Now this is a trip that I will never be able to do justice for. From the way I describe the towns, the photos and videos I took to capture visuals – nothing will truly express its peaceful essence except experiencing its purity for yourself. But I will do my best to make sure you understand the wholeness of Switzerland’s astonishing, serene, peaceful, inspiring sexiness.
This blog is particularly long because I’m not going to skimp out on how amazing this trip was.
This was our itinerary (written in order):
Geneva
Interlaken Region (Lautenbrunnen, Mürren, Grindlewald)
Lucern
Zürich
Geneva:
Our first stop was in Geneva. We arrived at like 9am (idk why we kept taking these buttcrack of dawn flights haha we sure do like to maximize our time). I will never forget waking up mid flight and looking out the window. I knew it was going to be beautiful, but man – it was breathtaking. Right off the bat, I was in awe. Switzerland and Mother Earth have to have some sort of agreement because the way earth be poppin off there? Ridcioulous. Unbelievable. Phenomenal.
After dropping our stuff off at the hostel we take off to look for a breakfast place and utilize the time to walk around the town a bit to get a lay of the land. Plus, a lot of places didn’t open until 11am (weird) so we had some time to kill.
We found a breakfast placed that looked delicious. We walked in and there were these HUGE Hogwarts looking ceiling to floor, black curtains that boxed the entrance of the door in. We thought it was odd because it blocked so much of the morning light from coming into the restaurant, but it also made it look like they were closed. However, we realized once we sat down that it was to keep the winter draft from disturbing the warmth of the room. (I’m curious if they take them down after the winter season.)
We took the time at this breakfast place to actually research what we wanted to do and see because we booked this trip on a whim, and we didn’t have time to plan before because we were both on other trips. It was a, “let’s just book our flights and accommodations and worry about the rest later.”
We used that method throughout the whole trip. We’d plan where we were going at what time and make sure we had tickets/accommodations so we didn’t get stranded anywhere, but we’d save figuring out what we were going to do at said place for the night before or morning of. This info is irrelevant to the sexiness of Switzerland, but I say this because I really appreciated this method of travel, specifically on this trip and specifically with Eva. We were never tied down to a plan that was previously put into place. We could do as we pleased on each day, and while that kind of seems crazy when you have limited time to see and do everything, it added an element of relaxation that was so very much needed. I also think it’s important to reiterate that you don’t need to have a set plan to travel, just do it.
After breakfast we continued to walk around town, get lattes, and see the sights Geneva had to offer. There was one you couldn’t miss if you tried. A giant water fountain coming from the lake. Apparently it was built way back when in the 1800’s to be a pressure release for a hydrolic plant and shoots 500 liters up into the sky per second. WILD!
There were multiple pedestrian bridges to cross the lake that were super cute. Of course we took every opportunity to walk over them, we love a good bridge!! We checked out a few places we saw online to see what they were about and if we’d have any interest. One was a Bains des Pâquis, which is an outdoor bath house along the lake. Though we opted out of hanging out in their saunas or getting a massage, we did explore the little pier like island it was on and found little beaches people were freely swimming at…in November…when it’s freezing outside. We later come to learn that the lake stays a consistent temperature all year, so I guess the residents are used to it. They do say ice baths are key to good mental health… and fondue.
After checking that out and watching some kids get taunted by swans, we make our way back into Old Town to see what this VR place we saw online was all about – it looked decent and we both had never done a VR experience before, so we signed up for the next day.
That evening we had delicious Chinese food at Kung Fu before heading to the show. It was everything we needed – warm, filling, and flavorful. I had some REALLY good white tea, which I unfortunately did not take a photo of and now bear the risk of never finding it again, sigh. (Side note, I actually found this tea again in Thailand!! *the crowd cheers*)
The show experience was unique to say the least, and definitely gave us an unforgettable story. I’ll let Eva explain this one since going to this show was her idea – here is a snippet from her blog:
”We had bought tickets to a dance performance called Compass that night. We didn’t know much at all about the show going into it other than the short description on the website that said it was inspired by Homer’s “The Odyssey” and explored themes of alienation. It was… an interesting experience to say the least. I don’t know how I would classify this performance, but I wouldn’t call it dance. There were only two performers, and they both started the show soaking wet. The entire stage was covered in scallop-shaped chalk drawings, so whenever the dancers moved around, their wet clothes would wipe away the chalk drawings. The beginning of the show was a lot of the dancers just wandering around the space. They ended up sitting side by side along the back wall of the stage, and one of the dancers starts sucking the water out of the other girl’s clothes and spitting it on the stage. This repeated for minutes on end. They then had a breakdance party where props came flying out from under a tarp on the stage. One of the girls was standing on an upside down bucket with a goat horn helmet on her head and stripped fully naked. The other wrapped herself in the tarp and put on a rainbow yarn wig. Goat horn girl (who stayed naked for the rest of the show, keep in mind!) ate canned tuna and poured a bottle of red wine on the floor. Jesus-looking tarp girl stabbed herself in the arm and drew a syringe full of her own blood, which she then mixed with a white substance and spread all over the goat horns. And that’s just the gist of it all… so to say the least, it was a very strange performance. I’m not sure I understand the connection to “The Odyssey” or any of its themes, but the rest of the audience seemed to love it. The performers got three encores. They certainly were dedicated to their parts, but it was just not my style. Mal and I had much to discuss afterwards though, and it gave us a good laugh. The picture below is the aftermath of the stage.”
So… Geneva sure did welcome us.
After a night of much needed rest, we woke up and started our day. On the agenda was a glass blowing museum, VR, and fondu. It was our last full day in Geneva as we were leaving for the Interlaken area the next morning.
When we get off the bus for the glass museum we realize it’s next door to The United Nations – which was cool because in my dreams I like to pretend I’m a part of the conversations that happen there towards making the world a better place. I like to believe that they aren’t as politically driven and have more care regarding the state of humanity, but considering how long it took them to even acknowledge the mayhem in Iran – it makes me doubtful. I hope one day all governments, all positions of power that have authority in the structure of society are held with people of pure intentions, respect, and desire for a world of peace and balance. Until then, I’ll stand outside of every UN gate I come across and give them a piece of my mind as I mumble to myself.
The museum was a fun way to pass time – one of the many reasons I love traveling with Eva is because she also enjoys museums. Plus, she’s a weirdo and will attempt to replicate weird poses with me, so it makes for interesting times. They’re a fun way of learning new things, being inspired, and seeing what different items are on display. I saw a few pieces I took note of for my future kitchen, haha.
After the museum we head to a cafe to grab some lunch. This is when the series of good soups started. We did a soup and sandwich split and the soup was a carrot spinach soup. We thought this was delicious, but little did we know this one would end up at the bottom of the totem pole compared to the soups the rest of the trip provided.
After the cafe we make our way back into Old Town to search for some magnets before our VR experience. Eva and I both collect magnets for each place we’ve visited and we were shocked to have only found one magnet place open in all of Old Town. If there’s one thing you can find, it’s a watch store. They’re more abundant than your Starbucks on every corner in LA. I swear each block had 3-4 different watch stores. After Googling why there were so many watch stores I learned that it’s the hub for a good quality watch. Their watches are made with a different standard I guess. “We can’t sit with them.” *in my prissiest voice*
We end up getting to the VR experience, magnetless.
David, our VR tour guide, gets us all suited up and ready to tackle the history of Geneva. It’s hilarious because before we “departed” we picked out characters, so once we put on our VR goggles we could see each other, but as our old time characters. HAHAHAHA. I WISH I had a photo so you could see what Eva looked like. We’re going through this VR course(?) and Eva and I are walking through it together, very similarly to how you would walk through a haunted house. Single file line, except it’s through the history of Geneva, there’s no goblins jumping out. Though, if you’re scared of everything like Eva is, one may walk through this clenching onto my arm the entire time…
Anyway – the VR experience was really cool and I’d recommend it to anyone. We not only learned a lot, but we also got to fly in a hot air balloon (virtually of course), but considering that’s pretty high on my bucket list I was pretty excited. Between that, the cat that joined us along the journey, the explosion and war that happened, Eva and I were making a lot of different noises… gasping, screaming, laughing, heavy breathing, etc. At the end, we learned David was in the room the entire time with us, haha. Poor guy. I can only imagine the entertainment he gets working there.
We had so much fun that we decided to buy another ticket for their “Alien Zoo” experience later that evening. We head out to get some fondu before our next “departure.”
The fondu experience was fun – but I don’t think I’m the biggest fan of it because it’s just too heavy for my liking. I can do a couple of bites and then I’m good. Plus, it doesn’t smell good. It smells like burning cow and really old moldy cheese. That probably sounds worse than what it is, but I’m just not a fan. We did have some delicious tortellini and wine though, and we enjoyed it while watching the tiny little birds that stalked our every bite.
We rush back to Dreamscape for our next experience (we literally have to run because we decided to get dessert which set us back a bit…priorities..) and we go through the Alien Zoo with another family. Again, it was hilarious. They had the cutest little frog cats. For justice for the lack of descriptions I’m able to give, here’s a link to their YouTube for trailers of these experiences:
Afterwards we head over to the Christmas market, which just opened for the season this same day. It had started pouring rain though, and we weren’t properly equipped so we hangout for a bit then went ahead and went back to the hostel for the night to prepare for our next destination the next morning.
We get a start on our day early to allow time for a cafe and to find a magnet before we leave. Luckily, Eva saved the day when she found a lone magnet shop in the train station before we hop on towards Interlaken.
INTERLAKEN:
The train ride put us in an instant dream state. It was beyond beautiful. We both are well equipped with our journals and books to keep us occupied since we were going to be riding so many trains, but we never actually did too much reading or writing because the views were just so phenomenal – you didn’t want to look away from the window.
May I also add how reliable and on point Switzerlands public transportation is? They have an app that will plan your entire trip for you. Which train or bus to take at what time, etc. We bought a Swiss Travel Pass for the entire duration we were there because we were going to be hitting so many please and the pass is unlimited rides for all transportation options (trains, busses and cable cars). So it made the most sense for us and was super convenient. Do I think it’s absolutely necessary? No. It is pretty expensive. $400 per person for 8 days. But, I will say the costs for our hostel and Airbnb accommodations were less than $400 each and we were there for 9 whole days. That’s pretty good!! And with the amount of destinations we had, we needed all of the transportation we could get. Plus, it allowed for so much freedom. So it made sense for us to splurge on it.
We get to Interlaken and hop on the bus to go to our Airbnb which was located about 20 minutes outside of Interlaken in a small little town called Iseltwald. Again, the views are absolutely insane. Poppin. Interlaken is where it’s at. We get off the bus and realize our Airbnb is a slight little hike into this quiet little neighborhood, so we get our happy legs in motion with our luggage and get to work up the hill. Mid way up we realize the view, and we’re like HOLY CRAP. Then we get to our Airbnb and step on the balcony and we are MINDBLOWN.
I’m soaking in the view and all of the sudden I look towards the left again and BOOM. Not one, but TWO rainbows!! Talk about the urge to cry because of pure magic. It was indescribable. And to think we have 6 amazing days to soak this place in? Incredible.
That night we went back into town to grab some food and see what the town has to offer. We realize there is an abundance of magnet options, unlike Geneva – so that stress isn’t weighing on us. (Lol). We find a spot to eat that seems to have traditional Swiss dishes. We got a pizza and a raclette to share. A raclette is a traditional dish with cheese and it had bacon, onion and pickles on it. Again, it was good – but it was a lot of fried cheese to eat in one setting.
After dinner we walked around to work that cheese off and then stopped by a grocery store, Coop (pronounced like “cope”) to gather some goods to keep at the Airbnb since we were a bit far from town. This is when I discover their coconut water. Why I’m a coconut water hoe is another story for another time, because I haven’t always been this way – but know it’s for the betterment of my health and this coconut water was FANTASTIC.
LAUTENBRUNNEN / MURREN:
After a good nights rest we decide to head to Lautenbrunnen early in the morning so we could ski. Their ski season doesn’t officially start until December, so there was only run open out of 13. Again, the train ride there was absurd with the visuals.
We arrive at Lautenbrunnen and hop on a bus to get to the cable car. Everyone on this bus already has their gear, but no where in town was open so we assumed we could get it where the cable car was located so we get on the bus. These particular busses have this clear plexiglass that separates the driver from us patrons and it opens when the bus driver gets out of their seat, so it was open when we get on the bus. Eva walks smack dab into it. In front of the whole packed bus. Her and I immediately start dying, hunched over, crying of laughter. But we’re trying to keep our cool and maintain our laughter since this bus is full – but man… that was funny. There were two kids right in front that saw the whole thing and were trying their hardest to not laugh, but they weren’t too successful. I’m sorry for the sake of Eva’s face where the bruise began to form, but man was that a hilarious moment. I’m glad I got to be there for that.
We finally get to the cable car and we’re told to go back into town to get our gear. The guy calls a few places and said there was one open by the station, but when we go back there’s definitely not a store open what-so-ever. After about 20-30 minutes of being sent to and from different places, we finally get ahold of a shop that’s open in Murren, which is about 30 minutes away.
This town is so tiny, and so high up on the mountain that you have to take a cable car AND a train to get to it. Once we arrive we start walking to the rental shop and it’s super cute and quaint. There’s no cars at all, there’s hardly any people in sight, and there’s beautiful views every direction you turn. The guy at the rental place was really nice, and also really concerned about the skill level of our skiing abilities, haha. We get our gear and head to the top of the mountain.
Prior to coming skiing we looked up the difficulty of the slope and although this mountain is known for the steepest slopes in Europe, it said beginner. As we approach the slope and only see an immediately drop down with no visibility of the rest of the run, we started to question what beginner meant to the Swiss people, haha. I have been skiing for about a year now and have had a decent amount of experience on various beginner, intermediate, and even accidental black slopes – but Eva hadn’t skied since she was 9 years old.
We practiced a bit on the side as this slope was intimidating us both, and while practicing I confirmed with a fellow skier the difficulty of the run – indeed it was beginner. Though it wasn’t enough to convince us because NOT ONE PERSON was struggling on this slope, everyone looked as if they had been skiing for their entire lives. We met a friend on our way up on the cable car and we ran into him after his first run. He explained the layout of the run to us, which gave me the courage to go ahead and go for it.
I carefully made my way down the run and quickly realized that it was indeed a beginner slope, and like the pro I am *wink* – I didn’t fall once. I was proud and excited. The slope did have its intimidating moments that would not be the best for someone who’s basically skiing for the first time (Eva). There were two larger drops that would have been comical to watch her go down as a first-timer, but considering there were some narrow parts and other risk factors – it wasn’t worth it. So we decided to hangout at top for a bit, soak in the views and take some pictures and then head back down to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
After returning our gear, we stopped at a cute little cafe in Murren. We sat outside to take in the breathtaking view and watch the paragliders as we fueled our bodies with the most delicious soup we had that trip – spinach soup.
We make our way back into town. The bus to our Airbnb only comes once an hour so we had some time to kill. We decide to get drinks and dessert at a hotel near the station. Yum. We hop on the next bus, eager to get home and cozy in warmth.
We stop at one of the bigger bus stops and the driver completely turns the bus off. I look at the schedule and it appears the bus is going to be there for about 19 minutes. So I was like, “oh, time to kill? I’m going to get a coconut water from Coop.” Eva was like, “are you sure we’re here that long?” So I double check again, and very clearly, and loudly say, “yeah we have 19 minutes! I’m going.” The entire bus for sure heard me.
I get off the bus and walk my happy self to Coop to realize they were closed. There was a Kiosk store neighboring it, so I decided I would check there to see if they had my coconut water. They did not. I walk out to get back on the bus and to my surprise, it’s gone. There is no bus in sight. There is no Eva in sight. My phone is dead, and the backpack with a charger and my iPad was on the bus with Eva – doing me no good in this situation.
When I realize the bus is gone my jaw drops and I just start laughing, because what else am I going to do? And I already know Eva was cracking up on that bus by herself and we both knew this was about to be a hilarious story for us. I was also laughing because the walk from the bus stop to our Airbnb was SUPER dark, like it required flash lights to walk up there because it’s pitch black. So I was like dang, I gotta walk up this entire pathway by myself, in the dark?! And then I think of Eva because she’s way more of a scaredy-cat than I am and she has to do it by herself.
In addition – my phone is dead. I have no concept of time. And then it dawned on me that THE BUS ONLY COMES ONCE AN HOUR. I walk my bus-missing self right back into the Kiosk store and stall time looking all around the closet sized store.
Once I had looked at every product in their inventory I went and sat at the bus station for the rest of the time, double checking bus ETA’s every 5 seconds just to be sure. I stretched, played my internal radio, meditated, and had many conversations with myself in which brought upon some embarrassment when I gestured to myself and made eye contact with someone passing by.
As time goes on, I realize that the busses are on their last run of the night. So now I’m really freaking out because I am just hoping and praying I’m getting on the right bus. I don’t have another chance – so now I start playing out every scenario just in case I’m unable to make it back to the Airbnb. Do I go into town and attempt to get a taxi? Do I go to a hotel and ask someone to charge my phone? Do I rent a room for a night? Every scenario was playing through my head.
When the bus I assumed was correct came (this was only night two, so I’ve only taken the bus to the Airbnb twice at this point), I immediately planted my happy butt right down. I quickly realized that the driver turned the bus off again, giving the impression it was there for a long time – but then it quickly turned back on after 30 seconds and started it’s journey. What a tease. I also realized that the time I read was the ETA for the next destination (19 was in military time, so 7pm). I thought it meant the bus wasn’t taking off for that destination for another 19 minutes. Ha. At this point, it was now past 8pm, and I knew that 20:13 that was displayed was NOT the countdown for the next departure. Haha.
I had a few scares as the bus was making it’s way through town. It was dark and I wasn’t quite recognizing everything we were passing which caused a few minor heart attacks. It wasn’t until we passed this house with a bunny pin in the front yard that I saw the day before on our way to the Airbnb that confirmed I was going in the right direction.
I make my way up the long, dark pathway and I see the lights of our Airbnb on. Thank the Lord. I didn’t know if Eva would’ve gotten off the bus to attempt to meet up with me. Though that wouldn’t have been smart considering the bus comes once an hour and then she would’ve just been sitting somewhere waiting as well, so I was happy to see she was there. Also because she had the keys to the spot.. THANKFULLY, because earlier in the day I had them. And if that was the case, this story would’ve been even funnier.
As I’m walking up I see Eva walk out onto the balcony and I’m waving my hands in the air but getting no reaction. I wait until I get closer to speak just because it’s so quiet and the entire small neighborhood would for sure hear our shenanigans. As I get closer I say, “hi,” in a very monotone, ‘I can’t believe this just happened’ way. Eva shockingly goes, “MAL?!” All concerned. Then we both just start cracking up for the remainder of my walk of shame up this hill.
When I approach the door, Eva is there to unlock it and when she opens it we both just immediately hunch over dying of laughter. We can’t breathe. Abs are hurting type of laughter. We exchanged stories on how things went down for each of us and just continued to laugh the rest of the night. Honestly, still to this day, haha.
GRINDELWALD:
The next day we wake up early to tackle Grindelwald, a destination that was recommended to both of us heavily for it’s views. We’re running a bit late and quite literally have to run down the hill from our Airbnb to the bus station.
As we’re running down my fanny pack unzips and my AirPods go flying out onto the ground. I pick up the case and lone airpod that fell out and continue running. When we get to the bottom of the hill I go to put my airpod back in the case and realize I only have one. Another must have fell out and I didn’t see it. I immediately turn around and start sprinting up the hill. As I’m about half way to where the case fell, I hear the bus come and I was like, “oh no!” I cannot miss this, it’ll set our day back an hour. So I decided to run back and let my AirPods fate be held to the universe.
We train to Grindelwald, again with STUNNING views. We arrive and quickly learn that a majority of the town was closed for the season. We decided to go to Glacier Canyon and walk through he caves the glaciers left behind. It was super dope, and along our walk we saw people bungee jumping from the top of the canyon. As we continued our walk we ran into the same friend we met while skiing and his wife! They had just done the jump and said it was liberating, but they had booked online prior so unfortunately it wasn’t something we could do same day.
Overall, we had a beautiful day in Grindelwald and had many photo and video opportunities leaving Glacier Canyon to catch our next bus.
Once we got back into town we stopped by our Airbnb to enjoy some reading and writing with our phenomenal view before we went further into Iseltwald for dinner.
Dinner was delicious – our server was beyond friendly, sharing his plethora of knowledge with his ability to speak 5 different languages. Eva had ravioli and I had a steak, and we both got their creamy vegetable soup – another soup for the win. We also had a signature white wine that was delicious in every way, as well as their dessert. It was a fulfilling, comforting dinner – following with a cozy night in binge watching Survivor (which was a nightly ritual the entire trip until we got caught up to what’s currently aired).
LUCERNE:
The next morning we take off to Lucern, which is about a 2 hour travel time via bus and train. Taking a large commercial bus was fun because we sat up top in the very front, providing a unique and superb view. (Before we head off, Eva runs into Coop ((after confirming we have enough time before the bus leaves, haha)) and she grabs us a couple of snacks – one being a buttery croissant. This croissant is the best I’ve ever had in my whole life. The fluffiest on the inside, yet crunchy and buttery on the outside. I hope everyone can experience this croissant one day.
Once we arrive to Lucern we immediately head to Mt. Pulatis. We cable car to the top for about 30 minutes and get to experience an abundance of views. Of course the overall view of the valley, but also farmers tending to their grass and spreading fertilizer all over (cow poop) and enjoying that natural scent. Yum. We also saw one of those rope amusement parks, a wooden park that reminded me of the Edwardsville Airplane park from my childhood, and farmers tending to their sheep.
Once we reached the top we were greeted with immensely cold temperatures, as well as unreal views. These photos will do absolutely no justice of showing the layers upon layers the mountain range consisted of, but hopefully you can get a good understanding of how grand this view was. After soaking it all in for a bit, we head back down to Old Town to continue the explorations.
We start at Chapel Bridge, taking a quick walk through and a few selfies of course. We walk through Old Town and then make our way towards a Lion memorial. On our walk there we are desperate for a bathroom and quickly stop into a cafe to relieve ourselves and also grab a little snack. The woman is extremely friendly and tells us how delicious the scones are, so Eva gets two (a potato and a cheese) and I just get one cheese. Once we step out of the door and continue our journey, I take my first bite and I look at Eva and say, “I’m going back and I’m getting at least two more.” Granted I had only tried the cheese one, but it was delicious. It tasted like Brazilian cheese bread on crack.
We approach the Lion monument and it was beautiful. As Eva was taking a video of it, I of course bless her with my version of a lion roaring and she nearly pees her pants laughing – causing a whole scene in front of the travel group that was near us. After a laughing fit, we make our way back towards the cafe and load up on more scones. This time I got one potato, one pumpkin seed, and two cheese. Eva got the same exact order, because she wants to be just like me when she grows up, and we savored them into the next day.
At this point the sun would be going down soon and we were satisfied with our explorations that day – so we start our journey back to Interlaken. Once we’re back we just grab a few things to snack on and some wine for the evening to get cozy as Eva officially writes her resignation letter for her job, yay!! It was emotional, but what better place to officially quit a job that you aren’t necessarily in love with?
THE LAST TWO DAYS IN INTERLAKEN:
It’s our second to last day before we leave the Interlaken area and we both agreed we wanted to spend some good quality time in our Airbnb since it held such rejuvenating energy, plus the view. We had a slumber party on the couch so we could wake up to the mountains greeting us with the sunrise the next morning. We kept things slow and relaxing, binging more Survivor that morning. Then we spent the rest of the day reading, writing, stretching, reminiscing on the trip thus far – and sharing lots of laughs. We decided to keep things on the lazier side that evening and went into town to pick up more wine and some delicious Indian food for take out.
The evening was relaxing, and we were both very grateful we gave ourselves a down day. Especially right before leaving. We also took time during this day to film this:
The next morning we sadly check out of our Airbnb and make sure it knows how thankful we were for it’s welcoming stay. We head into town because WE WERE GOING PARAGLIDING!!! We thought it’d be the perfect lash hurrah for our time in Interlaken, and was it glorious to say the least.
Our paragliding pilots were hilarious. Eva and her pilot were talking a little trash, saying they were the best group as her and I were the last to take off. Right in the midst of them saying that, they BOTH start slipping in the mud on the hill. We’re cracking up.
We take off into the air with a running start and then it was smooth sailing. My pilot let me take control of the wing, it was super cool to actually paraglide on my own – I may have to get certified at some point, hehe. Then I told him, “I like rollercoasters, so feel free to go crazy.” He took that information and flew with it (see what I did there?). He warned me before that we’re not allowed to scream just because of the nature of the layout of the town… everyone and their mothers would’ve heard. Once I “copy that” he starts a whirlwind of twists and turns and drops and my paragliding dream has officially been fulfilled. The landing was easy, we landed in a large field right next to some cows! It was fun to watch Eva land as she was shortly behind me.
We share some commentary with our pilots and they tell us we should pursue being professional travelers for a living – who do we have them send their recommendation letters to?!
We gather our belongings, run into Coop for last minute coconut water and croissants, and head on our journey to Zurich for the last stretch of our trip.
ZURICH:
We arrive at our hostel and get situated while searching what we could do that evening. We find a circus performance, and though we’re curious if it’ll be a surprise like the performance we saw in Geneva, we buy two tickets of the remaining available (not seated by one another) and head to dinner before the show.
It’s rainy, so ramen is in the forecast. We find a place that is DELICIOUS, and gave us everything we needed. We get to the show and we are both pleasantly surprised by the acts. They were all really good, especially the trapeze acts.
The next morning we check out of our hostel and go into Old Town to see the town and hopefully find a magnet. Unfortunately, its pretty rainy all day so after we were successful with our magnet search we found a cafe and posted up until it was time to go on our chocolate factory tour.
I was not aware of the origin of chocolate from Switzerland, so I was in for a treat – plus, I had never been to a real life chocolate factory, so this was a Willy Wonka dream!!
We walked through the history of chocolate, got our many, many tastes, and then headed back to the hostel to grab our belongings and head towards the airport (which was a maze, haha).
THE END:
This trip was one for the books. It was grounding, insightful, relaxing, and adventurous. It was eye opening, and allowed for both of us to thoroughly think through thoughts that had been lingering our minds. Often when traveling, you can unconsciously build up anxiety from not tending to thoughts lingering in your mind simply because you’re so go go go. This trip allowed us to do our exploring, while also really connecting with ourselves and the universe – and for that I’m abundantly thankful. Because of that, Switzerland exceeded any and all expectations I had, even though it was already so high on my bucket list of places to visit (#2 to be exact).
It put so many things into perspective, and it also confirmed so many things. In what I appreciate in my friendships, in what I appreciate in traveling. In what I appreciate in traveling with certain friends.
It reminded me why I came on this Europe expedition to begin with, and reminded me to stay grounded in maintaining my why.
It showed me how incredibly blessed I am in every shape, size, color, and challenge of life. It reminded me of how unbelievably beautiful this life is in all of it’s forms – and most importantly it screamed how important love is over anything.
Switzerland, I cannot thank you enough for being you.
Eva, I cannot thank you enough for being you.
The people of Switzerland, thank you for being you. So warm and welcoming, friendly, and beyond helpful.
Words can never do justice for how incredibly grateful and blessed I feel for the experiences I get in life, and who I get to share them with.
Thank you for reading my short novel about Switzerland, and for sharing one of the best adventures of my life with me.
Xx, Mal
Inside Mallory's Brain 