We had a wonderfully relaxing Bank Holiday weekend enjoying the Eurovision contest with friends and swimming in the outdoor pools - where we came across newts! Yes, newts in the public swimming pool!
Perhaps I should point out that the little dark 'Wassermolch' we saw was in a natural pool at Geiselweid Freibad in Winterthur. But it was so surprising - and very exciting for the girls - to see diddy newts scuttling about on the bottom of the pool.
I think it must have been the Alpine Newt as it is native to central Europe. The adults grow up to 11cm and are usually dark in colour, often with a marbled pattern. They prefer ponds with vegetated areas which lack fish, which of course would explain the popularity of Geiselweid's natural pool. A blue tinge is often visible, which is what Graham caught sight of when he took the plunge.
It was cold - 16c - so only Daddy bear had the bottle to go for a swim in there, where he dived down to take a closer look, saying they appeared a dark blue colour close up. We jumped about excitedly for a while and laughed at Graham's icy shrieks before we settled for a swim in the much warmer heated outdoor pool nearby (24c)
Switzerland is so full of little surprises like this. I love it.
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