Make your month about things you love

Welcome back to another episode of A'lil Hoohaa's monthly photo blogging challenge.

July's theme is "Make your month about things you love" - I can definitely work with that!

Let’s start with the ducks, and yes, they might become a bit of a theme today. 😉

I had heard that, during summer, a jewellery store decorated the fountain in front of their shop in Bremgarten’s Old Town with yellow rubber ducks. Of course, I had to see this for myself.

On a Monday off, I made my way there (Bremgarten’s Old Town actually deserves a post of its own), but I was disappointed: the fountain was empty.

I soon found out why. Apparently, some people thought they were entitled to take a little Duckie home as a souvenir. So the shop owners came up with a new solution: outside of opening hours, the ducks now move safely inside the store. And since many smaller towns have businesses closed on Sundays and Mondays, I was simply there at the wrong time.

On our wedding anniversary, we came back. I had cleverly chosen a restaurant nearby, and since my husband learned early on that “happy wife, happy life” is a pretty good motto, we took a little stroll to the fountain.

And there they were!

Needless to say, the ducks made me very happy.

As friendly and quirky as the rubber ducks are, I also appreciate the real thing. These lady ducks had me entertained for quite a while. I have no idea what they were discussing, but it certainly seemed important.

They live in an artificially created pond-like area in the middle of a commercial campus. Not exactly the countryside, but apparently good enough for ducks as well as yellow-legged gulls.

Speaking of water: acquaintances of ours own a motorboat on Lake Zurich, and they invited us for a ride. It was one of those wonderfully hot summer days, but thanks to the breeze on the lake, we stayed pleasantly cool.

I had a very specific destination in mind: a building that can only really be seen from the lake, not from the street. It’s not the pretty wooden hut in front, it’s the larger building with the Swiss flag in the background. This is where Tina Turner lived.

Different day, different lake, different time of day and completely different weather conditions. July was mostly hot and sunny, with barely any thunderstorms, but this was the moment just before one arrived.

The lake, usually a beautiful blue, suddenly turned turqoise and dramatic. The atmosphere was almost eerie, but also fascinating. And while nature was preparing its show, someone was still out there enjoying their kite.

Bonus picture: This is a high school classmate of mine. She lives in Spain and usually comes back for our youth festival. As you can imagine, when you live abroad and visit your hometown, everyone wants a piece of your time, which is why I especially appreciate her making room for an hour with me.

These were my six about things I love, I hope you do, too!

As always, don’t forget to check out the posts from my fellow bloggers participating in this month’s challenge!