Last One, Best One

In September (or some time in early October), Allie, Molly, Anna, Jade, Shannon, Liv, Kathryn, Bridget, Abby, and myself planned a trip to Switzerland. We did this because we anticipated it would’ve been our most expensive trip and we didn’t want to have to worry about not having enough money for planning this trip towards the end of abroad. So, we ripped the band aid and made sure we already spent the money for Switzerland for our plane tickets, train tickets, Airbnb, and hotel rooms before we spent all of our money from our summer jobs throughout our other trips abroad.

Waking up to the piercing, anxiety producing sound of my cell phone alarm was difficult to hear at 6 in the morning to leave at 6:20 for our 8:45 a.m. flight. But I knew the destination would be worth it.

Our flight was about a three-hour long trip which landed us in Zurich, Switzerland. We then hopped on a 45-minute train that would take us to another track for us to make our way to our second train which would take us about two hours to our destination in Interlaken, Switzerland.

The second train ride was not like the NJ transit sights at all. Closer to Interlaken, the views reminded me of a fairytale. Blue lakes, a ladder and diving board located in the middle of lakes, fog rising, frost scattered on the ground, it all seemed fake. Do you know the fake, little towns that either your parents or grandparents have around Christmas time for decoration? Yeah, it was like I was shrunken down to Polly pocket size and put in that fake, little town. Or if you watched any Hallmark movies, I was on that set. Either way, it all seemed fake.

Because Switzerland was beyond expensive compared to Greece, we decided to take a visit to the grocery store and buy food there instead of spending at least 20 dollars on a snack at McDonalds when we could just split the cost of groceries amongst each other. The pasta, salad, bread, and broccoli were more than enough.

The next morning, we signed up for paragliding and a chocolate factory tour. We split up in groups so that we could all go that same day. Abby, Shannon, Allie, and I went in the first group. Me and my Switzerland born and raised instructor, Tobi were the first pair to run off the mountain and fly throughout the air. I thought I would scream out of fear and because ya know, I was flying in the air with a man guiding us in a parachute. But surprisingly, I didn’t scream in terror. Instead, I laughed as the instructor took us on rollercoaster-like loops and even let me take the handles from him to steer the parachute. Who’s your pilot? (Get it? Like, who’s your daddy?)

That night, after looking through different options of activities on Airbnb, we signed up for a bar crawl which would take us to three bars and one club. We met up with some other Loyola girls who were abroad in France, and some other kids abroad in Greece with us. We sang karaoke at one bar and danced at the club. It was something to do, but also fun to dance and sing with your friends.

Sunday, there wasn’t much to do since we had to be out of our Airbnb by 10 a.m. and majority of the stores in town were closed because it was Sunday. Some did open as the day progressed, but besides that the town had nothing else going on. Allie, Abby, and I went on a hike to see the view since the tram that would usually take passengers to the top, was closed. The other girls walked to get macaroni that our other friend who visited Switzerland before us recommended. Our 40-minute hike excursion was cut short to 15 minutes, to the first lookout instead of the second lookout. The view was still 5 stars on my scale.

Walking back to the bottom after about an hour of sitting at the first lookout, we accidentally missed our turn and ran into a farm like setting with Chamois animals. They were interesting to see up close and in general since I’ve only seen pictures of them.

Our two-train rides back to Zurich left at 5 p.m. The cramped seating style wasn’t to my liking, but it was only for two hours so I sucked it up. When we arrived, we decided to get our exercise in for the day and walk to the Christmas markets for the last hour or so that it was open for the day.

The Christmas markets didn’t have much since it was the last hour. The hot chocolate was sold out, so I was never able to taste Swiss Miss from Switzerland. While it was a cool setting, it was definitely more expensive than I was expecting. 5 CHF (also known as Swiss Franc) for hot chocolate, 8 CHF for a panini, about 9 CHF for 4 small dumplings, and 8 or 9 CHF for a tomato and mozzarella crepe. And get this, the tomato and mozzarella crepe was actually shredded cheese and ketchup in a crepe.

From there, we hopped on a 35-minute tram to our airport hotel for the night. Sneaking one person into our hotel room, we booked three rooms which had one bed and a bunk bed. It also had a shower in the room. Yes, directly in the room. And a swing door for the toilet. It didn't feel as if we were in a hotel at all, and it was crammed but then again, for one night it was doable.

I’m glad we saved Switzerland for our last trip because it was an event filled trip and it was able to bring us to the Christmas feeling we were missing while in Greece. Although it was expensive and a short trip, if I ever find myself in Switzerland again, I wouldn’t be upset about it at all.

I highly recommend a trip to Switzerland to all my fellow readers. It’s a very unique and adventurous trip that I’m glad I saved for last. Just make sure you're saving up for awhile!

(Scroll down to the bottom for the view from our Airbnb)