Sweet Times in Switzerland

All my pictures from my trip are here.

Last weekend I made my way across the border to visit my cousin (once removed?), Judy, in Switzerland. I took an overnight train Thursday night, and when I got to the train station it was eerily empty. It felt very ghostly, and I was anxious to leave and get on my way. However, when I'd booked tickets, the lady working had asked if I wanted a couchette or not, and I'd said "whatever's cheaper". This meant that I was confined to a reclining seat the whole night, making sleep almost impossible. Luckily, I had an empty seat next to me, but I still probably only got 3 or 4 hours of sleep during the entire 10 hour train ride. That trip was quite a complex one: trains from Aix-en-Provence to Marseille, Marseille to Mulhouse, and Mulhouse to Basel. When I finally got to Basel I was greeted at the train station with open arms by Judy, and we set off for her town of Dornach, which is about 20 minutes from Basel.

Dornach is a really cute, small town. It's tucked into the foothills of the mountains, and just a few minutes away from some amazing hiking trails in the woods. The town has the safe and friendly feel of most small towns, and in some ways reminded me of the things I like about Aix-en-Provence.

After we dropped my bag off at her apartment, Judy and I headed to Luzern for the day. It's about an hour drive, and I promptly passed out in the front seat of Judy's car. I was awoken as we were getting closer to Luzern to see the Alps spread out before us. I'll never get sick of that view. Seeing the snow-covered peaks rising out of the ground looks to perfect to be real. It looks like something that's been painted on to the sky. Unbelievable.

I really liked Luzern. It's a town built right on a beautiful lake at the foot of the Alps, which makes for an amazing view. We spent a few hours walking around the town, getting lunch, walking along the lake, and enjoying the view. It was a really relaxing day, and after the last few travel weeks was just what I needed.

The next day Judy's boyfriend, Mikael, came in from Denmark. We started the day by going up into the hills behind Dornach and hiking for a few hours with Judy's dog, Gina. It's amazing that just a few minutes from her apartment are such amazing hiking trails. The views from the edge of the hills looking out over the Swiss countryside were amazing. I absolutely love the Swiss landscape, with its rolling green hills, and small, pristine villages tucked away. Really an amazing country.

Saturday afternoon we went into Basel, which was another amazing Swiss city. It's the third most populous city in Switzerland, but is still small enough that it manages to avoid the grittiness of most large cities. I got a very knowledgeable walking tour of the city from Judy and Mikael, and got to see all of the sites. One of the things that struck me was how much effort the city puts in to restore and maintain all of the old architecture that really gives Basel its unique feel. We saw all the points of interest, took a ferry ride across the Rhine, and had dinner sitting next to the river.

Sunday morning it was time to go home, and I left not looking forward to the trip back (partially because it was an 8 hour train ride, partially because the weekend had been so refreshing). I said goodbye to Mikael and Judy at the train station, and after trains to Mulhouse, Lyon, Marseille, and Aix, was back at home and preparing for the week ahead.