A spooky haunted mansion?

​Nope, It's the opera house in Zürich, Switzerland. From the nighttime lighting in this photo, it does look like it might be a good place for a Halloween costume party but the evening I spent there was anything but spooky. It was one of the highlights of my recent trip to Switzerland. We saw the Italian opera 'Nabucco' and yes (fortunately!) there were English and German subtitles on a screen above the stage. We had a pretty good idea of what was going on because before going we watched a hilarious video that used little plastic toy people to give a synopsis of the story.  
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​When I say we, I'm referring to me and my friend Bea who I used to work with here in Connecticut. She has since moved back to her home country. This was the day I arrived after not seeing each other in person for 6 years. 

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 It's such an incredibly beautiful country I wanted to share a few photos with you.
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​A  30-minute ride on the world's steepest cogwheel train brought us to see this view from Mount Pilatus.
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​Older villages like Carona have some of the prettiest windows and doors. 
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​I bet palm trees are not the first thing you think of when you think of Switzerland. I was surprised too but Lugano and the southern village of Morcote reminded me very much of southern California.
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​The medieval architecture in the city of Lucerne was stunning.
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Autumn color along the Rhein River, floating towards Stein am Rhein, Switzerland.

​"It was a beautiful, bright autumn day, 
with air like cider and
a sky so blue you could drown in it."

~ Diana Gabaldon, 'Outlander'