April 2007, Arth Goldau.

(Again, not a HDR. Press F11 to view this photo properly) 

April 2007, Lugano.

Lugano has this distinct Italian character and is therefore quite different from the rest of Switzerland. The place has a very Mediterranean feel to it, which I found very appealing.

April 2007, Pilatus.

Every cliche there is about Switzerland’s famed beauty is true. 

December 2006, Munich.

Flipped 180 degrees from the original. 

December 2006, Munich.

This is the interior of the Asamkirche, a splendid example of late Baroque/Rococo architecture. Every inch of the church’s interior is a visual delight, covered with intricate as well as ornate religious elements. The gold trim is particularly beautiful while the painted ceiling, crucifix and the altar are breath taking. One of the best churches I’ve seen until now. Unfortunately, my photo doesn’t do the grandeur of the church any justice as the light was really really low. This along with a couple of other middling efforts was all I could manage under such conditions.

December 2006, Berlin.

December 2006, Berlin.

December 2006, Berlin.

December 2006, Munich.

December 2006, Salzburg.

This week has perhaps been the most hectic one week since I came here. First, there were all the organizational and technical details of the international scientific conference that some of us grad students organized on Thursday and Friday and on which we had been working on for almost a year, then the data seminar I had to present in the lab on Wednesday, then the poster of my research work I had to design and print in time for the above conference, then gettting my passport renewed in time so that I can get my visa extended before it expires later this month, then the payment and delivery issues with the cameras I bought off ebay, then dealing with my ever expanding mice, etc etc! Somehow, in the end everything went off smoothly and successfully. Especially the conference. Even if I say so myself, everyone, from the invited speakers to the participants, were totally impressed with the quality and professional organization of the conference. We even had a live band for the welcome party whose music was liked by all, the food was delicious, the wine surprisingly good and the Caipirinha’s decent. I guess all the hard work paid off even if I almost broke a finger while crushing ice for the cocktails by hitting it with a wooden mallet! Next year it will be even bigger as apparently a Nobel laureate has agreed to give a talk.

Now, as I relax and unwind, I’m led to believe, after how this week passed off, that there is something called hope after all.