valuable if we properly cook them. In fact, my love and passion for radishes originally come from おでん (oden), the boiled style truly bring its special favor out, making the radish have a warm and soft mouth-feel. After many years, when I first time traveled to South Korea, I am surprised at the allure of the radish pickles! Crisp, fresh, and a bit sweet, it is very suitable to have a bite before a meal or to eat with fried chicken, which is the favorite way of many Koreans.

Another good reason to enjoy the radish is that it is an image of “Good Luck”, as its Taiwanese name shows. So, on 2 January 2016, the beginning of this year, I spent a happy afternoon in a green farm, pulling out lots of lovely radishes (good luck) from the land, picking and taking them home with my own hands. I can feel the power of nature, that is, the more understanding about the nature environment around us, the more appreciation of this land we will have.