The Last Days of Summer

Towards the end of summer 2011, a season many will recall as rainy and changeable, a persistent high-pressure system delivered the last warm late summer days, stretching into October. As this period of good weather drew to a close, I spent what were likely the last two summer days on a business trip to Italy. After departing from Stuttgart, I witnessed a cloudless sunrise over the Alps and the Swabian Jura.

The short flight took us over Lake Lucerne, the Gotthard Pass, the Maggia Valley, and Lake Maggiore, offering magnificent views of many famous peaks, from Bernina and the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc. I savoured these few uplifting moments and envied those who had been able to make use of the stable weather for high-altitude tours over the past two weeks. At least I had the opportunity to round off the day after work in a Mediterranean setting on Mantua’s medieval Piazza delle Erbe.

The next day, I returned along the same route. Over the Alps, the cumulus clouds heralded the change in weather brought by the approaching cold front, which would lead to the first snowfall of autumn. As a tip for flights on a Fokker 100 – always take a seat in the first seven rows; since the engines are located at the very back, it’s significantly quieter at the front.