Switzerland (and getting out of Dodge)

I am nearly two blogs behind. I know this, because I am sitting in a bar in Thailand, with a large beer, writing about Switzerland, rather than on a bus to Germany. Trying very hard to feel the "Switzerland feeling" when it is sweltering here, is very difficult.

Switzerland was awesome. Awesomely beautiful! Awesomely expensive!

The flight from Nice to Geneva was easy and uneventful. The only reason I mention it is that it was the first flight where nothing went wrong. No delay. Good seating. No massive turbulence. No issues getting on or off. And I didn’t have to even run anywhere (which I am not good at, but improving on). Maybe Sherwin is my good luck charm. It is also the first airport I have ever actually walked out of, and walked to my hotel.

We were only in Geneva for 24 hours, but it was amazing. Such a beautiful city. And, like I found out is everywhere in Switzerland, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The rivers are so clear you can see the stones on the bottom. The landscape is so green. The buildings are uniformed and old. The air so clean and crisp.

However, it was in Geneva that we discovered that it might be in our best interest to shop and cook from home. We went to Burger King. Two whopper meals: $80 AUD. I was shocked mentally, but I think Sherwin went into some sort of physical shock. But it’s not just Burger King in Geneva, it is everywhere. Things seem to be three times the price of Australia. Everything is massively expensive.

From Geneva we caught a train to Luzern. The three hour ride had Sherwin and I just glued to the window, pointing out beautiful vision after beautiful vision to each other. It was three hours of riding through a fairy-tale. Arriving in Luzern, it was as we expected. Clean, clear, wealthy, beautiful and insanely expensive. We spent one morning walking around the city and exploring the nearby mountain (with it’s very own dark European forest for Sherwin to walk through). For someone like me who was raised in country Australia and someone like Sherwin who was raised in regional Philippines, it is a world away to our normal. Even after traveling through so many countries, I seem to continue to be shocked by what I see when I go to a whole new region.

It rained a lot in Luzern. But we found a day of drizzle-free-weather and decided to go on an adventure. We travelled to a town called Zug (best name ever). We spent VERY little time in Zug, as, at sunrise, we took some sort of train-thingy up a mountain, then decided to hike, randomly choosing the turns on the hiking trails. Sherwin got to touch real Swiss mountain ice, and we hiked through an amazing dark and very “traditional” European forest. We ended up in the country. The real swiss country. Small roads. No cars. And green! Very, very green. From there we hiked to the nearest town, which was such an awesome experience.

OK… so… why am I not in Germany right now? For those following my journey on Facebook, you might think I am running away from the Coronavirus. That is not exactly true. This virus, and the ensuing panic, has affected everyone different. For some, they are scared (and for some, rightfully so) of catching it. For others, toilet paper seems to be the remedy to the problem. For people like my travel agent, Laura, it has made her work life a living hell. For me, it has cost me a lot of money. The reason? I am with Sherwin, I have a tour in Vietnam which is really important to me. And I really, really did not want to be stuck in Europe. Sorry Europe, you were great, but not that great. LOL.

Had I not changed a fair few plans, Sherwin and I would be in lock down in Milan right now, rather than being free, eating good food and drinking cheap beer. So after the Italian near miss, I was advised that Korea (set for April) is out. So I canned Japan as well. And once Trump did his travel ban on Europe, we skipped Germany and came here. While I have every reason to be angry, or upset, or scared, or frustrated – I am not. Perhaps travel is good for my constitution. And it certainly adds a touch of variety to Sherwin’s holiday.

Fingers crossed Vietnam/Cambodia will not be a problem. But if it is, I will be just fine in Thailand 😊

Cheers,

JC