When I got to the train station, there was a farmers' market going on inside the train station, in a big foyer area. I excitedly walked through the aisles. My excitement turned to astonishment and disappointment as I saw the prices. The Swiss franc and the US dollar are about 1 to 1, so there's no need to do tricky mental conversions. However, things are very, very, very expensive. I'm talking like 2 francs/dollars for ONE apple. Luckily, I had planned on La Suisse being quite pricey, so I had bought a bag of muesli and some fruit with me from Munich.
Zurich, like many other European cities, has a free bike rental program, which are fabulous for cheap travelers like me who happen to love biking. I rented a bike, but there was only one problem: I had my big backpack with me, plus a purse, plus the few grocery items I couldn't fit in my backpack. I didn't yet know who I'd be couchsurfing with so I couldn't drop off my stuff at their house. The bike guys wouldn't let me leave my stuff there, so I only one option: I took it with me, homeless-style.
I have to admit, the first hour in Switzerland was a little daunting. For one, bathrooms there cost 3 francs to use (only 2 francs for men...hello, UNFAIR!). Secondly, I wasn't sure that I'd have a place to stay that night, and I wasn't about to spend 40 francs on the cheapest hostel available. Thirdly, it was my first time really, really being by myself. Yes, I had taken the overnight train to Austria to meet Niki, but that didn't really count. In Zurich, I didn't know anyone. I didn't speak the language (it's in the German speaking part of Switzerland, more on that later). I didn't even have any maps of the city.
After my initial fears subsided (after all, this was Switzerland. The worst crimes that are committed here are probably bank fraud, not stealing backpackers' dirty laundry), I had a great time, and it was quite liberating to be all by myself.
I took a ride through Zurich and two things really struck me:
1) "This is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been." A beautiful city on Lake Zurich, surrounded by mountains. Does it get any better?
2) "Switzerland is for lovers." What? Not Paris? Not Rome? Not...Oslo? NO. I say this because everyone, and I mean everyone, was being totally couple-y. Young and old couples crammed the parkbenches, the lake front, and any available plot of grass. Maybe it was just springtime and all the Swiss people were twitter-pated (thanks, Bambi), but I've never seen anything like that in my life, and I usually am not aware of these things. But in Zurich, I was very, very aware that I was single. Remind me to find a significant other before going there again :)
I biked nearly all the way around Lake Zurich, and it was so completely perfect. Fresh air, blooming trees and flowers, blue water, sunshine, lots of sailboats =happy Claire.
Yep, that's a little kids' sailing competition!
That night, I went to a couchsurfing meetup held at a local Irish pub.
That's another thing that's cool about couchsurfing: I instantly made about 40 new Swiss (and international) friends. Many cities have couchsurfing "meet-ups" like that--it's a great way to get to know new people. At the Zurich meetup I realized just how international the city is. Out of 40 or so people, about 6 were Swiss. English, not French or German, was the language used.
That's another thing that's cool about couchsurfing: I instantly made about 40 new Swiss (and international) friends. Many cities have couchsurfing "meet-ups" like that--it's a great way to get to know new people. At the Zurich meetup I realized just how international the city is. Out of 40 or so people, about 6 were Swiss. English, not French or German, was the language used. My couchsurfing host that night was named Matthias, and was basically like Einstein. He had crazy hair, was 20 years old and a professional mathematician.
Don't ask me what professional mathematicians do, when I asked him, he used a lot of words that were just as confusing like "models" and "analysis." So anyway, I stayed with a super nice Einstein in his early years.
Don't ask me what professional mathematicians do, when I asked him, he used a lot of words that were just as confusing like "models" and "analysis." So anyway, I stayed with a super nice Einstein in his early years. The next two days and days were spent in Lucerne (also spelled Luzern). My couchsurfing hosts, a group of young students and artists who lived in a house facing the mountains, were nice, and there were two other young couchsurfers from the Netherlands, Marisa and Ruben, who had their plans quashed by the volcanic ash cloud and decided to hitchhike and couchsurf around Europe.
The first day I walked around Lucerne, met my couchsurfing hosts, and then decided to climb a mountain with Marisa and Ruben.
The mountain was called Pilatus, 6,955 feet high. Two of its claim-to-fames were having the world's steepest cog railway going up the mountain and Switzerland's longest summer tobaggon run (one of those where you use little sleds with wheels on the bottom). The downside was that neither of those were open until May, and it was only April.
The mountain was called Pilatus, 6,955 feet high. Two of its claim-to-fames were having the world's steepest cog railway going up the mountain and Switzerland's longest summer tobaggon run (one of those where you use little sleds with wheels on the bottom). The downside was that neither of those were open until May, and it was only April.
Although I had no shoes that were even remotely appropriate for hiking, we decided to give it a go. It's possible to take gondolas all of the way up, but we decided to save money and get some exercise and hike. It was gorgeous.
We passed cows with bells on their necks on the way up. Please, this is Switzerland.
Several random bathtubs were also spotted.
It took us 2.5 hours to get to the midway point, where we decided to pay for a gondola.
Fabulous.
We were so so so high up, but not to the peak, which cost an extra 20 francs.
Eventually, I told myself that this was one of those-once-in-a-lifetime things, and I bit the bullet and took the gondola, by myself, up to the very peak.
on the way up...
Absolutely the most breathtaking thing of my entire life. And by breathtaking, I mean my breath was literally taken away. Completely worth the 20 francs.
The view was so gorgeous and unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I was just in amazement. I'm pretty sure the whole time I was at the peak my mouth was wide open.
Beautiful Lake Lucerne was down below, and you could see so far that the earth and sky blended together. I kept thinking to myself, "This is the closest to heaven I've ever been."
There was a little chapel out on a ledge. Don't ask me how they built it.
I spent almost an hour there, just looking at everything. There was a bit of construction going on at the top, and I happened to run into a Swiss construction worker wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt. He had absolutely no idea what Notre Dame was, but he thought it was hilarious that I was so excited about it, and he humored me by letting me take a picture.
So many Notre Dame coincidences!
I took the very last gondola of the day back to the midway point to meet Marisa and Ruben. We walked down the mountain as the sun was setting.
Pretty pretty pretty
My shoes were done for and I had spent a bit more money than I had planned, but it was one of the most memorable things I've ever done. That night we made dinner at our couchsurfing hosts' house, which was really nice.
The next day, I decided to rent a bike and bike around Lake Lucerne.
Sooooo beautiful. It was a good time for reflecting on a lot of things in my life. There's something about the cool mountain air and a peaceful lake that makes for good journaling and soul-searching. I did that basically the whole day.
That night I took a bikram yoga class, which was expensive but so amazing. I love love love love yoga, and I missed me some hot, sweaty yoga! Ahhh! That night I hung out at the couchsurfer's place, preparing for my journey to Geneva the next day. Saturday morning I went to an outdoor market in Lucerne before departing. So pretty.
yes, that's YAK MEAT. No, I didn't have any. 
En route to Geneva:
Geneva was amazing in its own way. It's quite international too, and it's more French than Lucerne or Zurich (it's in the French half, and it's surrounded by France too). Switzerland is an interesting country because it's diverse. There's French, German, Italian, and Romansh spoken. It has to struggle to keep everyone happy, especially about which language to use in education and in government. Most people I talked to said that the Germans will make an effort to speak French to the French Swiss, but the French-speaking Swiss just like French too much to switch to German!
It was a sunny day, and I headed down to Lac Leman (Important note: We call it "Lake Geneva." Other people...cough all the French people...don't like this because Geneva is only one of the cities on the lake, which is in both France and Switzerland. Lac Leman is a much more neutral--hey, like Switzerland!--term :)
Swiss people were out enjoying the sun. Green spaces were overrun with sunbathers.
I walked out onto this peninsula-type thing where there were beaches, turkish baths, a little beach bar, and these really interesting pool-in-the-lake things. I shall call them plakes. Or lools. Opinions?
I stayed there and enjoyed the sun and the cool water on my feet.
Lots of art!
I walked over to the United Nations and had a great conversation with two guys from Egypt on the way there, which resulted them inviting me to go running with them the next day, which I politely had to decline. The UN unfortunately was closed, but was really cool nonetheless.
Geneva is a mecca for important international organisations....
....of various levels of importance :)
My couchsurfing host in Geneva was the most interesting person: a young, British-born, Cambridge-educated, Orthodox Jewish rapper ("the Zionist rapper") who has performed for the Queen of England but works for Swiffer during the day. What a combination. You could tell from the minute you walked into his apartment that he was clearly very proud to be Jewish--Hebrew books lined his bookshelf, blue and white were the dominant colors, stars of David were hung in various places, and he kept his kitchen kosher. We had some great conversations, about world peace, especially in the Middle East, the place of Judaism in the world, and his experiences with racism in the UK, which inspired many of his songs, like "the United Kingdom of Racism." He had that famous dry British humor, and he was one of my favorite couchsurfing hosts.
That night, I went to a Geneva couchsurfing meetup at the famous Jet D'Eau (the huge fountain that is on Lake Geneva/Lac Leman). There were only four of us, a Brazilian couple and a girl from Spain who all lived in Geneva. We had some wine on the beach and some great conversation. We stayed and watched the sunset over the lake and all of the stars come out.
I came back around 11 pm to catch up with my Jewish rapper host, solved the world's problems in an hour and a half, and hit the hay. I absolutely loved Switzerland, and it's easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It was hard saying goodbye, but the next morning I took my final train trip of spring break back to Paris. I had a couple of hours to spend in Paris, and it was a gorgeous spring day on the cusp of summer, so I spent it in the Jardin des Plantes.
I sat on a park bench in the park with a little inscription that spoke directly to me.
For those of you who don't speak French, it means "To be free, it's not only to get rid of your chains, it's living in a way that respects and reinforces the liberty of others."
Something to think about.
I only have five days left in France, then I'm leaving for Dublin early Saturday morning. It's getting to the point of last-this and last-thats, which is always emotional and sad for me.
Bisous,
Claire
