The sight of the Swiss countryside is one I will never forget. In my eyes, it’s full of the most beautiful components: dramatic mountain peaks, rushing rivers full of crystal blue glacier water, grassy valleys dotted with small villages and the ambient sound of cowbells as cattle graze the lush meadows. After spending the last several days in London, it feels so unbelievably grounding to reconnect with some good ole nature. Although I did enjoy myself in the city, I always find myself drawn back to the comfort and charm of smaller towns. What can I say? It’s in my blood!
After a quick two-hour flight from London, I landed in what’s known to be the cultural capital of Switzerland: Basel. Nestled on the northwestern corner of Switzerland, the Basel airport is actually located in France; however, there are two exit gates that connect the three bordering countries: France, Germany and Switzerland (pick your poison). It was somewhat comical to actually witness the exits – certainly the most interesting airport I’ve encountered. After a 15-minute bus ride, I arrived in the city center and began walking to the hostel as it started to lightly sprinkle (foreshadow).
I open the door to the hostel room, and I’m greeted with a warm smile from a friendly girl, Anna. Of course, we had the typical hostel conversation full of the same questions: “what’s your name?”, “where are you from?”, “where did you just travel from?”, “where are you going next?”, etc. I quickly realized that Anna and I would become close friends after discovering we were from similar backgrounds: rural farming communities. However, Anna grew up in the rural countryside of New Zealand (specifically, the south island). For the next hour or so, we chatted about our lives, future travel plans and everything in between. To our surprise, we actually have a very similar route of travel (loosely) planned, so we will likely plan to meet up in another country or two later on. It’s always so nice to finally meet a new friend in the hostel that shares similar insights/values on life – a bonus if travel plans align as well!
After visiting for a bit, we decided to walk to the grocery store to grab some dinner. I have a feeling that I’ll be eating mostly cheap grocery store meals for these next few days in Switzerland – the prices here hurt the bank account. Luckily, an Aldi was nearby so we made our trek to the grocery store when all of a sudden it started to “piss rain” outside (as the New Zealanders or “Kiwis” like to say). Foolishly, we chose to wear light coats on our quick grocery run so we arrived at the Aldi hungry, soaking wet and stripped of our dignity (clearly, we were in the trenches). We quickly scurried around the store and grabbed some goods for dinner including a premade pasta dish, coca-cola, baguette, and some fresh fruit – totaling only ten euros! For the remainder of the evening, we enjoyed dinner in the hostel common space and even planned an exciting day trip for the following day.
In the morning, we headed to the train station to catch a 45-minute train to the quaint fairytale-like town of Colmar, France. Shout out to my hometown friend Juliana for recommending a visit to such a cute little town! For the remainder of the afternoon, we wandered the streets of Colmar enjoying its natural beauty and small local shops. In the city center, there’s a small canal running through the colorful buildings and pedestrian bridges full of little red love locks. It was such a perfect day exploring a beautiful town with a new friend! Unfortunately, Anna and I were parting ways for the next 24 hours before meeting up again in Interlaken, Switzerland. As for me, I spent the following day exploring the small town of Basel which is famous for its various museums and art galleries, quaint cobblestone streets and locals floating down the Rhine River on their commute from work. In all honesty, I didn’t care for the city of Basel too much, but I tried my best to enjoy my remaining day. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a ton to do in this city so I spent my day in one of its many museums followed by lunch along the river. However, it was the perfect central spot with more affordable accommodation for the day trip to France.
Alexa, queue ‘On the Road Again’ by Willie Nelson. It seems that I’ve been moving around every few days which has been quite exhausting, yet so exciting to explore new places. For the next month or so, I will have to get used to the idea of packing up my belongings to move to a new location. So far, I have found that anywhere from four to six days is a good amount of time to stay in a country – exploring one city or two smaller towns. Luckily, it was only a two-hour train ride to my next stop: Interlaken. Upon arrival, I dropped off my bags at the iconic Balmers Hostel before grabbing some Thai food with my friend Anna. For the next few days, she decided to stay in the nearby town of Bern, but opted for a day trip to Interlaken to meet up. Thankfully, it was finally a clear day in Switzerland so we decided to hop on the funicular to check out the gorgeous viewpoint, Harder Kulm. It was truly one of the most breathtaking views of my life. We stayed up here for the better part of a few hours before heading back to the city center to watch the paragliders land in a nearby field. Fun fact: Interlaken is known as the adventure capital of Switzerland full of adrenaline-fueled and outdoor experiences all year round.
The next day, I decided to embark on a day trip to the cutest little village of Grindelwald (Again, shout out Juliana for yet another amazing recommendation). I spent the entire day exploring the town near the beautiful mountain peaks. Unfortunately, the weather had been a bit crummy the previous few days, so I decided to pass on the gondola viewpoint and Lake Bachalpsee hike since there was a decent amount of snow at the peak. However, I have already decided to plan my return to Northern Italy and Switzerland to complete a hut-to-hut hike in the Dolomites along with some lake hikes in Switzerland (including in Grindelwald) in the near future. I feel that it’s best to pass on a hike with uncertain conditions, especially as a solo female traveler in another country.
Later that evening, I hung out at the hotel with new friends playing board games for several hours. It was certainly a nice closing to my short stay in Switzerland! For the last few weeks, I have been traveling solo and meeting other travelers from all over the world which has been such a wonderful experience; however, I am so excited that my college friend Jorney will be joining me for the next week! Together, we will explore the medieval city of Prague, Czechia and attend Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany (pray for us). But first, I will take a 5-hour bus ride from Switzerland to Milan, Italy for a one-night stay before meeting up with Jorney at the airport on our way to Prague. Luckily, we found some cheap flights from Milan to Prague for only 20 euros! Initially, it seemed silly to bus all the way to Milan for one evening; however, I ended up having a super deep life conversation with a girl from The Netherlands which I didn’t realize how much I needed at the moment. It was definitely an emotional one, but it significantly helped me process some things going on back in the States (more to come on this in a later post, still trying to put together the words). Life is precious, cherish your loved ones.
xoxo,
m
(edit)
Stay tuned for some more updates in the next few days. Unfortunately, I have had some issues with my website service provider, but I think it’s been resolved! With that being said, I have been holding onto a few blog posts (since I wasn’t able to post), and plan to publish them over the next few days – catching you up to my current super secret location.
Nasvidenje prijatelji!