Switzerland, Part Three: Meeting Blog Buddies

Luzern, the third city Laura and I stayed in, had a very special reason for the visit. To those outside the blog world (i.e. Laura), it's a bit odd explaining that "we're going to be staying with one of my blog friends."  Laura went along with it just fine, but probably thought I was slightly crazy for doing so. I kept telling her, "Seriously, I know Krystal is going to be great!"

But to be honest, how much do we know about our online friends? What can we really tell from blogs? Krystal could have been, like, a crazy ax murderer or something (wink).

Obviously, from my smiley picture above with miss Krystal, that's not the case. Krystal is as fabulous and gangsta as her blog makes her out to be. Not to mention Krystal's husband Mark, who was equally as charming and welcoming. Plus, I got to meet little Wesley, who is in the running for cutest baby in the world:

What a cutie! 

The first night in Luzern, Krystal took us out to dinner and to a fun pub quiz at Shamrock (the local Irish pub) where we met her quirky, lovable friends. I found that Krystal had the same level of maturity as me when we decided on our team name for the quiz:

Great minds think alike.

The night continued on with bad jokes and bad dancing. People had to hide their kids, wives and their husbands too. 

That's all the information I will divulge. 

The next morning I was feeling chipper and ready to tour the city, and that's where Selma comes into the story--blog friend #2! This came in handy as we were now on the Swiss German side of the country, and my German is pretty non-existent. Thus, I made Selma do the talking for me.

 I am almost a whole foot taller than Selma...hehe.

I was really mesmerized by all the art and murals that could be found around the city...

We met up again with Krystal for some Burger King (no comment).

That night, after sharing the best funny, ghetto videos You Tube had to offer, Krystal treated us to a Swiss tradition of Raclette, where you melt cheese and other ingredients you desire in little spatula shaped pans (pictured below), then pour the molten cheese over potatoes. GLORIOUS! 

We ended the night at a shiny rooftop bar, complete with great-tasting Swiss beer (seriously, they have great beer)...until we had to say sad goodbyes and catch the last train out of Luzern.

Just a recap: Through blogging, I had a place to stay, my own personal tour guide(s), a translator and a homemade Swiss meal. NOT TOO SHABBY. 

I love blogging. Thanks Krystal and Selma! 

Switzerland, Part Two: My Most Beautiful Post Ever

So, sometimes I think I fail at travel blogging, because a lot of the time it's like: hey, look at me drinking a cup of coffee, or hey, look at me standing my this old stone building. Not very inventive.

But this post. This will be my best travel post because I have mother earth helping me with the hard stuff. I took the best train ride of my life, also called the Goldenpass to a beautiful town situated in between the Alps, called Interlaken. I'm in love.

But before we begin, here is a picture of me drinking some coffee.

:)

Anyway, onto the MOST BEAUTIFUL train ride EVERRRRRRR.

And after the best train ride of my life, I stepped of the platform and was greeted with the most heavenly of scenes in Interlaken...

Of course, Laura and I knew this was grounds for celebration! 

Delicious Gnocchi! Swiss cheese is divine. Remember that the Swiss are surrounded by Italy, Germany and France, so if there were any doubts about their food, that should relinquish them. And dude...don't get me started on the chocolate:

The last set of pictures were taken at a lake in Interlaken. I spent many hours here envisioning a life in where I wake up in the morning and take swim in the lake (in the summer, of course), then after eating a scrumptious breakfast of fresh baked bread and gooey cheese, retire to my small wooden house and read a book. I might have been a hermit in another life. Maybe, just maybe, this is a place I can retire to. It's most definitely in the running.

Switzerland, Part One: Ritzy Geneva

Switzerland, my friends, is a beautiful thang! 

With the Alps and lakes surrounding many of its cities, it's evident that Switzerland is highly overlooked by Americans, and dammit, we need to start putting it on our MUST VISIT lists... 

The night before our early flight, Laura (my expat friend in London) and I had to scrape for groceries...so thus, our White Trash Meal was made. In case you were wondering, there is Crystal Light in the glasses. Yeah buddy!

We stayed with a couchsurfer in Geneva, which produced a hilarious story in where we slept in the attic with a wood-burning stove that hardly produced any heat, so Laura went to bed looking like this: 

But I digress...the actual town of Geneva was quite splendid: 

Things you should know about Geneva: 

• It's the French side of Switzerland, so pull out your Merci! and S’il vous plaît! 
• All of Switzerland is on the pricey side, but Geneva is especially so. 
• The city is very walkable, and includes a lot of cute churches, cafes and hotels. 
• Although great for a day, I don't think there is terribly much to do in Geneva to stay past that...plan your trips accordingly! 

New Year and New Home

Hey kids, Happy New Year! 2012 was the year I took a chance, and 2013 is going to have many more chances taken, not wasted.

New Year's Eve with my friend Clare. Grand ole time! 

...and, I'm moving! Out of student housing and into the neighborhood of my dreams! Below is a picture of my new place. I'm in love with the red door. 

The next few days I'll be moving and taking off for Switzerland, then I can finally get back to a regular blogging schedule! Hope you had a smashing New Year's Eve. I have a feeling 2013 is going to go quite swimmingly...