SWISS TRIP

It has almost been a week since I was in Switzerland. That one week feels like a dream. I still can't believe that I was actually in Switzerland for one week!!! The thing is, the whole trip seems so surreal to me. So much so that I still was freaking out when I was in the plane and was still processing the fact that I was going to Switzerland!! I couldn't believe it!! I still don't believe it... I'll just do a brief summary of my trip there since a day to day account may be a bit boring. Also, I'm not putting up lots of pictures because most of them sucks. And no, I didn't see any snow while I was there...

Places I went to

• BASEL is located in northwest Switzerland on the river Rhine and functions as a major industrial centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The city borders both Germany and France. We spent most of our time in Basel. One night we took a long walk around Basel and saw the Basel Munster, walked through the Munsterplatz and saw the Rhine. The lights around the river are gorgeous!! The next day we walked around Rathaus, the Basel Town Hall and had a drink there. I went inside Elisabethenkirsche for a moment and took pictures of the pyramid type structures around it. Since our main means of transport is the train we use the two train stations, especially the Basel Bad Bahnhof.
  

• LUCERNE is one of the most picturesque towns in Switzerland. We spent one morning just walking around town. The most interesting place here is the Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge). Built of wood, the bridge was once burnt down and since rebuilt. You can see where the fire did its damage by the artwork in the rafters. Unfortunately the writings on the wall are in Latin so we could only just guess what the whole story is all about.




• We spent our nights in a German town called FREIBURG. We decided to walk around town in search for dinner one night and ended up settling for an Italian place. There were definitely some funny moments when we were talking to the waiter in English and he replied in Italian. That was the first time I had artichoke.. It was OK...
• Our last two days were spent in ZURICH, the largest city in Switzerland. We took a loong walk from our hotel to the lake, just window shopping because all the shops were closed. There were a few boat rides offered but we decided to just walk around the area until we met up with Tok Su in front of the Opera House. I took my first tram ride from here to my aunt's place, hee...



• On our last day there, we managed to visit the RHINE FALLS. The view was absolutely amazing where you can see this huge chunk of rock completely surrounded by rushing river waters. First we walked around the lake and then took the boat ride to the summit of the rock. It was soo cold up there but very exhilirating!! Thank God I went up there, I almost didn't.. Hee..

Things I learnt and did

• Silence can be sooo deafening. I'm so used to have some kind of computer humming or just the swinging fans sound that when left on my own with complete silence that I feel so out of place. Now I appreciate every little sound more and realized that I need noises to survive. Haha..
• The roads in Europe needs a bit of getting used to. It's not just the right side driver but the roads are truly weird. Although the highways look the same, it felt different.
• Trams have the right of way over just about everyone all the time. So we need to be extra careful everytime we cross the street. However, all of the drivers will stop when a pedestrian is crossing a street, so that's cool...
• Although the people are generally bigger, most of their facilities are small and compact e.g the elevator in our hotel in Zurich was TINY. The roads are narrower even though their cars a noticably bigger than ours. The clouds also seem smaller over here.
• I realized that the world is a big place but at the same time appreciated the fact that all of us are in fact living in ONE earth. I sometimes look up at the sky and just be comforted by the realization that we are under the same sky no matter where we are.
• Zinn, Illi and me were on the same part of the world and felt strangely excited by that. However, although we were so close, we didn't actually meet each other.
• It was the end of winter. So all the trees are bare and some are just starting to blossom. The bare trees somehow remind me of wintering rubber trees.



• The buidings there are beautiful but it's such a shame that most of them are defaced with grafittis.
• Almost all of the towns are separated into the OLD and NEW parts where you can appreciate the beauty of centuries old structures and then a bit further down the road you'll have the hotels, shops and cafes.
• Since we were in the northern part of Switzerland, EVERYTHING was written in GERMAN...So that made it a bit difficult for us to get around. And it was especially hard when we were buying food because we couldn't understand what's on the menu. Even all the channels on TV are in German, where they even do German voiceovers over American shows... Huu...
• I loved both my rooms in Freiburg and Zurich.. They were so cute!!
• I learnt that it is important that you make sure you can use your adaptor before packing it in your luggage. It is also imperative that you make sure you bring a lip balm if you ever make your way over to this part of the world. Always remember to drink lots of water because it is really dry there.
• Since I was wearing my pink jacket that I made in India, I kinda stood out in the sea of black, brown and grey jackets the Swiss people were wearing. And I was wearing a tudung too!!



• We did a lot of walking while we were there which, in my opinion is an excellent way of warming up our bodies. We also were on the trains a lot which is fun. But let me tell you, it's hard to enjoy the view when you're walking up a steep cobblestone alley wearing heels.
• I had CHEESE and COFFEE almost every day that I was there.. I kinda miss it now...
• I had cheese fondue for the first time there and it was absolute YUM!! However, I think that is a once in a lifetime experience since all of us were stuffed to the max by the time we finished the food.



• I tasted a couple of local dishes which are Roshti (Swiss potato pancake) and Spatzle (small noodle dumpling).
• Nights at the train station are especially cold, moreover when you have to wait 40 minutes for the train...
• They had this one toilet (called McClean) that cost 2 francs per entry (That's like RM6). It was an automated self cleaning toilet though. Very high tech...
• All shops in Zurich are closed on Sundays so better not do your shopping then. Thankfully, we had a local (Tok Su) showed us the few shops that were open so that we could buy our chocolates and souvenirs..
• We were told the first day we were there that it was the first day that the sun came out in Basel. I guess the sun followed us here..Thee hee hee...
• Since the weather was getting a lot warmer more people are going out and having walks around town.
• We also got to drive on the Autobahn which was soooo exciting. There is no actual speed limit here if I'm not mistaken but the various lorries and trucks keep the speedy drivers in check.

All in all, the whole experience felt like it happened in a dream. To this very moment, it still doesn't feel real. I wish I can go to Europe again, hopefully with friends (note to Ama)...