With all the discussion of white privilege buzzing around the US and all over the world, it was interesting that Hayden and I came face to face with our privilege as we neared the border between Italy and Switzerland (in other words, the border between the EU and NOT the EU). After riding through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen (making a mental note to stop in northern Italy next time we're in Europe) we got an automatic text sent to our phones warning us that if we had visited one of a list of countries in the last 14 days we would be detained and asked to quarantine for 2 weeks or return to whatever country we came from...and you KNOW Spain was on that list. Not only that, but as Americans, just being in Europe raised a lot of eyebrows, and we really didn't want to have to answer any questions (even though we were prepared with our visas, paperwork, etc.).
A few minutes later, an announcement came over the intercom in the train saying that border patrol would be checking all passengers to make sure they were cleared to enter Switzerland. When they entered our car, we were both suuuper nervous. My heart was pounding like it hadn't since our first night in Rome a week earlier when we got separated. We watched as they questioned a black guy and went through his bags and as they asked a guy with two full tattoo sleeves to see his passport. They walked down the aisle and passed right by us, pivoted, and walked by again, eventually exiting our car. We couldn't believe we got off that easily! I mean, considering our condition (we had just eaten leftover pizza so we had an open pizza box, no masks on, feet up on the seats in front of us, and wet underwear laundry draped all over our luggage) that we would have been scolded for SOMETHING, but nope. Our blonde hair and blue eyes must have given the impression of a couple of locals just coming back home from a long weekend.
When we actually got into the country, we saw a line of dark-skinned people led by those same border patrolmen exit the train and enter the station. As grateful as I was that our plans weren't totally ruined, I was a little sick because I really think the color of our skin was a huge reason that we were able to enter the country. We said a prayer of gratitude and continued gawking at the incredible scenery, but MAN, what an eye-opening experience.
Okay anyway, SWITZERLAND. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Switzerland and the Alps and how unbelievable it is that WE ACTUALLY SPENT A WEEK THERE. I mean, you hear how pretty it is there, and then you actually GO and you cry every time you look around you because it's absolutely magical. I kept thinking about how my hometown of Santa Clara was founded by the Swiss and how the landscape there could not be any more different from that of their home country. SO GREEN. SO MANY COWS AND GOATS AND SHEEP AND CHALETS AND WWOOOOWWW. Originally we didn't think we'd even be able to afford to visit Switzerland because we'd heard how expensive it was, but because we did CouchSurfing and hitchhiking and stuck to a diet of grocery store yogurt and Swiss chocolate, I think we ended up spending about $200 total over 6 days...I wonder if anyone else has ever done that before.
Our first stop was in Bern: a relatively small town often overlooked by tourists. I was struck by how clean and lovely the streets of the city were and how beautiful the river that ran through it was. The first thing I noticed was that corona didn't even seem to be a thing around there...NOBODY wore masks and we felt pretty weird walking into stores without them on. How refreshing, though! It was soooo nice to spend a few days not worrying about getting in trouble for letting our masks fall below our noses. We explored our way to a park on the banks of the Aare where we saw tons of people floating the river. We met a friend, Hannah, who invited us to join her and her boyfriend Pato (can't remember his real name) for an evening at the park floating the river and eating ice cream. We luckily hadn't made any plans, so we joined in for one of my favorite afternoons ever.
We put on our swimsuits in the very European-style dressing rooms (basically a wall to stand behind with lots of other people also changing) and walked along the river on the perfectly manicured grass with our new friends to a bridge a little way upstream. Just like the locals, we jumped off the bridge into the icy water and floated back to our picnic spot. The park is specifically designed for people to float the river like this, so there's a little outlet specifically so you can safely swim back into the park.
It was that afternoon as we sat eating gelato with our friends basking in the gorgeous Swiss sun that I decided if I ever get the chance to move to Bern, I will wholeheartedly take it.
That evening we met up with our first CouchSurfing host, Chagai from Israel, and headed to the grocery store to buy some food to cook together at his apartment. He was kind of a weird dude, but he was so kind to let us stay with him and even let us sleep in his bed. His roommates were a little wild, smoking and drinking and playing music really loud, but we had a good time meeting people from all over the world and sharing very, very different experiences.
The next day we got up and headed back into town for some more exploring. We didn't know very much about the town, but we just walked around and explored all day.
Apparently, Putin just gave Switzerland a couple of bears one day...so there's this huge cage on the banks of the river with bears walking around all the time. Suuuper random.
Did you know Bern is the city where Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity? I still can't even fathom the Theory of Relativity tbh, but here's Hayden trying to.
We really didn't have many plans, and the city is small enough that we saw pretty much everything before the afternoon so we did the same thing as the day before: we met up with our friends and floated the river!
Hannah and Pato had noticed that Chagai was kind of a weird dude, so they offered to let us stay with them that night instead of going back to his place. While we were so grateful for Chagai and his hospitality, Hannah and Pato lived right in the center of the city in the most adorable little apartment, and we really liked them a lot. So we thanked our CouchSurfing host and never actually saw him again...kind of a bummer, but we had a fun night with Hannah and Pato.
That night we climbed up to the Rosegarten just across the bridge and watched the sunset on one of the most beautiful little towns I've ever seen. Unforgettable.
The next morning we got up and set off on our first hitchhiking adventure ever. Luckily Hannah had an extra poster board, and she helped us write our "Richtung Interlaken" (Direction Interlaken) sign to hold up for passers-by. We had done a little research to find a good place to stand, and after walking about 1.5 miles we set up camp and started waving at cars in hopes of catching a ride. (I will add, our families thought we were CRAZY for hitchhiking, but I don't think anyone would blame us if they saw the train prices...yiiiikes.) We got our first ride in probably 15 minutes, and even though it took 4 different rides and about 4 hours to get us to Grindelwald, we finally made it!
We even met this cool girl, who had left her home in Germany in January for a 3-year agricultural journey, stopping at little farmhouses and asking for lodging and labor (cuz apparently that's a thing in the Alps?). Look how non-threatening we looked. Wouldn't you pick us up??
So yes, we made it to Grindelwald and met our second CouchSurfing host Daniella...
AND THIS WAS THE VIEW FROM HER HOUSE. We stayed at a location that is normally probably about $500 a night for 3 nights FOR FREE. I can't even believe we were there, seriously the most jaw-dropping valley.
Daniella was awesome! She was so funny and a very dry sort of way and really thought it was hilarious how much Hayden could eat. She had three kittens, one of which climbed into bed with me when Hayden got up to use the bathroom one night...I guess you get what you pay for (or, you get waaaaay more than you pay for, I mean, look at this place!). We spent our three precious days in the Alps doing some of our very favorite things: hiking, bike riding, visiting waterfalls, and eating Swiss chocolate.
Those flower beds on the left are actually gravesites, how adorable are they! Apparently, every plot is rented, though, and so once the family of the deceased person stops paying rent, they give the site to someone else (I'm guessing they bury the ashes here? Because the plots are obviously too small to bury full bodies).
Our second day in the area was another one of the best days of our lives (are you noticing a trend here?:). We took Rick Steves's advice and went to Lauterbrunnen, which is just up the road. We rented bikes for half a day and rode around, stopping at waterfalls and taking a lift up the mountain to the little town of Murren. (Originally we were going to take the lift only halfway up the mountain and then ride uphill the rest of the way to Murren, but we just followed the crowd and ended up on the top of the mountain, luckily avoiding the ridiculous incline we would have had to face). I can't help but smile when I think about this day. It was a real dream come true, especially for Hayden. I just loved seeing him so happy!
This waterfall actually runs INSIDE a mountain.
These two-dimensional photos hardly do this place justice. This lookout left us absolutely SPEECHLESS.
Coming back down the mountain was an absolute THRILL but also a little sketch because it was mostly loose gravel on the way down. No sooner did we reach the bottom and turn in our bikes than the whole sky clouded over and started dumping rain. The whole day had been beautiful and sunny and perfect, and the rain came as a reminder of how incredibly blessed we were to be able to travel to all these wonderful places. I think Heavenly Father approved of our adventures.
We hopped on the train and went back to Grindelwald, stopping once again to get some more of the best chocolate we'd ever had. The next day was also a little rainy, but that didn't stop us from going on one more hike.
And what an amazing hike it was! The whole first couple of miles were reminiscent of Washington for me. It was like a temperate rain forest for a while that opened up into more of a forest landscape.
UMM, ARE WE KIDDING??
Once we finally reached the top we were starving and really sad because we knew the food in the little restaurant was likely waaaay out of our price range. Regardless, we ordered some food from a very condescending Swiss man (I won't go into it) and sat down to look at the huge glacier that we had just climbed to. Thinking we had paid $16 for a single soup, a single sausage link, and a single piece of bread, we were absolutely DELIGHTED when the grumpy waitress brought us TWO PLATES.
Hayden was ELATED. The piping hot soup and spicy sausage links did my tummy soooo good.
And here's the view of that glacier. Like what?!?!
Afraid we would miss the last bus of the afternoon and have to hike all the way up the opposite side of the valley to get back to Daniella's house, we literally ran the whole way down and luckily made it to the bus. The hike was seriously one of the most beautiful we'd ever done.
When the time came, we were really sad to leave Daniella and Grindelwald and the most exquisite place ever. We snagged a selfie with our host and promised to return someday before getting on the train back to Interlaken and attempting to hitchhike once again.
(We kept the sign and wrote "Richtung Lucerne" on the back).
Once again, it was stressful, but it really didn't take too long to catch a ride, this time with an adorable couple with a cute little baby girl. Obviously, we looked pretty harmless, why else would a couple with a baby let two complete strangers into their car? We really regretted not getting their info, but they were soooo kind and went out of their way to drop us off in the center of the most beautiful little lake town I've ever seen...
Lucerne! Is it even a real place?! The town was a fairytale. I honestly don't know much about it besides that it is absolutely stunning and located right where a river meets a lake.
We spent a fortune on some delicious pastries and ate them at the lake's edge. What a day.
We missed out on the boat ride that takes tourists around this lake and to a cave where the Allies held troops during WWII, so once again, we'll just have to come back someday!
Zurich was our last stop in Switzerland. Once again, we headed to a spot that we had heard was successful and hitchhiked! It took a little longer that time, but we got a ride from a very kind man who dropped us off just next to our AirBnB. After posting up, we walked to downtown Zurich along the river's edge through a bunch of crazy Sunday afternoon parties (again, I guess corona wasn't a worry there, I loved that). Honestly, by that point, we were so hungry and so tired of the ridiculous food prices that we were sort of ready to leave the country. Our last meal was a €20 combo from McDonald's that just wasn't very satisfying but was drastically cheaper than any other option...I'll never spend €20 on one meal at McDonald's ever again.
The city was pretty, though, and as the banking capital of the world, we saw looots of big-name bank corporate offices.
The next morning we hopped on a Flix bus and headed to our next adventure: Munich. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but we could not feel more privileged to have been able to spend so much time in one of the world's most beautiful countries for so little money. We will be back, Switzerland!
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