Zurich
Next stop, Switzerland! Chase and I left Prague around 6am and started the incredibly long journey to Zurich. In total, it took 12 hours from the time our first train left Prague to when our last train pulled into the main station in Zurich, Switzerland. Because there was no direct route, we had to take three separate trains. The first train took us from Prague back to Dresden. This was only a two-hour train, just as it had been when we took the same train going to Prague. We had a very brief transfer time before boarding our second train from Dresden to Leipzig (Germany).
For all three trains, Chase and I had seat reservations. Because we booked them separately, we were not together on the trains. This wasn’t an issue for us, what we really cared about was having a seat and not having to sit on the floor. On the second train from Dresden to Leipzig, I sat in my assigned seat but after a stop this older woman told me I was sitting in her seat. I double checked my seat reservation and was in the correct seat and so she showed me her ticket. She had the seats behind me but didn’t seem to understand this. When I told her I had a reservation for my seat, she said “I guess we’ll just sit here (indicating other seats) instead.” I didn’t respond because I didn’t want to deal with a potential fight and instead just rolled my eyes. It’s not my job to tell someone how to connect the number on the reservation to the number on the seats.
Luckily, this second train was only a little over an hour and once in Leipzig, Chase and I transferred to our final train. This one would take us all the way to Zurich. This train was also the longest at 8 hours. Chase and I ended up on opposite ends of the train carriage and while his section was mostly quiet, I got stuck with the poor single mother and her crying one-year old. And he really didn’t stop the entire train. The child went from crying, to screaming, to babbling really loudly. He didn’t like sitting in his seat or on his mother’s lap and really just wanted to stand in the aisle or walk around, which was a little bit of a problem when the train hit a bumpy patch.
The kid was also only one seat ahead of me on the other side of the aisle, so I could hear him loud and clear even with my headphones. This train ride honestly felt longer than the bus ride from London to Amsterdam, even though the train ride was shorter by a good three hours. I had to get up at 5am that morning and by the time we got to Zurich, I was exhausted. Once we got into Zurich, we still had to get from the main station to our hostel, which required taking the intercity train one stop and then walking about ten minutes.
Once Chase and I checked in, we headed to the grocery store to get some food. I knew from other travelers that Switzerland was expensive, so I planned to try and cook as many meals as possible and only eat out once or twice. This was a little harder because the hostel only had a microwave and electric kettle plus a sketchy toaster oven that I didn’t really want to rely on. It was quickly apparent how expensive Switzerland was as soon as we tried shopping. Instant ramen noodles were about $4. FOUR DOLLARS FOR INSTANT RAMEN.
I got the bare minimum of what I thought I needed, an instant meal in the microwave for one night, some fruit for breakfast, a super cheap bottle of wine that was probably gonna taste horrible, and a thing of crackers. And guess what it cost me? 27 Swiss Francs which is about $29. So, if you’re looking for somewhere to go on a budget, Switzerland is not the place.
The next morning, I had breakfast in the hostel kitchen and got to talking with some of the other guests eating breakfast that morning. A group of them wanted to go swimming and invited me to come. I really didn’t have any set plans for the day, so I happily joined. The group consisted of me, Oliver (from Vermont), Jasmine and Verena (from Munich, Germany), Jerome (from New Zealand), and later Oliver’s friend named Max (also from Vermont but who is also Canadian). So, it was quite the group that came together. We walked about twenty minutes to the Chinese Garden which is park right on the lake in Zurich. The water is bright blue and crystal clear. It is also super cold.
We ended up laying around and swimming for the entire day, finally heading back to the hostel around 6pm. It was a perfect first day getting to hang out with other travelers that I had met literally that morning. For the evening, I made my instant meal and just hung out in the kitchen with some of the others from the day and some new people at the hostel. The kitchen hangout quickly grew and with everyone drinking, we had a little house party until almost 2am.
The next day, Chase and I took the train to Interlaken, a smaller city West of Zurich. Like Zurich, it sits on a lake that is turquoise thanks to algae (we looked it up). Interlaken is nestled into a valley in the mountains, but it was still boiling hot (78 degrees). The city was picturesque with the blue lake and mountains, plus, paragliding is a popular activity. Throughout the day, people landed in a park close to the main part of the city. They literally were landing in the heart of Interlaken after jumping off the mountains that surround the city.
Chase and I walked for a little while, looking for a place to eat. The problem is that every restaurant had prices that started with either a 2 or 3, so we quickly walked by those restaurants. We ended up settling on a food cart by a train station that was still overpriced but at least a little closer to our budget. We then walked to the other side of the city (this was a good 50-minute walk. Why we didn’t take the bus, idk but for some reason we thought walking would be good) to go kayaking.
We rented single kayaks for three hours and after putting our stuff away, we got to paddle out on to Lake Brienz. The lake was stunning. I’ve already mentioned the water was blue, but it was breathtaking and unbelievable every time I looked at it. Even though the water was turquoise, because of the algae making it that color, the water wasn’t “clear” in a sense that you could see the bottom like at the lake in Zurich.
We paddled around for a while, stopped at a small beach to swim for a little while and then regularly just floated. When we had an hour left on our rental, we decided to head back. I guess we drifted a lot farther than we thought, because getting back took almost all my strength. We were paddling against the current and wind, so even though I was paddling hard, it felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. Chase was struggling even more than me. He pulled his shoulder in a weird way paddling back and falling far behind. I knew if I stopped paddling, I would not move again, so I kept paddling for a good thirty-forty minutes to make it back to the kayak rental place (note, this was hard paddling too, not the weak shit that a person in the front seat of a two-seater kayak does).
Chase and I were rightfully exhausted by the time we pulled the kayaks out of the water and racked them. We chilled for a little bit on the beach before we took the bus back to the main train station. We once again had a frozen meal for dinner. I was so tired from the day that I called it a little early. Oliver, Jasmine, Verena, and Max were going out drinking that night but because I was exhausted from kayaking and the sun, plus, drinks were too expensive, I went to bed.
The next morning, I walked around the city for a little bit since I hadn’t actually seen a lot of Zurich but then made my way to the botanical gardens to enjoy my favorite activity of drinking wine and reading in the shade of a tree. It was a perfect last day. Sitting in the shade helped escape the heat (not by much) and it was enjoyable to watch everyone around me enjoying the nice weather and Father’s Day.
That night was another casual night of a frozen meal and talking in the kitchen. Chase and I didn’t stay up as late as others because we had yet another early train to Vienna the next morning (literally all of our trains have left around 6-7am). The train was going to be another long one at 8 hours though we at least didn’t have to change trains.
Switzerland was a dream. The country is gorgeous, and the locals were friendly. Since my dad’s family is from Switzerland, it was nice getting to visit the country of my ancestors, even if I didn’t visit the particular area they were from. I would love to spend more time exploring the nature of Switzerland, but I’ll definitely need to save up more money because at this point, my bank account could barely handle the four days I was there.
