Switzerland!

We have been travelling para mucho tiempo and so I missed some very valuable writing time. The past two weekends we went to Switzerland, so this post will cover the happenings of both weeks. Because I'm a slacker. But enjoy regardless.

After what seemed like a long time in Berlin, we got back home to Stuttgart and started in on another week. Thankfully, the week was short as well; another holiday in the southern part of Germany gave us not only Thursday but Friday off as well. Here’s what went down.

Public viewing downtown

After nearly falling asleep numerous times at work on Monday, we all got back to our rooms and then promptly left for this thing called “public viewing.” This is a phenomenon that does not occur at home in the States because we do not share the same love of football/soccer as the rest of the world does. What happens is basically a massive party on whatever day of the week that a Germany game is on. A large area is sectioned off, usually in the middle of the city in a park. Then this space is filled with tables, food and drink vendors, and giant TV screens. Finally, the people fill in all the empty spaces. And I mean ALL the spaces. There were possibly one thousand or more people, all screaming and wearing white German jerseys. Every time Germany scored a goal, beer was thrown, there was dancing on the tables, there was singing and yelling, and generally just chaos. It was one of the strangest experiences I have had yet. Simply because I have nothing to compare it to. It was a wild night, and something that will happen a few more times, as long as Germany keeps doing well. The next two days were pretty uneventful, compared to the previous weekend and Monday night’s public viewing. The real fun started on Wednesday night.

Zermatt

View from our room

Marissa’s parents live in Switzerland and were kind enough to extend invitations to their home whenever we want this summer. This weekend, they also had a holiday and decided to take a vacation. We were fortunate enough to be able to join them on their trip to Zermatt. I quickly found out that this is where the real Matterhorn is located. (Side note: it is nothing like the Matterhorn at Disneyland. Its beauty is incomparable.) Unfortunately, Marissa’s institute didn’t take Friday off, so Varun and I went on vacation with Marissa’s family without Marissa. Luckily for us, her family is great, and while we missed her, we still had a fantastic time in the mountains. We took a train to Zurich on Wednesday night and then another train to Zermatt on Thursday morning. The only way to get into Zermatt is by train because gas powered anything is not allowed in the town. I saw a lady mowing her lawn with a lawn mower that had a cord. There are electric taxis and horse-drawn carriages and walking, but no cars. Thursday was cold and rainy, but we still walked around the town. We visited the Matterhorn museum and learned about the treacherous first trip up the mountain in the late 1800s. After reading about how difficult the ascent and descent is, none of us were gung-ho about making the trip ourselves. We got hot chocolate to warm up and then went back to the flat and watched soccer games. This became a running theme for the trip: go out adventuring during the day, come home and watch soccer until everyone fell asleep. It was a good pattern.

Suspension bridge we crossed

One of many creeks

Just...wow

Water running through the rocks

I swear this is just a really big picture. It didn't actually exist in real life.     

                                                                                                                                                                                                          The next day was a hiking day. We took a gondola a ways up the mountain and then hiked back down. We crossed a suspension bridge that moved quite a bit as we crossed, but had an incredible view. Then we found a playground and everyone played. The parents teeter-tottered while the kids climbed and swang. We ate our lunch here as other families ran around and had their lunches as well. Once we were good and full, we began our descent. The hike itself wasn’t difficult, but it was complicated by the fact that I wanted to stare at the scenery and not where my feet were going. Everywhere we looked there was a postcard-worthy view. We stopped many a time to take pictures of all that surrounded us. Halfway down, we stopped to get a snack. We got an apricot cobbler thing that I don’t know how to describe besides the fact that it was delicious. We continued on our way and found a stream where we could reach in and touch the water. If there weren’t such pretty rocks in the water, I would have kept my hand far out of that water. It was glacially cold. But really, because it was glacial run-off. We collected the best rocks and then left to warm our hands up. Near the end of our trek, we found a path that lead to a bunch of bridges that ran next to a gorge. The water was blue and beautiful and ran over so many rocks. The stairs were barely big enough for my feet but everything that surrounded us more than made up for that and the splinters we received from the railings. When we finally made our way back to the flat, it was time for football. After many hours of hiking, we all wanted to relax a bit. We made dinner and talked and watched sweaty men kick a ball around. It was quite enjoyable.  

THAT IS FREAKING ITALY!

OMG Matterhorn selfie

Clouds at our level

Zermatt from the gondola

The next day was full of more nature. We woke up and began our ascent. We took the gondolas until the gondolas stopped and then we took a cable car. The snow started about halfway up the mountain, but it was hard and packed. As we gained altitude on the Little Matterhorn, the view of her big sister got even more fantastic. When we reached the top of the 12000 foot peak, it was very cold. Like, really cold. So frigid I hadn't been that cold in more than a year, thanks to Arizona's incredibly mild winter. It was also quite bright. We walked through a tunnel through the mountain, where we really started to feel the elevation. I do believe my jaw literally dropped open in awe when we exited the tunnel. We were surrounded by mountains and clouds and snow. We were on top of the world and we could see everything. But I could see Italy and Switzerland at the same time, so I really felt like I was seeing the whole world. We played in the snow. And by played in the snow I mean I got snow shoved down my jacket. There were many snowballs that were really more like iceballs. At the very tippy top of the mountain was a platform for all your tourist needs. We could see the tiny circle that was Zermatt, and the clouds that seemed to be below us, a little Italian town that I felt I could touch if I just stretched enough. But mostly snow. There was mostly snow. Pretty snow, smooth snow untouched by skis or snowboards. There were a few brave souls climbing a peak to our right. When we got our fill of the sight, which is mostly impossible, we took the cable car back down the mountain.

After all the lack of oxygen, we decided to get some exercise. That meant shopping. There was plenty to look at. Unfortunately, the prettiest watches were 100000 euros. Which made my $45 watch sitting on my wrist feel very college cheap. After some money spending, but not too much, we went to Marissa's family's favorite restaurant in Zermatt. There was beef tartar and red wine and veal and general yumminess. We all had a great last night in a town that never seemed actually to exist in our realities. The next day was a travel day. We got up, said goodbye to the flat and the Matterhorn, packed out bags, and took a three hour train ride back to Zurich. The rest of the family went back to Zug, but Varun and I had another 2 hours until our train to Stuttgart left. We just wandered around the city, counting how many H&M stores we could find (5), seeing if we were smart enough to find the river (we did), and hoping we didn't get lost in this new city and miss our train (we didn't). We took another three hour train ride back to Stuttgart and happily fell into bed.

Main street in Zermatt

Because I am me, I got sick as soon as we got back from Zermatt. Monday I left work early and went to sleep. When I tried to get up on Tuesday morning and discovered I couldn't, I decided to take a personal health day. After being abroad for a month and being on the go the whole time, a day filled with sleep and tv was much appreciated. Marissa and Varun took care of me, making sure I didn't touch anything or cook stuff. Thanks guys. By Thursday I was feeling better, which was good because it was a long day for me. A lab associated with the one I work with had received a dispenser, which turned out to be pretty much a 3D printer. We got a four hour tutorial on it, making everyone involved late for the Germany vs. US football game. I rushed over to where everyone was watching the game. It was a little awkward to be surrounded by a bunch of Germans. When the American team did something good, the 6 Americans in the room would awkwardly slow clap and look at each other from across the room for support. In the end, of course, we did not win. But both teams advanced to the next round of play, so it was a success overall. After the game was over, we went over to another dorm party. After being in Germany for a few weeks now, we have all gotten more used to how things go here, including the crazy dorm parties. This one was much much much better than the first one we went to. I think we were too overwhelmed by the chaos to really appreciate the fun, but this time we were prepared for the all the craziness. This time we also were with a group of SUPER kids, so having people we knew around made it much more enjoyable. The music was better and the company was fun as well. Again, it was a crazy party. We saw multiple people walking around with buckets of sangria. Yes, buckets, like the kind you build sand castles with. They contained about 5 liters of sangria and each one had a bunch of long colorful straws dangling out. Those Germans, man.

Friday came, and the three of us made our way once more to Zurich. Marissa and I got out of work early because it was Friday. For some time, we had wanted to go back to the Schlossgarten in the city center and sit in the grass. So that is what we did. We plopped in the park at 4 and left at 7 to find food before our train at 8. The ride seemed to take forever, and when we finally got to Zug at about 12, we all went straight to bed. Saturday was actually a perfect day. There was nothing I didn't like about it. The rain didn't bother me, my ears didn't care about the noise, and I never got cold. Let me run through this perfect day with you.

The lake in Zug

Old Town Zug

Surprise! Air show!

I woke up when I felt like it and then I got a yummy breakfast cooked for me. Not a bad deal. When we finally were ready, I put on a pretty dress and walked through beautiful Switzerland. We walked to a lake and then got gelato. From there, we continued around the lake until we reached Old Town Zug. It was the classic old European style with shops everywhere and gorgeous views of the lake. We sat down and had some lunch outside. When we finished our delicious meal, we went to the newer part of town and shopped. I got two new pairs of shoes for $45. I actually skipped for joy. I have witnesses that can verify this jollity. After a few hours of shopping, we got some macarons and wanted to eat them by the lake. When we started to walk toward the lake, many other people were walking toward the lake as well. We sat down with our legs dangling over the edge and then the show began. Six incredibly loud, incredibly cool planes flew over us. For the next half hour, they would split off and make designs, then come back together and fly over us some more. It was awesome. After the fun air show, we walked back to the flat and took a break. The whole reason we made the trip for the weekend was to go to Lucernefest, a huge music festival in Lucerne. There might have been 150,000 people there by the end of the night. There was food and drinks and music and people. People everywhere. We spent most of our time dancing to a band from Colombia. When they stopped, we gathered at the lake for fireworks. After such an eventful day, we were all pretty tired after the fireworks. We jumped on the next train back to Zug and were quickly asleep.

Bridge in Lucerne

In the Zurich main train station 

We woke up to the sound of rain. It had been raining ever since we got back the night before. This put a bit of a damper on our day. We lounged around, watching food shows on TV. We packed up and went for Chinese food for lunch. All the spices warmed us up right quick. From there we took a train to Zurich. At the train station, they had set up a public viewing arena, complete with food and a sand pit and tables. Then we took another three hour train ride back to Stuttgart.

Awwww the trio!

While in Zermatt, I heard that my family lost an amazing member. My great aunt Myra had been sick for a long time, but that doesn't lessen the blow. I had always told my grandma that when the time came I would go to Atlanta with her for moral support. Unfortunately, that was not in the cards for me. It was weird to be so far away at a time when family is supposed to be together. I didn't let the loss ruin my time in Zermatt. I knew aunt Myra would have berated me in some crazy, Southern way if I had. When we came home from Switzerland the second time, I got to hear all about the awesome memorial from my mom. It sounds like I missed a fantastic party! I'm glad that everyone celebrated her life instead of mourning. I did the same from many miles away, even though I wish I could have been with the rest of my family. This post, and all my posts, are dedicated to my aunt Myra and all the other people in my life who have ever taught me anything about how to live. I hope I’m doing it in a way she would approve of.

The past two weekends have been super exciting and fun-packed. The next few weekends may be a little more low key, but we still plan on doing plenty of local exploring. Also, it did not leave much time to write about what I was doing because I was too busy doing things to write about! Now that everyone is all caught up, I am over and out.

Forever and always,

Taryn