After a busy week studying for finance and planning my
upcoming 10 day trip, it seemed to me that having a relaxing weekend and doing
my own thing would be amazing. I really hadn’t seen much of Switzerland, and
since it is my home for 3 months I decided to go explore more of it! Also since
I was traveling relatively close, it was nice I was able to make 3 day trips
and stay the night back in Riva (more comfy to sleep in my own place and saved
me some money). So I was a solo traveler this weekend, and I ended up
absolutely loving it!
Day 1:
Lugano!
Lugano is only a 15 minute train ride away! It is a much
bigger lake city than Riva San Vitale and has a better nightlife (so I have
been here once before to go out, but haven’t seen the city during the day) I
heard this weekend Lugano was having its annual Fall Festival! So after taking
my exam and going on a run, spending a couple hours in Lugano seemed like
the perfect way to spend my afternoon.
When I got to Lugano they were still setting up for the
festival, so first I did some actual shopping in their outlets. They had huge
department stores! One that’s big in Switzerland (and maybe Europe for that
matter) is the Manor and in Lugano they had one that was 5 stories high. So
I shopped around there and a couple places, then took a stroll through the town
to the lake.
Even though it was a bit hazy out (but thankfully no rain!)
it was still a really pretty sight. I enjoyed sitting there for quite some
time, just thinking about things and relaxing.
By the time I left the lake, the fall festival was mostly
all set up! It was cute how they tried to jam as many little booths as possible
onto their tiny streets. Vendors lined almost every street and block, selling
clothes, trinkets, and snacks! I really enjoyed walking up and down the
streets, stopping at the vendors and looking around. Back home my mom and I go
to craft fairs whenever we can together. This definitely reminded of the ones
we go to, I knew she would have loved it as well so I was wishing she was there
too.
The city itself was set up so cute for the festival, with
different decorations and stands throughout.
Oh I forgot to mention, on almost every street there was a
different group of musicians playing folk music. I was standing there bopping up and down to the music haha. It was the type of folk music that as they were playing,
they talked and said words that made the crowd of listeners laugh. I wondered
what the words were (since it was in Italian) but I still appreciated it nonetheless!
And there was a man, just looked happy as can be, playing his wind up music box
for everyone.
The last thing I noticed, which was very unique, was certain
larger food vendors had huge cooking pots for their stews! I just hadn’t
seen them that big before. The stews looked and smelled delicious (too bad I was already
getting dinner back at Riva) and it seemed like the workers really had to put
muscle into stirring that pot.
As I mentioned, I was heading back to Riva for dinner. So eventually it got time to go to the train
station. But I was so glad I went to Lugano for a couple hours. It was such a
fun time and the festival was adorably set up.
I also ended up having a great night in Riva when I got
back. There was one other girl, five guys, and I who were left at the villa
because we weren’t leaving for our trips until the morning. So we all hung out
that night! We had a good dinner in Riva, went to one of the local bars, and
just chilled. I like smaller group settings like that and it was nice getting
to know the guys outside of school. Anyways we all had to make it a semi early night because we were leaving early in the morning.
Day 2:
Lucerne!
Well I didn’t expect that as soon as I got off the train I’d
be stepping into an amusement park… but there I was! Right outside was a bunch
of rides that wrapped around the outside of the station and led to a bigger
park called Luna Park. Again it was much like a beach boardwalk, and it was a
pleasant surprise because it made the rather misty morning much more lively.
And I had to walk through it to get to my first destination.
Okay so on the first Saturday of every month they have a special craft market!
But also, for the October month they have an even bigger one. So look at me
lucking out! Again, it was a fun time to walk through it all and see the
different things the venders were selling. I’m really into that type of stuff. These people spend so much time and effort into their crafts and their products
are one of a kind. There were wood cravings, knitted scarfs and hats, hand made
jewelry, sheep skin slippers, unique clothing, and a bunch of different foods
(whenever I walked past the candied almonds and walnuts my mouth watered!) I
got myself a really cool ring that has like 2 other rings inside of it haha
kind of hard to explain but I was quite happy with my purchase :)
It was hard to get a good picture of what it looked like
because their were trees jutting out through the pathways, but I tried my best.
After the craft fair I went to the water, Lake Lucerne.
Soooo beautiful. God blessed me with a gorgeous day because it was supposed to
rain all day. Anyways, buildings ran along the edge of the water with mountains
jutting out in the background. I loved just gazing out into all of it and as I
walked around the rest of the day I continually went back to the water.
My next stop was to the Jesuit Church right on the lake.
From the outside it was rather plain, not too many designs or statues, but the
inside was a much different story. And that story begins with the color salmon.
Everything inside this church was a different shade of salmon. What was
exceptionally interesting was the marble. On the organ, the marble was a light
peachy salmon pink color and then at the altar in the front of the church it
was a darker, almost maroon salmon. Along the side were pillars of different
salmon, getting almost close to white the shades were so light. And all on the
ceilings, the paintings were salmon and peach. Just interesting how this church
was decorated. So light and fresh, and there were also very pretty chandeliers
hanging from the ceiling.
I spent some time inside and then headed to a bridge where I saw had benches on it so I could eat my sandwich lunch. Look at the view I got to
enjoy while eating. (And there is the church, on the right of the picture)
Then I strolled up the path a ways and got to the famous Chapel Bridge (called
Kapellbrücke). It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Switzerland (and Europe for that matter) and also
the
world's oldest surviving truss bridge! It was so
picturesque. It had bright blooming flowers all along the outsides of it with a
striking tower at one of the ends. Walking through the bridge, if you looked up
you could see pictures painted into the triangle beam supports. I was
definitely causing a traffic jam on this bridge because I was walking rather
slowly looking at the paintings and the views from different spots on the
bridge.
After the bridge I was on my way to the next place I wanted to
see, when I happened to walk by this really neat looking building. I didn’t
know what it was; it looked like it would be the opening gates of a castle or
something. But when I walked inside I was quite thrown off.
It was another church… and it seemed simple at first, but once
you make your way to the front everything is gold. So much gold that sharply contrasted
the darkest black marble I have seen in a church. Also, the crucifix had to the
bloodiest version I have ever come across, with blood all down his front,
running along his arms, and pools on his feet. There were what appeared to be
arrows stuck in this head? Not sure. But then the organ started playing and
the music sounded so dark. I glanced up and there was what looked like the illuminati all seeing eye triangle on top of the altar. I got kind of freaked out by it all and
didn’t stay very long haha.
Anyways after that interesting detour, I got to where I was
headed before and that was Lucerne’s Lion Monument. It was carved into a sheer
rock face and below was a simple pool of water. I didn’t know much about this
monument, but right away I was struck with how sad it seemed. The lion had such
a pained, mournful expression on its face. It appeared to be lying on a shield
with a spear through its body. It was different than the usual type of
monuments I’ve seen. What was the strangest coincidence was the only 20 minutes
it rained during my time in Lucerne was at this monument. It added to the
feeling of sadness even more, as water ran down the cliff face.
Then I walked to Old Town Lucerne and spent some time
wandering through the streets there. The buildings had intricate decorations on
them and in one section of the Old Town was another little craft fair/market
going on that I walked through. And just outside of the Old Town are streets
and streets of normal store shopping so I did some window-shopping there as
well.
It’s interesting to me how when I walk around with a group
of friends, everyone knows we're American and if they talk to us, they just
start speaking to us in English. But I loved blending in here. When I was
walking throughout the market, the vendors kept trying to speak to me in German
since that’s what this area of Switzerland speaks. I had to keep asking, “Do
you speak English?” but it was nice for once not to be assumed to be American.
I met this sweet soft-spoken woman who was asking me where I
was from once she found out I spoke English. She couldn’t believe I was from
the States, it seemed too far away from here.
She asked me what I thought about Switzerland and my answer was “I love
it here.” When she asked why, I said something along the lines about their pace
of life. It’s so relaxed in parts of Switzerland and all the people are so
friendly. When I walk through the streets, I’ll get random “Ciao’s” and
“Hallo’s” all the time depending on what part I’m in.
But at this point it was getting close to the time I was
catching my train back to Riva. So before I left I decided to get a crepe and
sit by the water to eat it… well that was the only part of the day that didn’t
go according to plan haha. When I was in Paris, I saw a woman get a plain crepe
with a little bit of sugar and it looked sooo good. So I decided just to get
the sugar crepe in Lucerne. Well what I didn’t realize is that this crepe came
with a mound of sugar poured in the middle of it. So when I bit into it, all I
tasted was sugar crystals. Oh my gosh it was just too much. I tried to eat more
of it, but then a huge bee came and landed on the crepe, so I gave up. My
hands were covered in sticky sugar and I look down to find this sticky sugar
had run all down my jacket… greatttt haha but I was able to get a napkin, pour
some water on it, and then wipe myself down. It’s just funny how something
minor had to happen during my otherwise perfect day.
And oh it was perfect. Truly besides the crepe, I had the
most wonderful, relaxing day. Just look at the view I got as I was leaving.
As a random aside, I gave Lake Lucerne the nickname “Swan
Lake” because no joke there were swans everywhere! I probably saw at least 50.
And at the very end, the comedy of the day happened. There were swans swimming
right up to the pier I was sitting at that would wait there expecting to be thrown food because
they’re so used to it. Well this little boy had a water gun (probably middle
sized one. Not the super soakers but not the cheap small $1 ones either). And
everytime a swan came close, he squatted down in a James Bond position and
shoot at the swans haha. The two he squirted at looked so confused, shook their
heads, and eventually left. It definitely made me laugh because the swans were a bother. I wanted to get a picture of it, but didn't want to creep his parents out.
But anyways, like I said before I had the (almost) perfect
day and enjoyed it so much! Going at my own pace through the
city was amazing. I didn't follow a group for a change, I just did what I wanted to do. So really, truly a great day and couldn’t have been
more beautiful.
I took the train back to Riva and once back I looked up
information about what to the next day. I loved getting to sleep in my own bed!
Day 3:
Bern!
I’ll admit, coming into this trip I didn’t know Bern was the
capital of Switzerland (Although I did find out quickly soon after). I feel
like it can easily get overlooked by other Switzerland cities such as Zurich or
Geneva. And to be honest I had planned to go to Zurich… but last minute my mind
was changed (literally the night before) when I had heard from a couple
students Bern is an awesome city and they loved it! They said it felt like a
true Switzerland city. I saw that most everything was closed in Zurich on
Sundays anyways, so decided to check out Bern instead! And I’m so happy I chose
to go there :)
When I was planning the night before, I had seen online that
Bern has a once a month flea market on the first Sunday of every month. So look
at me lucking out again!
But I hadn’t expected what was coming… a full on chaos of a flea
market. Like 500 garage sales all jammed together. Thousands of people, so many I had a hard time navigating through it. The sea of people overwhelmed me, but
I still wanted to see a good portion of it. I couldn’t believe I was right in
the middle of it; it’s comical to think about certain situations I’ve ended up
in during my time abroad. This is one of them.
Anyways, it took place in an old warehouse and stretched out
to underneath a gratified bridge... oh man.
I was about to give up on getting anything when something
caught my eye: a really cute bag/backpack. I bargained my way down to getting
it for 6CHF and was so happy with it!! (When I looked at it later on, the tag
inside was from H&M… this bag must have been at least $40 back home!) And I
was about to grab a scarf as well, but someone got it right before! Oh well, guess
that’s just how flea markets go! But I was really very happy with my backpack
and ended up putting my current bag inside my “new” backpack to carry my things
around for the rest of the day.
When I had my fill of the market, I went to the main area of
the city. I really loved just walking around and observing it all. I got to see
the parliament building and behind the back of it is a balcony with a pretty
overlook of a part of the city.
I then wandered over to the Cathedral of Bern. What I found
interesting about this cathedral is the huge tall tower in the front. So when I
walked inside, I had expected to look up and be able to see way high into the
inside of the tower, full of light and skylights… but instead nothing. The
inside ceiling just ran under the tower and from the inside it was like this
impressive tower didn’t exist. The weirdest thing was in the front far right
there was a whole wall of stain glass with different pictures of a skeleton and
another person. The skeleton was dancing around a maiden, playing an instrument
for a king, etc. It was very bizarre. There was also no altar or crucifix (although
it was a Catholic church). Just large realistic looking stain glass in a half
octagon shape with an octagon wooden table in the middle of it… wasn’t sure if
they used that to perform the masses. But there was a beautiful silver organ
interlaced with gold and had white figurines on the top.
When I left the church, I walked along the beautiful river
running through Bern, called The Aar. I had some stunning views on this walk. I felt like I was living in
the middle of one of Thomas Kinkade’s painting.
I crossed over the Nydeggbrücke (the bridge at the point of
the city) and went to The BärenPark!
On a hill next to the river is a big area with large brown bears!! I got to see
two of them! One of them was sleepy and passed out on a log, but the other was
running around and one time nudged the bear on the log. At one point, this bear also
decided to it was the perfect time to take a poop, so I saw that as well haha.
But it was really fun to see them, pretty sure I’ll never see a city with this
again.
Beyond BearPark, is a steep hill that after climbing up gets
to the Rosengarten. Before I get into
that, also up there is an incredible view of the whole city!
From up there, I could see how the river wound around the
point of the city. It’s the shape of a peninsula jutting out, but with only a river
around it… so across the river, the city continues on the other side. All the
buildings had similar colorings and roofs, but it is seemed like so many were packed onto that piece of land. I could see the church and parliament buildings I
passed on the way there. So pretty :)
I took out my ipod to listen to my music, just relaxing for a bit and enjoying
the scene.
Turning my back on the view and walking ahead was the
Rosengarten. There are 220 different types of roses!! All so unique looking, I
had never seen some of the color combinations before. Oranges, Pinks, Reds,
Whites, Yellows, and the combinations of these colors! It was all so charming!
When I made my descent back down the hill, I crossed back
over the bridge and walked through Old Town Bern. A lot of the shops were
closed, but a few were open for me to poke around in. But mostly I adored the way the
streets were laid out; they were really quaint and it truly had that “old town” feel.
There were the main streets and then the walkways were tucked under the
buildings/apartments. And all right on the walkways were a bunch of stores. It
was so unique.
Also when I was walking through Old Town Bern I saw the
Clock Tower (called Zytglogge). I’m pretty sure I haven’t come across a clock
that complex before. I didn’t even know what some of the symbols on this clock were
measuring, but it was fascinating to look at. I got there just as the hour was
changing and got to see this golden looking statue connected to the internal tickings
of the clock strike the bell 4 times (for 4 in the afternoon).
Unfortunately my time was winding down and it was time to
head back to the train station to go to Riva. I forgot to mention before, but I actually didn’t
mind these train rides during the weekend at all because they were another time to see gorgeous
views of Switzerland. Going through the Alps, little towns, and lakes, it’s
something I look forward to when I go on trains through Switzerland.
This weekend was exactly what I needed. Just being able to
do my own thing and cater my activities to what I wanted to do. What was so
great about it was getting to take my time. People tend to rush through and
overlook the simple little things, but they are sometimes what make a place
special. I have so many places on my to-go list, but I am so grateful I didn’t
overlook these Swiss cities because honestly this was one of my favorite
weekends. I had such a lovely and pleasant time. I caught myself walking
through the streets just smiling because I was so content. And I feel I went to
true Switzerland cities. Back when I was first came over to Switzerland, I
had mental pictures of what a Swiss city would look like… well Lucerne and Bern
were what I pictured. They were picturesque and truly beautiful. I loved this
weekend.
Switzerland is another home to me. I know it will be a place
I’ll want to come back to after this study abroad program when I got the opportunity
to travel in the future. And I won’t be coming back for a visit, I will be returning to one of my homes.
