SWITZERLAND

Before starting my second semester in Siena, I took a week long vacation in Switzerland. I stayed with my mom's friend Kathy in Geneva and made a day trip over to Zurich as well.  I landed in Rome, so I made it up to Geneva by bus and train.  The train ride through the Alps was beautiful:

Since Geneva is located so close to France, I was in an area where everyone spoke French and there were French pastries and crepes everywhere. I don't speak French but I found that when I spoke Italian most people could, very impressively, switch over instantly since Italian is another national language of Switzerland. In Zurich, everything was influenced by Germany so everything was written and spoken in a Swiss-German, which gave Zurich a completely different feel than Geneva. I love that Switzerland is such a mixture of cultures and people. I also loved discovering the Swiss culture underneath the mixture of cultures. There are some things, such as fondue, that I had no idea were actually Swiss things.

Actually, all of my Switzerland trip was one surprise after another for me.  Before this trip, when I imagined Switzerland I imagined a very mountainous region with a man and his pack of goats. My mental image was clearly a little off.  The first surprise to me were the enormous and beautiful lakes everywhere.

The next few surprises were more odd because they were small things I discovered while wandering around the cities.  Geneva has botanical gardens and green houses that still function in the wintertime.  So one day I discovered a little oasis for cactus and various tropical plants. I also learned that a common mode of transportation in Geneva is the razor scooter.  I also saw rollerblades on more than one occasion.

It was interesting for me because it was the first time I had really travelled by myself. It was great to see that after I semester abroad I have the ability to easily navigate trains and city buses in a foreign language alone. I never had any moments where I absolutely had no idea where I was. When I did get a little off track, I got back on my path quickly because the locals were SO NICE and friendly. In Zurich, I ended up discovering two completely amazing modern art museums in a row, which is where I spent most of my time. It was great because it was one of those things I could likely only do alone because I don't know how many other people would have the same excitement and patience for that activity twice in a row. But for me it was a perfect day!

When Kathy wasn't at work, we went out to dinner, out to the market, and out for chocolate. The chocolate experience had to be my favorite of all. It was an extremely cold day and after a long walk through the cold markets and cold streets of Geneva we came upon this place:

I have never been so happy to see a chocolate shop (and that really says something). I now rank Swiss chocolate as the best chocolate in the world. I will dream of this place for the rest of my life.

Since returning to Siena my life has been crazy. I've been moving into my new flat while meeting all of the new students and seeing a friend from college who is in town for a while. I have so much to say about the place I live, the family I live with, and the puppies I found in the medieval gardens!! I'll have to write about all of that very soon.

I had to add this. The CHF10. I think it is hilarious.