Today, we took a bus from the city of Paris to Switzerland. On the way to Switzerland, our tour director mentioned some really interesting things about Switzerland. Apparently, the Swiss are a stickler for rules; in fact, this is part of the reason that Switzerland created the famous Swiss watches, as they are always on time. Switzerland has many official languages and is known as a neutral country. It remains neutral in wars which can be seen as positive, as they don’t really have enemies, however, for surrounding countries, this can be seen negatively. For example, my tour director is from Estonia, and she mentioned it was sad that their neighboring country of Switzerland was unwilling to help them during the war.
Finally, getting citizenship in Switzerland is incredibly difficult, as our tour director had a friend whose brother has been living in Switzerland for 15 years and is now finally getting the opportunity to apply for citizenship. The citizenship process is very challenging, as you are tested on the countries history and multiple languages, must possess a certain amount of money in your bank account, and the people of your community must vote on whether or not you can stay. If you thought America’s citizenship process was rigorous, Switzerland could give it a run for its money. I don’t know why Switzerland has such a difficult process; I wonder if it’s because they don’t want too many citizens or something else.
Cheese Fondue
We arrived at our hotel around early evening, and since it was a Sunday, our tour director made it seem as though we would not have many dining options, as many shops are closed on Sundays. This surprised me, as the U.S. usually closes restaurants around early evening, instead of being closed the entire day. I think that this is so shopowners and staff can spend time with their families and have a full day to do it instead of a couple of hours. Personally, I enjoy having Sundays as a lazy day to catch up on work or chill, so I definitely see the value of that.
With limited options, a friend and I chose a local place well known for its fondue. Having never eaten cheese fondue before and not being a swiss cheese fan, I was a bit nervous to try it. We were served a pot of fondue with cubes of wheat bread. When I tried the fondue, I was shocked by how delicious it was. It was like a warm teddy bear hugged me, I mean this is the epitome of comfort food. Granted I don’t know how expensive fondue generally is, but I got a fondue portion and a small salad, and I spent nearly 40 francs which is 40 dollars. I have heard that Switzerland is expensive, so I was prepared, but still, at home, the most I spend on a meal is like $20 and that’s with a tip. So, double that money for dinner is a bit wild for me. But nonetheless, a delicious meal.
Also, our hotel is in Engelberg Switzerland, and my roommate and I lucked out with a spacious room and a balcony that overlooks the Swiss Alps. I mean this view was postcard worthy.
The next day, we ventured to town in Lucerne where we got incredible views of the town, did great souvenir shopping and overall just enjoyed the beauty of the city. After enjoying this incredible area, we went to the mountains. We took a boat from Lucerne to the mountain area and then took a train up the mountain. Again, this place is stunning and these photos don’t do Lucerne justice. I think part of the beauty of Switzerland is that it is “untouched” in terms of not being overpopulated with people to trash the country, and those that live their respect nature.
As I was venturing the town, I had an interesting interaction with a local involving me and a stoplight. In many of the other European countries I have visited thus far if there are no cars coming in either lane, then you can walk across the street. I was at a small walkway where no cars were coming and even though the stoplight showed a red pedestrian (meaning don’t walk), I still started crossing the street. I was then immediately yelled at by an angry Swiss who shouted “You can’t do that in this country. You may be able to walk across the street like that in your country, but in this country, you can’t do that”. I timidly took two steps back to my side and was shocked. I have never been yelled at like that by a stranger let along for crossing the street when I shouldn’t. Though I shouldn’t have crossed the street, I don’t think that required me to be yelled at. I guess my tour director was right, the Swiss like to follow the rules. By the train station, a man blowing bubbles and spewing hateful things about President Trump. Regardless of your political views, when you visit another country, and someone says terrible things about the president of your country, you feel a bit defensive and attacked. So, I have learned that the Swiss are outspoken people.
Taking the window seat of the train up the mountain of Rigi meant I got to enjoy the lake, the clouds, and the environment. When we got to the top, I was absolutely floored by the view. There’s truly no way to speak about this, so I’ll leave these photos here. It’s interesting that the mountains are so clean (not littered with trash and the snow is perfectly white not marred with shoe marks), as most touristy places are not that well-kept with so many visitors. Also, there are houses on the mountain, so I wonder who lives there? Also, for those people, they live somewhat in isolation, so I wonder if they have to go to town every time they need groceries, living products or really anything that I visit the store for.
Finally, for lunch, I tried chicken schnitzel at the cabin. It honestly was not as great as I imagined; it reminded me of crispy cafeteria chicken, so I can’t say I am enticed to try it in the future.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the area and appreciating nature’s beauty. I was overall surprised by how rude the Swiss people were at times, how stunning every body of water/ mountain is, and how different this place is from everywhere else. I mean Switzerland is so picturesque and pure that I would be so happy to live here forever. I am looking forward to leaving for Venice tomorrow and making it to my dream place: Italy!
Until tomorrow,
Saya