Monday was another 'Get to know Waldenburg' day. This time the plan was to walk up to Richtiflue, along the crest over to Gagsen and then back down to Waldenburg.
I started out through the town. I was dressed, as in the picture to the right, in my now usual camouflage outfit, but without my face covered (this was done because it was chilly and very windy when I took the shot). Obviously this outfit isn't worn out of any form of fashion statement, and although I don't really have to dress like this when I'm out exploring, it is practical in the forest. The material is very resilient and I never know what I might come across, so I prefer to be prepared.
But it may not be the best outfit for walking through a town! Especially with a tripod strapped to the rucksack that could be and has been mistaken for a gun. Luckily I live in Switzerland where it's not that uncommon to see the occasional person with a gun on their way to the obligatory military shooting practise. So no one has ran screaming in the other direction, although I have had one person cross to the other side of the road and a couple of strange looks, most people stop to chat. I now know more people / neighbours in Waldenburg than I do after ten years of living in the same place in Basel.
I may have to stop carrying the tripod like a shotgun though!
The walk up to Richtiflue is steep but not that bad. The route that I took took me up a bit higher then Richtiflue, and I had to back down to the view point. There is another route up the other side which is less steep.
This shot is a merge of several images to form the panorama.
After taking in the view for a while, watching the storm clouds getting closer and the rain falling in the distance, there was a sudden break in the clouds. It hit an outcrop of rocks and the air started to warm up around me, yet I could still see the rain falling in the distance!
The sun brought the outcrop to life, a butterfly landed right next to me and lizards started darting around in and out of the cracks.
I got distracted from my planned route by the lizards, I could watch them for hours. There were also a lot of smaller young ones running around.
With the next shot, the colours fit so well to the time of year; the orange of the freshly fallen leaves bringing out the oranges and browns of the lizard. If you look very closely at the eye, you can see the reflection of me taking the picture.
One of the smaller young lizards
One last one of the adults.
I took this one from the view point on Richtiflue looking over to the castle ruins. I was going for a bit of an arty shot. I'm not sure that I pulled it off though!
The final two were taken on the walk down from Gagsen. The final one is my favourite of the three black and white ones.
Still more to discover in Waldenburg. Expect to see more soon.