Hi everyone! I’m back again, as I mentioned in my last post, I spent some time in Switzerland. I’m currently riding a train from Switzerland to Paris, France. The trip is about 3 hours so I wanted to use this time to tell you about the week I’ve had in Switzerland!
On Friday, jet lag got the best of me so I slept until almost lunchtime. After I grabbed a quick bite to eat, Flavio and Andrea took me into Basel, a city in Switzerland close to their village. There we explored a local cathedral by climbing up one of the bell towers and looking out over the city.
We then took a ferry across the Rhine River. The ferries are so neat because the boat is connected to a wire that goes across the river. The driver of the ferry must steer the boat with the river’s currents to go across the river, back and forth, from dock to dock. It was a very nice and short ride!
We visited Parliament’s House. It was painted with rich colors and intricate designs. It was one of my favorite buildings I saw during this trip.
We couldn’t leave without visiting a Swiss chocolate shop. The chocolate shops we have inAmerica are N O T H I N G compared to these chocolate shops. Every piece is like a small crafted work of art for your mouth. It is so delicious and it smells even better.
We ended the day by watching a tennis tournament at a tennis club Michela plays and gives lessons at. Michela was once ranked in the top 200 junior players in all of Switzerland and has met and played with tennis legend Roger Federer.
On Saturday, Flavio and Andrea took me to the Alps, which are about 3 hours south of their village. We first took a train through – not around – through a mountain while sitting inside of our car. We then parked and took a train up the mountain to view the Alps and the Matterhorn.
It was amazing. To even say amazing is an understatement. The breath taking views were powerful and demanded attention from any angle you stood. It was liberating to stand on top of a mountain at 3100m above sea level and to see the world around you. I was in awe. Not that I felt insignificant compared to these massive landforms but that I felt vulnerable due to the power that was around me. I once read a quote that says, “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” This quote completely encapsulates how I was feeling.
We then explored the village below the mountains and I (of course) had to be a tourist and get the typical t-shirt souvenir. After buying my cliché t-shirt, we drove southwest a bit and saw a castle and some different villages. The castle we stopped at was Château de Gruyères. Each room of the castle featured different exhibits from different time periods between the 11th and 18th centuries.
The views surrounding the castle were beautiful as well. Everything in Switzerland is so green and natural and fresh. The atmosphere is very pleasant to be in. In the village surrounding the castle, we also had the opportunity to hear alphorns being played and watch a traditional alphorn flag twirler perform to the music.
On Sunday and Monday, I had the ability to relax at Flavio and Andrea’s home and work on homework for my trip to France. It was nice to lay around and get some work done in a new place. Getting to snack on fresh bread and chocolates and fruit from the market throughout the day was delicious to say the least.
On Tuesday, Andrea decided to take me into Basel again while she ran errands. After her errands were over, she took me to a traditional paper mill. This was the first paper mill in Basel and created many jobs in the area. I had the chance to make my own paper through a tutorial from a male student working there who was rocking a man bun. My paper turned out pretty good for my first time!
On Wednesday, Andrea and Michela took me to the local zoo. Zoos are very different in the US than they are in Europe. In the US there are lots of interactive things to do as well as many directional signs. In the zoo in Basel that we went to, there were very few directional signs and the zoo is strictly for looking at the animals. Nonetheless, I had a great time and we went shopping for a bit afterward. I made sure to strictly buy from stores that only sell and make their products in Switzerland. This guaranteed to me that I would have authentic European items.
On Thursday, for my last day in Switzerland, Andrea took me to Luzern. Along the way, we stopped and took my very first ride in a Gondola to the Stanserhorn, which is about 1800m above sea level. It was just as beautiful as the Alps and this mountain did not have snow on it so the temperature was more tolerable.
We also went to a glass blowing factory and museum in Switzerland near Luzern. The exhibit was very neat because it was all in the dark. Different lights and narratives lead you through the exhibit and then you ended up in the actual factory where the men worked making the glass. I could have sat there for hours watching the different processes they did to make different types of glass, whether it was ornaments or beakers or vases to name a few.
We then went to Luzern and shopped a bit, as well as had a some of ice cream. We were able to cross a bridge that has been around for several hundred years. About a decade ago, it caught on fire, and some of the historical paintings on the bridge were ruined. They repaired the bridge but the burned paintings were lost forever.
Well that’s it for Switzerland! I know this post was long but I just wanted to catch you up on my Swiss adventures. Now, I’m off to France. See you soon! HCXO!