Frolicking through France

Bonjour!

Last week, the boys were on holiday with their dad, so I got to take a week of holiday myself. I decided to go to Paris for a few days then visit my lovely friend Hannah in Le Mans, where she is currently a teacher’s assistant. 

The Louvre.

Paris was my first solo travel trip. I tried to convince myself that I was this super confident, independent traveler that had no need to be nervous traveling by myself, but this did not help my nerves. Hearing one too many horror stories about women traveling alone, I was a bit on edge at first, but as soon as I settled into my hostel, everything was great and confidence was restored. Also, in hostel’s it’s quite easy to meet people, so you don’t’ have to be alone for long. After getting a night’s sleep in the hostel, I began my first day in Paris. Before getting to Paris, I was skeptical about it living up to all its hype and charm, but it truly is a spectacular city. Every side street is lined with cute cafes and adorable boutiques. Then the Eiffel Tower pops into view, and you can’t help but become giddy. Notre Dame is gorgeous, though I didn’t get a glimpse of Quasi Modo. The Louvre is incredibly, mind-blowingly vast, though its most famous work, the Mona Lisa, is surprisingly small. At night, the Eiffel Tower positively sparkles and causes this feeling of romance that Paris is so famous for. Beautiful shops that I could never afford line the Champs Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe standing proudly at the end. 

 

Now Paris is absolutely humongous, which was a bit of an adjustment coming from little Zurich. The metro is easy enough to figure out though and will get you where you want. Also, everything in Zurich is impeccably clean and safe feeling, including the public transport; while I never really felt unsafe on the Paris metro, it definitely was grungier and more crowded. One piece of advice though, try not to lug a large suitcase through the metro. While leaving Paris to go to Le Mans, I promptly got my suitcase stuck in the metro turnstile. This French man had to come to my rescue and then was kind enough to help me through the metro; who ever said French people weren’t nice? 

Hannah and I.

After Paris, I headed to Le Mans, a small city about an hour from Paris. A friend from TCU, Hannah, is currently an English teacher’s assistant there, and it was wonderful to spend a few days with her. Her and her friends showed me around the quaint city, which has an impressive cathedral. It was just so relaxing and nice to be with her. It felt like a little piece of home.

Texas Meets Switzerland

Pedalo in Luzern.

Howdy! Last week, my best friend from TCU, Crystal, came to visit all the way from the Lone Star State. It was amazing to have a piece of home here and get to explore Switzerland with her. I got to show off the place I’ve come to love so much; I felt like a proud mama!

                I took a week of holiday, and the family I work for was generous enough to let us stay in their old house while we were in Zurich. The first day and a half we saw the sights of Zurich, and then we headed to Luzern, a gorgeous little city situated amongst mountains and of course a lovely lake. Luzern’s annual summer music festival just so happened to be taking place while we were there. All around the city, there were awesome musicians playing in the streets. The musicians were classically trained people from all over the world, from Cuba to Germany. Then we had the chance to see the Luzern School of Music orchestra perform for free.

Crystal falling in love with Switzerland on Kappelbrucke.

                Our favorite spot in Luzern was Kappelbrucke, or chapel bridge, a gorgeous wooden bridge with colorful flower boxes hanging on the sides. Then we discovered a Jesuit church that we dubbed the “cupcake church” because it was decked out in pastel pink and blue décor. Definitely the most feminine bridge I’ve ever laid my eyes on. We decided to take advantage of the lake and rented a pedalo. It was so great to admire the city from the water.

                From Luzern, we headed to Interlaken, a very touristy but incredibly beautiful place. Like the name suggests, the city is situated between two lakes, both perfection—of course it’s Switzerland! The train ride from Luzern to Interlaken was truly the most spectacular view I’ve ever had by a mode of transportation.

View from the train ride.

                The first day we decided to take of advantage of the jaw dropping scenery and go hiking. We took a train to Lauterbrunnen and hiked from there to Murren and then to Gimmelwald. The path was purely uphill for the first two and a half hours, but the crazy, amazing view of the Alps made it all worth it. I’ve never stopped so many times out of pure awe. Definitely a hike I’ll never forget, full of snowy mountains and picturesque waterfalls. After the five or six hour hike, we were exhausted but fully content.

                The next day we decided to take it easy at Lake Thun. It was the most beautiful lake scene with the clearest lake water I’ve ever laid eyes on. The water felt like pure ice, however. After staring at it for as long as possible, we finally mustered up the courage to jump in; it literally took my breath away. All in all it was refreshing in the end.

Pit stop on our hike.

                That evening, we headed back to Zurich to explore some city nightlife and had tons of fun dancing the night away. We spent our last day chilled out due to rain and made some nice cheese fondue—a must while in Switzerland. I was so sad to see Crystal go but so glad that I got to spend yet another week as roommates!

Lake Thun.

Transitions Abroad

Ok guys, sorry I’ve been such a horrible blogger. So here goes a recap of my life the last month and a half or so:

                Right before I got to Switzerland the family I’m working for, the Bodmers, decided they wanted to move. They found a nice flat in Stafa, and the move in date was set for August 10^th. Now the house in Zumikon is quite large, and the new place is about half that size, which meant basically throwing away/selling half of their stuff. I introduced them to garage selling, and the kids had great fun selling things and making some money of their own—my little businessmen!

                Mid-July the boys and Alessandra went on holiday for 2 weeks, and I stayed to pack and take an intensive German course. During the course, I was not highly motivated due to still being burnt out from college, but now I’m getting there.

                Robin, Alec, and Alessandra got back, and then 2 days later the boys left for a 2 week vacation with their dad—I guess the perks of having split up parents.  The next 2 weeks were full of packing, throwing things away, and finally moving. Moving a big house is definitely not one of my favorite past times, so it was nice for it to be finished.

                Our new home, Stafa, is directly on Zurichsee, Lake Zurich, so it is awesome to be able to just walk to the lake in 2 minutes. They boys have transitioned seamlessly and seem to really like the school and have both made friends. This town is much bigger than Zumikon, so I’m excited to explore.

                Last Tuesday, I began a new German class in Stafa that’s twice a week. I finally feel like I’m ready to crack down and learn some German.

Some highlights of late:

-Zurifascht: Weekend festival that occurs every 3 years in Zurich. Think fireworks, fair food, and music. Family friendly.

-Street Parade: Annual parade with elaborate floats blasting house and techno music. Lots of crazy outfits and interesting people. Thousands upon thousands of people flock to Zurich each year for this. Not so family friendly.

-Uetliburg: nice hike to the “Top of Zurich”

-New friends: Love meeting people from all over the world! Now I have friends from Estonia to England to Denmark.

-Dance classes: I had the chance to go to a day of free dance classes at a new studio last Saturday. My friend Mette and I got really ambitious and took Pilates, modern, raga, and a house class. Awesome and exhausting day!

-Enjoying every possible summer moment at the lake.

Craziness in Cinque Terre

Ciao bella my friends! Last weekend, I headed off to Cinque Terre, which is on the Ligurian coast in Italy. It’s a picturesque set of 5 villages looking out over the sea, full of colorful buildings, delicious food, and amazing scenery.

On Friday night, I set out with two friends towards Milan. We got to Milan around midnight and then got about couple hours of sleep before we had to catch our train to Le Spezia, a small city close to Cinque Terre. We were all so excited that the lack of sleep barely bothered us at all on Saturday. Our first stop in Cinque Terre was Riomaggiore. After browsing around for a while at the cute village, we headed to the last village, Monterosso, to begin a hike between the villages. The trail between the villages takes you along the coastline and into the surrounding forest. It was a gorgeous, difficult hike, full of wonderful views and steep stairs.

After a couple of hours, we made it to the next village, Vernazza. We spent the rest of the day there swimming in the amazingly clear sea and eating fantastic Italian food. Around ten, we headed back to Le Spezia and checked into our hostel. At this point, we were exhausted and got some much needed sleep before our second day in Cinque Terre.

On Sunday, we headed to Manarola. This and Vernazza were my two favorite villages. It had gorgeous swimming areas and huge rocks you could jump off of. After lounging, swimming, and, of course, eating some more, we had to head back to Le Spezia to catch a train back home. This is where the adventure really begins.

 Literally every train we took back to Zurich was late. We began to realize that we were not in Switzerland anymore, and Italy runs on a completely different time system. As we arrived in Le Spezia, late of course, we began sprinting towards the train that would head to Milan, only to find out that train is running 30 minutes late anyways. Finally the train arrives, and we start the journey to Milan. Then we obviously arrive late to Milan and again we rush towards our next train to Chiasso, the border town of Italy and Switzerland, and arrive in the nick of time. Upon arriving in Chiasso, we realize the train we were supposed to take to Zurich has been cancelled; this leads to us taking various trains to various cities before we finally end up on one going to Zurich. We all heaved a sigh of relief when we started towards Zurich. However, if our original trains had worked out, we were supposed to arrive in Zurich around 11:30. Due to all the changes, we got there around 12:45. The last tram back to my village leaves at 12:30, and there is not another one until 5:50 am. Thus, Ali and I wandered around Zurich until the wee hours of the morning. Luckily, Zurich is one of the safest cities in the world, so if you had to be stuck in one city, Zurich is the place to be.

Needless to say, when I finally got back to Zumikon, I had never been happier to see a bed in my life. Despite all the craziness, it was a dream going to Italy, and Cinque Terre was a place I’d absolutely recommend to everyone. Definitely a weekend I’ll never forget.

Settling into Swiss Life

Hi all!

Sorry I haven’t written in a while. The last few weeks have flown by, and I feel very settled here now. I’ve spent my time here in Zumikon, gone to Zurich often, and have been to Stafa, the place we’re moving to, several times. The best moments have been spent soaking up the sun by the lake, wandering around the city, spending time with new friends, and hanging out with the family. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

Twinsies in Stafa.

With my sweet boys.

Great gals.

Favorite walking trail.

Not to shabby, right?

French Fairy Tales

Bonjour! This past weekend I traveled with my friend Fiona to Lausanne and Montreux, both of which are located in the French-speaking portion of Switzerland. It was quite a change from Zurich, with French language and architecture everywhere.

Cathedrale de Lausanne

On Saturday, we explored Lausanne, a city on Lake Geneva. Lausanne was not quite what I expected; it had a much different feel and demographic than Zurich. The vibe in the city was grittier and a bit more working class/blue collar, which I had not yet really seen in Switzerland. The portion of the city on the lake was called Ouchy, which of course had us laughing all day. Despite the name’s harmful connotation, this area was gorgeous, and Lake Geneva is a gem with beautiful mountains in the background, much like the other pristine lakes I’ve seen in Switzerland. I swear, after living in Switzerland, it’s going to be difficult living in a city that does not have a lake and mountain view. One of the main attractions of the city was the Cathedrale de Lausanne, a picturesque cathedrale built in the 1200s. It had fantastic stained glass and really was a great piece of architecture. We finished the night by feasting on cheese fondue. It was death by cheese, and every gooey bite was simply amazing.

Chateau de Chillon.

On Sunday, Fiona and I headed to Montreux, a quaint town surrounded by vineyards and home of the famed Chateau de Chillon. For those of you who know me well, you know that I have absolutely no sense of direction. Well, Fiona and I make the perfect traveling pair because neither does she. Finding our way around was half of the adventure, but we always managed, even if sometimes it took us an extra hour. We finally made it to Montreux and decided to make Chateau de Chillon our first stop. Chillon is the most well-known castle in Switzerland and was the home of the House of Savoy until the Bernese invasion. It was so cool exploring it and reflecting on the fact that so much history took place in it. Chillon has a perfect location situated on Lake Geneva, overlooking the Alps. It really was like a fairy tale. Some lucky Counts lived there once upon a time!

Fiona and I.

As soon as we left Chillon, a torrential downpour began. Fiona and I huddled under her tiny umbrella because of course I neglected to bring one. We made it back to Montreux without getting too drenched, and the rain ceased, at least for a little bit. Montreux is well-known for drawing musical artists, most prominently Freddie Mercury from Queen, and having a big music fest each year. Queen recorded some of their music in Montreux, and Freddie was a regular in the town, so Montreux has a large statue dedicated to him. After seeing the statue, Fiona and I spent the day wandering around the lakeside and cobbled streets. After drinking loads of wonderful espresso, we headed back to Zurich. Being in such a diverse, yet small country had been a blessing. Getting new perspectives is so easy here. I can be in extremely different locations with different languages in two hours. Switzerland is a wonderful, odd little country.

Ticino Ticino

Fiona, Ali, and I.

After rain, rain, and more rain, some other girls and I decided to flee to southern Switzerland to get some bright, shining, warm weather. On Sunday, we went to Lugano, which is in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. The train ride was about two and a half hours long. The first two hours the scenery was beautiful yet foggy and eerie. Then all of a sudden we went through a tunnel, and when we came out the other side, it was gorgeous and sunny! Welcome to paradise.

Being in Lugano felt like being in a completely different country. The language and culture drastically contrasted with the German part of the country I’ve been living in. The city was gorgeous, quaint, and full of wonderful Italian food. There were green, green mountains jutting right out of the pristine, blue lake. We took a funicular to the top of Monte San Salvatore and got a spectacular view of the city, lake, and mountains. It was surreal seeing palm trees and snow covered Alps at the same time. Even the train rides through the country are a wonderful part of the journey. It seems that every step along the way is postcard perfect, with mountains, lakes, waterfalls, beautiful homes and farmland. Switzerland truly is blessed with some of the most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen in my life.

We spent the rest of the day wondering around the city, eating gelato, and soaking up the sun. It was such a refreshing day, full of relaxation, exploring, and new friends.  This diverse country keeps me on my toes and continues to keep me in awe of all that it has to offer. 

America Meets Switzerland

Hello all! Since I last wrote, I’ve been exploring, working, and getting to know all that is around me. Two weekends ago, I went to Rapperswil, a lovely historic town by Lake Zurich, with the family I’m au pairing for. In German, the word “lake” is actually “see,” so here Lake Zurich is called Zurichsee. Zurichsee is absolutely gorgeous, with crystal clear water and swans swimming everywhere. That combined with the Alps in the background create perfection. We spent the entire afternoon enjoying the lake and sunny weather. Unfortunately, sunny, warm weather has been rare since I’ve been here, so when there’s a nice day I try to make the most of it and soak up as much sun as possible!

Hannah and I overlooking Zurich.

This past weekend, I had the chance to explore the city more and meet some new people. I’ve made connections with other au pairs in the area and have made friends from all over, such as Canada, Denmark, England, and Estonia. This is such a fun international community, and the girls are so sweet. It is wonderful to know some people my age now; it truly makes all the difference in the world. Hopefully, I’ll get to travel around with some of them!

One of my close friends from home, Hannah, passed through Zurich enroute to Tanzania, and I got to spend 2 days with her. The Bodmers were extremely kind and let Hannah stay with them and gave me the two afternoons and evenings off. I found such a wonderful family to work for and feel at home with them. Hannah brought the sunshine and some awesome weather. We took in the sights and sat by Zurichsee, the lake, much of the first day. I feel that the entire city was doing the same thing due to the brilliant change in weather! The second day, Hannah and I climbed to the top of Grossmunster, the biggest cathedral in Zurich. At the top, there is the most stunning view of the city that truly takes your breath away. The cathedral was built during the 1100s and feeling the presence of history always causes a sense of awe. Having Hannah in town was like having a piece of home with me in Europe. Slowly, though, Switzerland is beginning to feel like an extension of home, or rather a new home in itself.

View from Grossmunster.

Gruezi!

I officially arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday. The journey to my new home was a bit hectic, but I was pleased to get there in one piece. After I boarded my plane from DFW to Miami, the flight crew announced that there was a hydraulic leak and that we would have to change planes. This process was quite lengthy, and I realized I would miss my connecting flight in Miami if I didn’t figure something out, so the airline helped me come up with a plan B. I ended up making a last minute flight to Chicago so I could catch the flight to Dusseldorf, Germany, and then I could finally be on my way to Zurich. In all this, my baggage got lost because it was on the late flight to Miami. Luckily I had extra clothes in my backpack, so it ended up just fine.

                When I arrived at the airport in Zurich, I had to have a lengthy chat with the lost baggage desk. I had no way of contacting the family I’m au pairing for, the Bodmers, so I was a bit nervous we would miss each other since I was late meeting them. However, after a couple of misunderstandings, we found each other and made our way to Zumikon, a suburb of Zurich and my home for the next 14 months.

                The area around me is amazingly beautiful!! It’s truly like a fairytale, with wild flowers everywhere and quaint, Snow Whitesque houses. The family I’m with surpassed my expectations. The boys, Alec and Robin, are very sweet and warm. They try quite hard to communicate in English with me and do very well, and they are teaching me some Swiss German! Mrs. Bodmer has been showing me the ropes and introducing me to the area. I’m already beginning to feel like I’m part of the family. I have not had much of a chance to explore yet or meet other people, but I am eager to. I am beyond excited to see what develops in the near future and settle in even more in my new Swiss home. 

Next Stop Zurich

As I’m procrastinating, I’m daydreaming of Europe, where I’ll be so soon! I can hardly believe senior year at TCU is coming to a close. It is truly bittersweet,  and how I feel about it is constantly in flux. One minute I’m ecstatic about future possibilities, the next I’m unbelievably sad about the upcoming goodbyes and separation from some of the people I love most. Over the next two weeks (what?? So fast!), I will try to balance school work, packing, planning, and having an amazing last hoorah with my wonderful friends.

 After that, in just a short 16 days, I will be in a plane on my way to Zurich, Switzerland, my new home for 14 months. Here, I will be an au pair for two adorable boys and hopefully, fingers crossed, learn German. For all of those who are unaware, I’ll give a quick break down about demographics and language in Switzerland. There is no actual Swiss language. Rather, Switzerland is broken into different language regions, and I will be in the German-speaking area. Actually, the official language is Swiss German, which is quite different than standard German, but I will learn standard German. The other major language region is French- speaking, and there is also a small Italian-speaking region. These language regions are due to the countries that border the different parts of Switzerland. Switzerland is bordered by France, Italy, Austria, and Germany.

Switzerland is an amazing central location, so I am incredibly excited to spend some time traveling around Europe and immersing myself in different cultures. The next year feels so open, and I can’t really envision what it will look like, which is a bit liberating. Go on this journey with me and see how the next chapter unfolds.