Hey everyone! I told you I’d be back for The Bucket List: Part Two, so here I am! Hard to believe it’s been almost a month since me and Kassi made this trip! Switzerland, like Morocco, was definitely a spur of the moment decision. While we were on one of our many coffee dates, Kassi brought up that Switzerland was her DREAM place to visit, and after a few days of thinking, “why don’t we just go?”, we brought up the idea again, and right after I had gotten out of one of my Monday classes, I whipped out my phone, and bought my plane ticket to Geneva. Whoopsies.
We headed out the Wednesday during Spain’s “Semana Santa” or “Holy Week,” which was considered our spring break, and were off to Madrid. Another reason I was so excited about this trip was that I was able to see a friend, who had been one of my close family friend’s exchange students last summer, and stay with her for the night. Sonia, if you’re reading this, thank you again for being so welcoming and letting us stay in your home! It was so great to see you and meet your family! Un abrazo y un beso (a hug and kiss!) We had such a nice night of catching up and it’s always nice getting together with an old friend, especially on their side of the world this time!
We headed out the Wednesday during Spain’s “Semana Santa” or “Holy Week,” which was considered our spring break, and were off to Madrid. Another reason I was so excited about this trip was that I was able to see a friend, who had been one of my close family friend’s exchange students last summer, and stay with her for the night. Sonia, if you’re reading this, thank you again for being so welcoming and letting us stay in your home! It was so great to see you and meet your family! Un abrazo y un beso (a hug and kiss!) We had such a nice night of catching up and it’s always nice getting together with an old friend, especially on their side of the world this time!
Our plan for the days we were in Switzerland was to stay in Interlaken for three days and then spend our last day in Geneva. After arriving in Geneva, we took a train to Interlaken and were there by Thursday afternoon! We were a little bummed at first, because the weather didn’t really seem to be on our side. We just had to make the best of it! Interlaken means “between two lakes,” so the city was, literally, between two beautiful lakes! Since it was a little rainy, our first night was spent exploring the town, having some dinner, and getting some sleep before our (didn’t know it yet) BEST day of the trip!
I hate to admit it, but a huge personal struggle throughout the whole trip was spending, spending, spending….which I would usually have no problem with, but the prices in Switzerland were out of this world. Switzerland is one of the most economically stable and wealthy countries in the world, which means that everything from a meal to a train ticket had a big, whopping, overwhelming price. Every time you wanted to go out to eat for, let’s say, a burger and fries, it would cost about 18 Francs, which is around 18 Dollars. YIKES RIGHT? It was hard not to let it bother me, but Kassi finally talked some sense into me and, hey, when’s the next time we’ll be in Switzerland right?!
I hate to admit it, but a huge personal struggle throughout the whole trip was spending, spending, spending….which I would usually have no problem with, but the prices in Switzerland were out of this world. Switzerland is one of the most economically stable and wealthy countries in the world, which means that everything from a meal to a train ticket had a big, whopping, overwhelming price. Every time you wanted to go out to eat for, let’s say, a burger and fries, it would cost about 18 Francs, which is around 18 Dollars. YIKES RIGHT? It was hard not to let it bother me, but Kassi finally talked some sense into me and, hey, when’s the next time we’ll be in Switzerland right?!
Friday ended up being one of the best days we had on our whole trip. We woke up to a little tidbit of sun and knew we had to take advantage of it. We went to the front desk and asked what the receptionist recommended doing on a day like this, and she suggested Lauterbrunnen Valley, which was a small valley further up in the Alps that was supposed to be beautiful. We bought the next tickets, hopped on a tram, and were on our way. I don’t think it really hit me that we were in Switzerland the whole trip, until we were on this tram. The clouds cleared up and you were surrounded by the Alps. There is nothing like it. Waterfalls bursting out, snow capped mountains, small villages. It all felt like a scene out of a movie. Once we got to the valley, we were in for a surprise when, what did we see?! THE SUN! It turned out to be such a great day! We really lucked out.
Let me start out by saying this was one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever been to. The town that makes up the valley is all on one road and pretty tiny, but this was exactly how I pictured Switzerland. One cafe, one pub, a couple of restaurants, cheese, chocolate, and a whole lot of Alps. We ended up finding a trail that we followed until we couldn’t walk any longer. It was so quiet and relaxing, nothing but nature. Another impulse decision came right as we finished our walk…what did we see? Para gliders winding down in the air, coming down from thousands and thousands of feet. We didn’t think there would be anyone paragliding, because of the weather, but I guess that day was nice enough that they could! “Paragliding through the Swiss Alps,” that would be a cool one to mark off “The Bucket List,” I thought to myself. We ended up running all the way to the nearest tourist office and signing up right then and there. You’d think signing up to jump off of one of the highest points in the Swiss Alps would make you nervous, but the decision felt a little too casual. We had a few hours to kill until our guides came to pick us up, so we went to the one café in town and spent the afternoon there. I am actually OBSESSED with this place. It had to be one of the cutest little cafes I have ever been to in my life. If you are ever in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, you have no other choice, but to check it out! The staff was so friendly and we ended up eating every meal there that day…pics are in the slideshow, so you can see the overwhelming cute-ness for yourself.
Let me start out by saying this was one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever been to. The town that makes up the valley is all on one road and pretty tiny, but this was exactly how I pictured Switzerland. One cafe, one pub, a couple of restaurants, cheese, chocolate, and a whole lot of Alps. We ended up finding a trail that we followed until we couldn’t walk any longer. It was so quiet and relaxing, nothing but nature. Another impulse decision came right as we finished our walk…what did we see? Para gliders winding down in the air, coming down from thousands and thousands of feet. We didn’t think there would be anyone paragliding, because of the weather, but I guess that day was nice enough that they could! “Paragliding through the Swiss Alps,” that would be a cool one to mark off “The Bucket List,” I thought to myself. We ended up running all the way to the nearest tourist office and signing up right then and there. You’d think signing up to jump off of one of the highest points in the Swiss Alps would make you nervous, but the decision felt a little too casual. We had a few hours to kill until our guides came to pick us up, so we went to the one café in town and spent the afternoon there. I am actually OBSESSED with this place. It had to be one of the cutest little cafes I have ever been to in my life. If you are ever in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, you have no other choice, but to check it out! The staff was so friendly and we ended up eating every meal there that day…pics are in the slideshow, so you can see the overwhelming cute-ness for yourself.
After a few hours, our guide swung by to pick us up and take us to the paragliding grounds. We went with the company, Airtime, and seriously, if you are ever in Interlaken, go to the valley and paraglide with them! They were AMAZING. Every staff member had the coolest life stories. The girl, who drove us, left everything in Australia to come travel around Europe and ended up in Switzerland after traveling from country to country, and Kassi’s guide had the same story, but he was from New Zealand. These people were just so carefree, didn’t care about where they ended up, as long as they were doing something they loved. THAT is the dream. Once we got to the grounds, we met out guides, and hopped on one of the many lines we would have to take to the top. That’s when the nerves started to kick in. I wish I could describe the journey to the top, because the pictures really don’t do it justice. It was SOOOOOOOOO high up. The craziest part was going all the way up and seeing all of the ski resorts at each stop. I have no idea how these people have the guts to ski on a resort, that is SO close to the edge of a few thousand feet drop off?! Once we got to the very top, all you could see were the peaks of the other mountains around you. It was breathtaking. We got strapped up and our guides explained how everything was going to work, but that the most important part was to keep running once we started, even if we felt that we were already off the mountain. Uhhhh, not freaky at all. Kassi went first, counted to five, ran off the edge, and she was gone. I think it was worse to go second, after seeing her just disappear, but the next minute, I counted to five and said, here goes nothing. The thirty-minute journey to the bottom seriously felt like a dream. We were feet away from the edge of the Alps, doing twists and turns all the way down, and going through the clouds. Indescribable. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. We got the weather we wanted, had a once in a lifetime experience, pigged out on pastries from our new favorite café, what more could you ask for?
The rest of the night and the next day were more low-key. We explored the older area of Interlaken, walked beside the river, and went to Grindelwald. This was another valley further up in the mountains, which tends to attract skiers who come to this part of Switzerland. This was our day to hunt for souvenirs, have all the chocolate we wanted, and get a little shopping done.
Our last day was spent in Geneva, a city that quickly stole my heart. If I had the choice of living in any European city, I’d be back in a heartbeat. After we arrived to our hostel, we grabbed a map of the top attractions in the city and turned power mode on. We were determined to hit all of them! While we were there, we kind of forgot a small detail, it was Easter! That turned out to be kind of a bummer, because most everything was closed. We made the best of it and it ended up turning out great, because most of the attractions were buildings, sculptures, churches, that you could admire from the outside.
I ended up dragging Kassi to the first of many sights on our list, The United Nations Office. Geneva, Switzerland is the perfect location for one of the main UN offices, because it is looked at as the capital of peace, something The United Nations strives for all over the world. If you know me at all, you know this got me a little too excited. Wow, I’m excited just typing about it. Part of my future plans/goals/aspirations is to find a career where I can work promoting human rights, striving for women’s education, preventing human trafficking, fighting against terrorism, etc. If I can find a job that provides me with the ability to help others, I’ll be happy as can be. Working for The United Nations would be an absolute dream, so when we arrived, I was in awe. I snapped as many pictures as I could, took it all in, and then we were off to the next destination. We headed to St. Peters Cathedral, went to the Bastion Promenade to see the Reformation Wall, saw the Brunswick Monument, had the yummiest cinnamon apple crepe, and ended at L’horloge fleurie, or The Flower Clock. What a day.
I ended up dragging Kassi to the first of many sights on our list, The United Nations Office. Geneva, Switzerland is the perfect location for one of the main UN offices, because it is looked at as the capital of peace, something The United Nations strives for all over the world. If you know me at all, you know this got me a little too excited. Wow, I’m excited just typing about it. Part of my future plans/goals/aspirations is to find a career where I can work promoting human rights, striving for women’s education, preventing human trafficking, fighting against terrorism, etc. If I can find a job that provides me with the ability to help others, I’ll be happy as can be. Working for The United Nations would be an absolute dream, so when we arrived, I was in awe. I snapped as many pictures as I could, took it all in, and then we were off to the next destination. We headed to St. Peters Cathedral, went to the Bastion Promenade to see the Reformation Wall, saw the Brunswick Monument, had the yummiest cinnamon apple crepe, and ended at L’horloge fleurie, or The Flower Clock. What a day.
This spring break was one for the books. We ate as much chocolate as we could, marked paragliding in the Alps off of our bucket list, and traveled to our “dream” country. I have this trip to thank for a number of things. With internship season right around the corner, I’ll be adding the United Nations internship application to my list of many! Why not, right? I will also be starting German up in the fall once I’m back at The U of A. Since everyone in Switzerland could go back and forth between English, French, German, and Deutsch, I figured it was time to add language “nummer drei.” We’ll see how that goes…Overall, Switzerland, you were great to me. Can’t wait to be reunited sooner than later!