"Delight in the wonders of this land"

I finally found my place, and I suppose I found it a while ago, I just didn't realize it at the time. Those of you who know me well know that I have a thing for the ocean. For me, standing at the edge of the world and looking out to an endless sea of blue, anything feels possible. Any worries or fears or nagging questions I may have evaporate into the air, and a comforting calmness comes to take their place.

Unfortunately then, the one thing that Switzerland doesn't have (other than a Trader Joe's) is the ocean. Yes it has mountains and lakes and rivers and valleys that are all beyond beautiful, but the facts stand. No ocean. However, (I'm sure you saw this coming. . .) Switzerland has a treasure of its own: the wine terraces. And they are unlike anything I've seen anywhere else in the world.

I've been to Lavaux three times in the last week. With the sun shining, a view of the mountains and lake below, I couldn't think of any other place I'd rather be--in this country that is. And I've noticed that when I go walking through the vines, looking out at the rippling lake brings back those same feelings that I used to have sitting on the sea wall in Mission Beach. My toes may be buried beneath layers of socks instead of in the cold, wet sand, but that sense of freedom, of calmness, of being home again. . . It's all there just as I remember it.

Espesses, my starting point.

Straight ahead is the town of Rivaz.

The village of St. Saphorin.

Quoted (from the little signs posted along the paths through the vines):

Heureux Dezaley, dit le poète, qui a trois soleils pour mûrir ses raisins!

• Le soleil d'en-haut, ardent et généreux;
• Le soleil d'en-bas, réfléchi par le miroir du lac;
• Le soleil des vieux murs de pierre qui restituent pendant la nuit la chaleur accumulée durant le jour.

(Translation)

In the words of the poet, fortunate Dezaley (type of wine) has the triple sun to rippen his grapes!

• A sun from above, generous and warm;
• A sun from below, reflected by the mirrored lake;
• A sun retained in the old stone walls that release the warmth throughout the night.

* * *

There's no better place and time

than here and now

to pause and rest a while

to meditate and to ponder.

Delight in the wonders of this land

Marvel at the magic splendor

of vineyards, lake and mountains.

Relish the promise of spring,

of budding love and of nature's bounty.

Speak of lasting friendship

and celebrate life

mirrored in a glass of wine.