Taken 4: Spring Break Bus - Soaking Up Switzerland

When we left Paris after another breakfast sponsored by Nutella, we had a brief stop in Beaune on our way to Switzerland. 

I decided not to give Beaune its own post. We were only there for a few hours and while it was lovely, nothing particularly groundbreaking happened there. I will note that Beaune, France is pronounced very similarly to Bonn, Germany. The former is closer to the English word own and the latter is closer to the English word on, but very similar. And while my French is MUCH better than my German (because my German is mostly curse words), I was at least glad to be moving into territory with a more phonetic language. For Pieter's sake, Beaune makes the sound of a vowel that's not even in the word.

Switzerland has 4 official languages. I can definitely order food in Italian, I am overly confident in my French, stumble along with some Germany basics, and can't even spell Romans Romach Romash Romanche Romansh. 

Everyone we encountered in Switzerland led with German, and while I did miss letting "à bientôt" spring from my lips à la Anastasia, "hallo" was easy enough. We were in the canton of Bern, home of the Bernese Mountain Dog (although their emblem is a bear that looks like it's being electrocuted), a predominately German-speaking region.

Let me tell you. It was IMPOSSIBLE to take a bad picture in Switzerland. Other than pictures of myself, some of those were rough. Everywhere you looked was unbelievable beauty. It's a feeling similar to what I imagine visiting a Blake Lively museum would be like.

Our driver Alex managed to get a tour bus around these switchbacks. Our guide gave us an intro to Switzerland and bragged on the famous Swiss neutrality. I complained to Emily that neutrality is not something to be proud of. She told me to shut up.

We arrived before dark and had some time to settle into our rooms at the lovely Hotel Alpina owned and operated by the ruggedly handsome Karls. Emily and I were OBSESSED with our room and we promptly turned it into a laundromat. This was the halfway point of the trip and decisions would be made. We did have to be careful about leaving things to dry on our deck because in parts of Switzerland there are literal laws against it. It's an eyesore. Very into aesthetics, the Swiss.

We paid like 300 American dollars for the excursion the next day. Which is like a million Swiss francs. Switzerland is EXPENSIVE. And their currency is abbreviated CHF for Confoederatio Helvetica. Like the font I guess? Who knew?

After a quick breakfast we took the tour bus to the train station and took the train to the Eiger Express cable car and took the cable car to the highest railway station in Europe so there's my next icebreaker fun fact. We were so high that the chips Karls packed for our lunches popped. Not the kind of high they are in Amsterdam. The kind of high they are in Denver. Well, one of the kinds of high they are in Denver.

I know I told y'all they love some canola, did I also mention the paprika? Cause they love paprika too.

While we were in the Alps I had to layer up so I wouldn't freeze. I'm not a big coat-wearer (North Carolina! C'mon and raise up!) so I went with a dress and cardigan over leggings, socks, and closed toe shoes. I do not wear closed toe shoes often. 'Twas a special occasion. And I really didn't get cold. Emily did but she also fell in the snow. Twice. More on that in the Switzerland photos post.

We meandered through the attractions at the Top of Europe (TM). There was an ice palace, a tribute to Italian workers who died tunneling through the mountain, a flag marking the Jungfraujosh, and a huge snow globe under careful watch of a deranged goat.

After our pics at the peak, it was time for the best part...the gift shop. I wanted everything but it was all so expensive. I'm ashamed to admit that I seriously considered buying Nathan a Swiss army knife. But we all know what side of that knife I would be on.

We had to train, plane, and automobile it back to Karls and I learned that there really isn't a form of transportation that I won't sleep in. We switched trains in Grindelwald and made all the Harry Potter jokes. And then we stopped in Lauterbrunnen, famous for its 72 waterfalls when the snow melts in the spring. 

We weren't able to walk behind Staubbach Falls because some falling chunks of ice had apparently fallen on other tourists. I wasn't mad. My feet were tired. I was wearing shoes that weren't Crocs. I was exhausted.

When we made it back to Hotel Alpina we had a fondue dinner, my brother FaceTimed me to explain that my dad had sort of kidnapped him, and I organized all the chocolate I bought. I bid a tearful auf wiedersehen to my pink Paris skirt (don't worry, when I got back home I ordered it again in the "right" size), and enjoyed my final hours as a Swiss miss.