Lesley Connor

The Swiss Alps are synonymous with winter skiing holidays on some of the premier slopes in Europe.

However in summer the alps come alive with a whole new range of holiday opportunities. The snow capped peaks of the permanent snowline form a picturesque backdrop to the lush green pastues carpeted in alpine wildflowers. The sound of cowbells echo through the valleys below as cattle and goats graze in the fields.

As the snow melts, pristine waterfalls flow into cobalt blue mountain lakes, providing some of the most breathtaking scenery on earth.

A summer holiday in the Swiss Alps offers something for eveyrone from adventure-seekers, to those simply wishing to enjoy the surreal alpine scenery.

We chose Grindelwald, in the Jungfrau region as the base for our week long holiday in the Swiss Alps as part of a month long driving tour.

Here you can enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage landscapes of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau peaks, as you explore over 300 kilometres of marked walking, hiking and mountain paths. High in the alps you will experience an atmosphere of supreme serenity and untold beauty. You will feel like you have entered a magnificent outdoor cathedral, with the snowcapped peaks towering around you, another jaw-dropping panoramic view around every bend in the path

The phrase “hiking in the Swiss Alps” conjures up images of lumberjacks with flannelette shirts and belay ropes scaling the rugged Eiger mountain.

Our hiking tours in the Jungfrau region of the Swiss Alps were more of a pleasant stroll.

We walked along well formed, signposted pathways, through fields of vibrant spring wildflowers, breathing in exhiliratingly crisp alpine air, as the melody of cowbells echoed up from the pastures below.

The jaw-dropping scenery along the way was reminiscent of Julie Andrews in the opening scenes of “The Sound of Music”.

Cosy restaurants appeared out of nowhere, where we could relax and enjoy a meal and refreshments to sustain us on our way.

Last June, Ian and I chose Grindelwald, a picture postcard village nestled in the Bernese Alps, as our base to explore the Jungfrau region of the Swiss Alps.

Traditional wooden chalets celebrated spring with colourful displays of geraniums bursting from flower boxes on every balcony. The village offered a wide choice of accommodation, restaurants and tourist amenities.

The kids have left home, we are officially empty nesters, about to embark on a stage of our life with the freedom of fewer obligations and responsibilities. Many of us however find that this time of life coincides with the need to care for our elderly parents. Ironically, it often becomes a time when the child becomes the parent.

We have all seen the social media “memes” about spending time with our parents before they die. But all too often, it is not death that causes the separation, but illness. Cognitive impairment can cause a separation which brings a long slow goodbye. The time when having a meaningful conversation is no longer possible, but the person you love is physically very much still there.

Dementia and Parkinsons. My father suffers from both. Whilst he is in care, I still maintain an active role in his life, experiencing the internal grief as I witness the slow decline. Every day brings little things that are no more.

A friend was today bemoaning that ”everything was breaking down” – her computer, her fridge, her vacuum cleaner.

All of them under 10 years old and not worth repairing.  In fact the IT Geek at the computer shop looked at her with disbelief at the mere suggestion her five year old laptop was worth repairing. FIVE YEARS OLD!!! Generation Y are the climate change generation.  They invented recycling, power savings and conservationism.

Was Grandma the climate change guru? Yet close examination of our techno-dependent society begs the question as to whether grandma was really the climate change guru?

There is a never ending quest to keep pace with the latest technology in our fast moving modern lives. Have we lost sight of the ecological fundamentals which were passed down from generation to generation?  The basics that Generation Y seem to have forgotten.