Hola, amigos! This month flew by SUPER fast! This post is coming a little late, but I definitely wanted to make sure that I told you all about Kyra's and my experience in Switzerland! First off, we took a bus to Madrid the night before our flight (Thursday night) and stayed in a hotel with Kyra's mom and brother (shout out to them for letting me butt in on their quality family time). Our flight left Friday morning around 10 which put us in Zurich at around 12:30. Traveling was a breeze and we were so surprised! This was our first trip out of Spain and we were pleasantly surprised to find that inter-Europe travel is wonderfully simple. We had hardly any waits for security and once we got through, we found our seats and chilled until our flight was ready to board. Getting off the plane into Zurich, we headed to a help desk to find the train station. We had previously purchased a ZurichCARD which allows you second-class transportation anytime you need it during your trip as well as discounts or free entry into the museums. The lady at the help desk was very very gracious in helping us navigate the train station and telling us which train to get on and when.
Once we found our train and took it into the city, we got off and ventured to find our hotel. Right when we got off the train and started walking in the city, I noticed that the people had changed. I was walking with tall, fair skinned, light haired Germans. My people! I was finally short again (okay, I know I'm not short but in my family I am, so it was nice to not feel huge for once)! Anyways, it so happened to be a short 5 minute walk to our hotel from the station! Another plus was that it was probably around 70 degrees in Zurich and sunny! What a way to start off our trip! After we got checked in and got wifi to text our moms that we had made it, we ventured around the city. We walked around old town and got some coffee and a late lunch then headed around to find some cool views and try and get the lay of the land. Zurich is such a historical city! We wanted to experience everything that we could about while we were there! So for dinner, we decided to spend a little more and get cheese fondue for dinner (treat yo self, am I right?). We made sure not to stay out too late because we had our tour in the morning!
With neither of us not really knowing a whole lot to do in Zurich in between the summer and winter season, Kyra and I decided it would be fun to book a tour! We found a decently priced tour to Heidiland and Liechtenstein for the day! We knew the places we were going to, but we didn't really know what to expect as far as who the other people were going to be on our tour. To start off, the day was turning out to be kind of crappy with rainy, cold weather. When we arrived we met our guide, Walter, and our bus driver, also Walter, and hopped on the bus. By the time the bus was ready to leave, Kyra and I were one of about four other groups there: there was a couple from Ireland, a couple from Spain and a family from India. We started with a tour around Zurich. Walter was very knowledgeable about the history of the city and gave us the highlights such as the church in Zurich where the Swiss-German Reformation was lead by Huldrych Zwingli (I know, super cool). As we continued on our way, since it was raining, Walter thought it would be good idea if we stopped at the Lindt Chocolate Factory to buy some chocolate. Because if there is anything can brighten up a dreary day, it's Swiss chocolate. After our chocolate stop, we made our way across Lake Zurich to this little town about 30km south of Germany where there is a castle that used to be inhabited by the Hapsburgs, the royal family of Austria-Hungary back in the day. WHAT. At this point, I was nerding out hard core. After we saw the castle, we stopped at this little cafe for lunch, where I ordered the soup of the day, vegetable soup, and when it came it had these chunks of bacon in it. Now that was my kind of vegetable soup (these really are my people).
After a lunch break, we headed to Liechtenstein on this gorgeous road through the mountains. Even though it was cloudy, the scenery was gorgeous. The clouds added an eerie aspect to the mountains that was something else. We made our way into Vaduz, the capital of the Principality of Liechtenstein and got to walk around a little bit. Kyra and I grabbed some souvenirs and got our passports stamped. Walter told us that the Prince of Liechtenstein was still single if the young ladies (aka us) were interested. Too bad his family wasn't there (real bummer). But it probably wouldn't have worked out anyways, Walter said he is 39 and likes to go to silent auctions (pass) so Kyra and I definitely missed out big time (you may need a napkin to wipe up all that sarcasm). After our short stop in Liechtenstein, we headed to Heidiland, the main part of the tour. Heidiland is supposedly where Heidi and Peter lived. If you want to learn more about this story, click here. Anywho, even though I didn't really know the story all that well, it was still pretty cool to see! There was a path that lead up a mountain where Heidi's grandpa supposedly lived, but we didn't have enough time, or the right shoes, to check it out. After our tour of Heidi's house we made our way back to Zurich, this time on the highway.
On Sunday, our last day in Zurich, we decided to check out some of the cool museums that the city had to offer. Our first stop was to the Zurich National Museum. With our ZurichCARDs we got in for free! We began walking around the museum and learn about the history of Switzerland. As we made our way further into the exhibit, we started noticing World War II-era artifacts. The rest of our time in the museum we spent reading and study the artifacts to learn more about Switzerland's involvement in WWII as well as Russia's involvement. Seriously, so cool. In school, we learn about WWII but not so much about the involvement of Switzerland and we just cover the basics of Russia's, USSR's, involvement such as the October Revolution. This museum was definitely a highlight of my trip, and if you ever find yourself in Zurich, please visit this museum if you are a history nerd like myself!
Our last museum visit was to the art museum in Zurich. I'm a fan of art, but not as big of a fan as Kyra. There were so many different works by El Greco, Monet, and Picasso just to name a few. Kyra loved it, so we both got to visit a museum that was up our alleys! What a great way to finish up our trip.
The next morning, we had to get up real early to catch our 7am flight. Just like our trip there, we had no troubles getting to or through the airport. And before we new it, we were back in good ole Cáceres!
Seriously, my time here has been so great so far! Next week, I'll be sure to tell you about my time in beautiful Lisbon and Sintra, Portugal! Until then, please enjoy these pics of Switzerland!
Love you all!
Adventure awaits,
Maddie
