While walking back to our hotel after a long day at Luzern, I noticed the sun was casting some great shadows and was a beautiful colour. The combination prompted me to snap quite a few shots in this light.

Just a few minutes earlier I had been swilling a large beer from a can while walking down the street — perfectly normal. We also passed a large group of homeless beggars outside a church or town hall.

This was our last day in Bern and pretty much the last photo I took in the country (other than some documentary shots). I like the colours, lines and shapes and the way they all intersect with one another.

Bern’s old town is a charming place. This is just across the river from the Bear Pit, within the original town.

I’m really glad we decided against going to Zurich and instead opted for Bern when making our Swiss travel arrangements. Unfortunately we missed out on seeing the Alps up close (our train traveled near them, but not too near).

Starting in Vienna I really picked up on using foreground objects to try and block out undesirables. You can just see the car here, though I could probably block it out in some post-processing should I desire.

I think the flowers are actually a little too out-of-focus here, but because of the way the colours are layered you can still tell what you are looking at.

Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), one of the two covered bridges in Luzern, Switzerland. Behind is the large Wasserturm (Water Tower).

This is a ten-image stitch. I must have taken dozens of photos of this bridge and a similar (but older one, which is “behind” you from where this was taken) bridge but you can hardly blame me when it’s such a picturesque view. In fact, it’s supposely the most photographed monument in the country, which is hard to believe given some of the other things around Luzern, let alone Switzerland.

What I like about this bridge is that even though the style old the style of construction (see the concrete pillars) is new. This is because of a fire which destroyed quite a bit of the bridge. All the builders cared about was making it feel like the old bridge; they don’t care if it’s exactly the same — it’s the feel that’s important.

Luzern has such a nice feel about it too; it feels like the air is clean (the water most certainly is), the place feels small even though it’s large enough to be considered a city and there is a definite country feel about the place even though it’s definitely quite urban.

And that doesn’t even take into consideration the huge lake and massive mountains surrounding the place.

Watching a plane fly overheard while standing on a bridge over the river Aar, Bern.

This is one of those shots that you think “got it!” just as you press the shutter. While we were crossing a bridge over the Aar river, I heard the plane, looked up and managed to compose exactly the shot I wanted with just enough time for the plane to be pretty much where I wanted it. It’s great when a plan comes together.

I didn’t think I’d process this shot in this way, but I really like the effect. The lamp has an old style to it, and the bricks are a bit crusty; the colouring I think works nicely too. The plane could be (but isn’t) a DC-8 or plane from a similar time.

Yet another building I’m unable to locate or identify. It’s in Bern, somewhere.

Whenever I am unable to identify a building, I can usually look at the photos just before and after to jog my memory into telling where and when I took the shot.

With this shot, there was a long period of time where we were walking down a hill, to where we were almost back at our hotel. It might have been when we had a rest on a bus which went to a far off destination and back again, but I can’t even find where that was.

Quite frustrating really — and I wonder why I only took one shot, and why I took so few before or after.

A small bird sits atop a fountain opposite the Bern Münster, Bern.

I was able to get a few shots of this cute little bird before he flew away. This is probably my favourite even though it wasn’t the closest. I liked the rest of the scene as well, and it reminds me of the tranquility and small-town charm of this part of Bern.

View of Bern’s old town from a bridge over the river Aar.

Initially we had planned to visit Zurich for the few days we were to be in Switzerland, but after reading countless posts by past visitors exclaiming how boring Zurich was, we gave it a miss totally.

And lucky we did, because Bern is such a nice place. The water really is that colour, in fact I toned it down a little. Even though it’s quite a big city, the old town still feels small and quaint.

The old town (and most of Bern) is on the left of frame. To the right is a large, steep hill and at the top is a nice garden and fantastic view. Also on the right is the famous bear pit; it’s just over the bridge from which this photo was taken.