Geneva

Kenna and I are in our last hotel tonight. It's the most expensive one yet, but it's also the biggest and the most convenient. And it's the first time I've had a shower over here that I haven't been able to span with my arms akimbo. This hotel even has a shuttle that runs from the hotel to the airport! Unfortunately, my flight leaves too early tomorrow morning for that to be of any use to me.

When we talked to the person at the front desk of the hotel, she told me I could walk--that it's only a ten-minute walk and that it's safe because it's well-lit the entire way. We found out this afternoon that she may have been a bit optimistic; Kenna and I walked back to the hotel from the airport this afternoon and it took twenty minutes (downhill, without luggage). I was talking to my mom about how I'd have to start walking (on my own with all my luggage) at 4:30 in the morning and she suggested a taxi. That option is starting to sound quite appealing right now. I'm thinking I'll be doing that, especially if I'm going to be anywhere near as tired as I am today.

Kenna and I were both exhausted today. We were travelling for at least five hours straight this morning (which is draining in and of itself), and it's the very last day of our travels. All we want to do is sleep. But we did drag ourselves out onto the streets so we could say we'd seen at least some of Geneva. Goodness it was tough, though.

We both only wanted to see one thing here, each; I wanted to see the Jette d'Eau, and Kenna wanted to see the UN Office buildings. We sat for a long time trying to figure out the public transportation system (I miss London's so much!), and eventually made it out to the lake. It was beautiful and I'm glad we went, I just wish I hadn't been so tired.

Geneva seems like a cleaner, nicer, version of Paris. I think I would have loved it better, were I not sick of big cities. Each is unique, to be sure, but after a while they all start to feel the same. Maybe I'll come back someday when I'm not exhausted, and maybe then I'll fall in love with it.

After resting on the grass by the lake for a while, we decided to walk around. We headed towards the UN buildings, and saw some pleasant sights along the way. I wasn't feeling so well, so I didn't take many pictures, but it was beautiful.

We did manage to find the UN buildings, but there was a huge protest of sorts (something about Ghana) that prevented us from getting very close. We were more than a little uncomfortable, so we hopped on a train/bus/some sort of public transit, and headed back to the hotel. We accidentally got off two stops too early, so we had to wait for the next vehicle to come by. We got to the airport and walked back to the hotel. And that was today. I guess the two of us aren't as fun when we're both wiped.

This flower clock was much more impressive than the one in Edinburgh. . . Probably because it was completed.

The Jette d'Eau

Lake Geneva

Kenna offered to take a picture of me and the only thing I really wanted to see.

I don't actually know why I took this picture. . . But there you go.

I Don't Want to Climb the Matterhorn

Three more days until I'm home! Oh my goodness I can't wait.

Today was Sunday (and Father's Day), but it was a different sort of Sunday.

Earlier this week, Kenna and I looked up the nearest LDS meetinghouse to Wengen. It was located in Interlaken which was on our way to Zermatt, so we decided to go to sacrament meeting before heading to our next destination.

We ate breakfast as early and as quickly as we could, and we caught the 8:03 train to Lauterbrunnen. I was praying that we'd make it to Interlaken before 9:00.

We did make it before nine, and we headed South (we think) in search of the meetinghouse. We wandered/hurried down the streets of Interlaken until, thirty minutes later, we found ourselves back at the train station. We taken at least one wrong turn, and had gone in a big circle. Pulling my luggage. In our Sunday clothes. And the rain. By the time we made it back to the station we'd already missed the sacrament (and there was only one sacrament meeting there), so we opted to make our way to Zermatt.

We went to the information desk at the train station and asked the man the fastest way to get to Zermatt with the train passes we'd purchased in Geneva. He printed out a schedule for us and sent us on our way to catch the train that was departing in three minutes.

Kenna and I booked it through the station with my luggage, in our Sunday clothes, with my shoes getting knocked off every few feet. . . I'm sure we were quite the sight, but we made it onto the train with thirty seconds to spare.

When we got on the second train we realized that we were on a train that, on the map, was a dotted line, meaning that it was a reduction with our pass. I'm not entirely sure what that means, still, but I think we were supposed to purchase another ticket for that particular train and that we would get it at a reduced price.

The man at the first counter hadn't said anything about purchasing another ticket, so we'd just assumed that we were fine, but we were so worried during the entire train ride. We were lucky and the ticket man never made it to our car to check our tickets, so we still don't know what "reductions" means, but I'm glad we didn't have to find out the hard way. All the other trains we'll be using are good with our pass, though, which is immensely comforting.

We arrived in Zermatt just before noon, and found ourselves in a place that feels very much like Park City, Utah. We took it in for a minute, and then set off in search of our hotel.

We lugged my suitcases through the cobblestone streets, up and down hills, and across a couple of bridges before I remembered that I have data here and we turned on my maps app.

After a few more confusing turns, we found ourselves at the hotel. It was only later tonight that we figured out that we'd once again gone around in a big circle, and that our hotel is just up the street from the train station. I'm glad we figured that out before tomorrow morning, because I was not looking forward to a repeat of this afternoon's journey.

Kenna and I were both exhausted from yesterday, so we decided take it easy here. We really came here to see the Matterhorn (which we saw and documented), so after that we were pretty much content to see whatever. We figured we'd just wander and call it good.

We found a cemetery with really descriptive tombstones, and we spent some time reading about the many men who had lost their lives on the Matterhorn. Reading about how they died made me care a lot more about the fact that they died. Personal information will do that.

After the cemetery we meandered up and down the streets. The Matterhorn was incredible, of course, but I think both of us were more excited about the mountains that made it look like we were back in Utah. We are so ready to be back home.

This study abroad experience has been hard for me. It has been so rewarding and I am so incredibly grateful that I did it. I've learned so much, and this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, but there were some things that were hard about it. I've had to grow in unexpected ways, and I've learned a lot about myself in addition to other cultures. But growth is always difficult. It's good, but good things don't always come easy. If someone asked me if they should do a study abroad experience I would answer with a resounding "Yes!" but I'm glad that my experience is almost over. I'm ready for real life now.

Welcome to Zermatt. That river was the prettiest color.

I spy with my little eye. . . The Matterhorn. It's much cooler in real life than in Disneyland.

Me

Wandering in Zermatt

This place really is beautiful.

The church by our hotel

Kenna

The graveyard. This was the little one behind the church. We read every tombstone here. Then we walked a little ways and found a larger graveyard, but we didn't go into that one. One graveyard was enough.

It really is quite incredible.

We found a couple of older guys playing tennis so we stopped to watch them for an hour or so.

Stalker picture of Kenna

Walking is Easy in Switzerland

This has been such an easy trip so far! Neither of us really has anything we're dying to do here (except explore), so we don't have to worry about catching trains at a certain time, or spending too long at any one place. We take trains to Wengen to Lauterbrunnen and vice versa, and we walk everywhere else. Today we walked/hiked a total of 15.38 miles!

We ate breakfast at the hotel, and then we headed to Lauterbrunnen to hike the waterfalls. We still love the views offered by the train. This is a beautiful place.

Once in Lauterbrunnen we headed out along the trail. We hiked up to one waterfall, and then we decided to walk on the path in the direction of he other waterfalls. We knew we could turn back at any time, so we just enjoyed the scenery.

The air is so clean here, and the world smelled incredible--for the most part--our entire hike. There was one field we passed where the man was spreading manure that smelled awful, but other than that it was wonderful in every way.

We saw a lot more gorgeous cows, and a couple of beautiful horses. . . We even saw a small, brown mouse on the trail at one point. The waterfalls were all breathtaking, as were the mountains on either side of us. I had a grin on my face the entire time.

Kenna and I also had several freak-out-due-to-excitement moments when we realize how soon we'll be home. We have church tomorrow (hopefully, it's looking tough to find), taking a train to Zermatt, staying the night there, staying in Geneva Monday, and then we're leaving Switzerland on Tuesday. I'll stay in London Tuesday night, and I'll be home Wednesday night! I am stoked. Kenna's just as excited as I am, so it's been fun. We both adore Switzerland, but home is the greatest place to be.

After seeing the most beautiful waterfall, Kenna and I decided we needed food, so we headed back towards Lauterbrunnen. We came across a porta potty on the trail and discovered that it was likely the cleanest porta potty on Earth. Everything is clean here, even porta potties.

We got back to town and looked at restaurants we could return to for dinner. Every meal is so expensive here, but we found an affordable menu that looked decent at the local pub. We continued on our way so we could get lunch items from the grocery store. We bought cherries, cheese, a loaf of bread, and some pastries, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We hopped back on the train to Wengen so we could pay for the hotel, rested in our room for ten minutes, and then headed out again for another hike.

This hike was probably my favorite one scenery-wise. It was incredibly steep, but it offered some amazing views. It was also a lot of fun. Because hiking is a lot of fun.

We headed back when we were tired, and hopped back on the train to Lauterbrunnen to eat at the pub. The food there wasn't my favorite, but it was filling, and it was warm. It was far from the worst things I've eaten, too, and it was cheap for the area so we couldn't have expected too much, really.

We were also the only females in the pub (aside from the women running the place and a woman who was with a guy, but they left shortly after we arrived) which was exciting. We got a lot of looks and almost-started conversations. One guy from Australia started talking to us (but he was definitely talking to Kenna) while he was waiting for his beer to come. He was nice, but I have never seen so much beer consolidated into one container in my life. And he only asked for one cup to drink all of it with. We didn't make eye contact when we left the pub.

Then we came back to the hotel, showered, and got ready for bed. We're exhausted from all the hiking, but it's the best kind of exhausted because it happened in nature and we're so happy for the time we spent there today. Switzerland is great.

I loved all the flower boxes. It added so much to the feeling of Switzerland.

Lauterbrunnen

Yodelers! We were hiking up to the first waterfall when we heard the most beautiful sound. We rounded a corner and found a group of yodelers performing across the way. Their song bounced off the walls of the canyon and followed us for quite a long time. Neither of us minded one bit.

The first waterfall. Every one we saw was so tall, we had to crane our necks to see the tops. And we couldn't always see the tops even then!

The view from the waterfall.

A nice Australian couple offered to take our picture.

These horses were gorgeous.

This was a cairn  museum. Kenna added to one.

My camera was about to die so I switched over to my phone camera which isn't as good. Also, it looks fuzzy because it was a drizzly day.

It is so beautiful!

The first mountain river I'd been able to see for two months. I cannot tell you how therapeutic it was for me.

This was the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen.

Oh Switzerland!

Kenna and I arrived in Switzerland today. It was a little crazy getting here (more on that later), but it was totally worth it. Switzerland is the most beautiful place I've ever been. I feel like God put special care into the creating of this country. Everything looks like it belongs in a fairy tale.

Getting here, though. . . That was an adventure I'd rather not repeat. Ever. I mean, it really could have been so much worse than it was, and the people were all so helpful and kind, but it was rough. I was blessed, though.

Kenna wasn't interested in going to Paris for the few days I as going with the other girls from the program, so she went to stay in Brussels with her cousins while I was in Paris, and then we'd meet up at the airport in Geneva on the morning of the 19th. That was the extent of our planning (aside from me asking what time her flight arrived in Geneva so I could get one that came at about the same time). We didn't exactly talk about how we'd meet up, nor did we specify where, but I had chosen a flight that arrived thirty minutes before hers, so I figured I'd just have to watch for her.

Getting a flight that arrived at 9:00 AM meant, however, that I had to leave my hotel in Paris at five in the morning. Rebekkah was going to be leaving from the same airport as I was, so we opted to share a taxi, even though her flight was leaving a few hours later than mine. Things were good to go.

Then, Mary had a devil of a time working out how she was going to get to her flight. She had to leave the hotel at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, and she had issue after issue with regards to calling a taxi. Paris is very much a day/night city, and taxis don't exactly run very often at the wee hours of the morning.

Eventually, Mary opted to get a taxi to the airport last night and to sleep a few hours at the airport terminal (as this would be far less stressful for her).

We couldn't call a taxi, so she had to stand out on the streets of Paris to flag one down at 1:30 in the morning. She doesn't speak any French, so I needed to be there to speak to the taxi driver and to let him know where she was headed. The rest of the girls in the group decided to join with us both because there is safety in numbers and because it would make getting Mary's luggage to the street a lot easier.

The six of us stood on the side of the road for quite some time (you would not believe the number of occupied taxis roaming the streets at 1:30 AM), but we did eventually find one that was available. Thankfully, the taxi driver spoke English (MIRACLE!), and we were back at the hotel room by two. I settled down for a three-hour night.

I was so stressed about getting off, though, that I couldn't fall asleep right away. I may have ended up with two hours of sleep--tops.

I have realized that my French is not so good early in the morning, and the taxi driver pointed that out by asking me to speak English (even though his first question to us was whether or not we spoke French. Oops.). English is easier for me, though, so I was grateful he suggested it (even if my pride was a bit bruised).

I had no idea what side of the airport I was supposed to go to, my phone was dead, and it was so early in the morning. I'm sure I looked a sight with my unkempt hair, bleary eyes, my laptop open in the backseat of the taxi so I could charge my phone enough to find where I was supposed to go. . . It was not my best morning.

In spite of all the craziness, the taxi got us to the airport in good time, and I found myself walking in the front doors at 5:40.

I walked to the first kiosk I could find so I could print my boarding pass (as my phone was out of battery). I must have been standing there for a while looking confused, because an airport worker came up to help me. After a few minutes of problem-solving, he asked which airline I was using (in English, because my French skills were deteriorating by the second). When I didn't really know how to respond, he suggested that, maybe, I was flying with EasyJet. This was indeed the case, and the man directed me downstairs. I thanked him (after blushing), and headed towards the elevators.

As I was walking away, he called out to me, "Lady!" I turned around, thinking I'd forgotten something like my passport, and he continued, "You need SLEEP!" If only he'd known how incredibly accurate his observation was.

As I stood in line for check-in, I started to relax a little bi. I was finally in the right place, and I knew the rules for flying on an airplane. Things were looking up.

When I got to the desk, my first words were, "Parlez-vous anglais?" She replied that she did indeed speak English, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She asked for my passport and boarding pass, and I was thankful to realized that my phone had just enough battery to show my boarding pass. I told her that it was on my phone and she told me she could look me up with my passport. However, it didn't quite work, and I needed to grab my phone after all.

My phone was in my carry-on, still plugged into my laptop, so I managed to dump most of the contents onto the ground in my effort to get my phone to the lady. Can I just emphasize that I do not do well with only a couple of hours of sleep at night? Just in case this isn't being made abundantly clear as this story progresses.

As I bent down to re-collect the contents, the lady told me that I was only allowed one carry-on item (and I had a personal item with me as well which was not allowed with this airline). She asked if I could fit the smaller bag into my larger carry-on, and while I was working on that, she informed me that my flight to Geneva was closed.

My world froze. Closed? But I was there two and a half hours early. What was I supposed to do now?

I didn't cry, but I'm sure my worry showed clearly on my face, because she immediately began to backtrack and explain that I was too early and that I'd have to come back later when they called my flight location for check-in. I started to breathe again after that, and then made my way to chairs lining the wall to readjust my suitcase situation.

I am so glad I packed light, because fitting another bag into my carry-on was easy. I even had extra room in both bags by the end!

I got back in line half an hour later, and was lucky enough to get the same girl as before. She was so nice and helpful, and I immediately decided that EasyJet is a wonderful airline. If you travel in Europe, use EasyJet.

She asked if I'd been able to fit everything into two bags, and I proudly showed her I'd been able to do so. She told me I was the perfect passenger, and I left with a smile (albeit an exhausted one) with the boarding pass she'd been kind enough to print for me in hand. So, ultimately, it turned out to be a good experience. I'm looking into how to change my flight from Geneva to land in LHR instead of Paris, however. . . Travel is hard when the airport doesn't default to your language.

I was able to sleep on the flight for thirty minutes or so, and when I woke up we were flying over Switzerland. Seeing the mountains made me so happy.

As soon as I got to the Geneva airport, I calmed down significantly. I was where I was supposed to be, and things were going to be so much easier now. Plus, more people spoke English, and their English was really quite good. Bonus. Points.

I was a bit worried about finding Kenna (because we forgot to figure out how and where we'd meet), but I'd worn my blue dress today, so we found each other with no problem. It actually worked out perfectly.

We went to the railway information desk and the woman there was so helpful and wonderful. I have a good first taste of Switzerland.

Kenna and I found our way to Wengen (pronounced with a "v" sound because it's German) which is where we'll be staying the first two nights, and spent the entire train ride with our noses against the windows because the scenery was incredible. We're both from Utah, so seeing the mountains felt like coming home in many ways. It is stunning here, and I think it's the perfect place to end my stay in Europe. I feel much more peaceful here, and I'm grateful things worked out so that we ended up here. Switzerland is where both of us need to be.

When we arrived here in Wengen we about died of happiness. Wengen is a small ski town, and our hotel is pretty close to the railway station (though this place is so small that pretty much everything is close to the railway station), and it offers an incredible view. Actually, I don't think it's possible to have anything but an incredible view here.

We have a community toilet and shower (they're in adjacent rooms, and every time someone flushes the toilet the person in the shower is doused in boiling water), crocs are provided for the shower, they clean towels once a week, and I don't think they come in to make up the room. I love it. The man at the front desk is slightly awkward and incredibly nice, and we aren't going to be spending hardly any time at the hotel. This is a wonderful place to be.

Even though both of us are exhausted due to short nights and travel, we decided on the train that we were going to go exploring in the mountains as soon as we dropped our stuff off. Hiking was hard at first because we aren't used to being at altitude anymore, but it got easier as we adjusted to he thinner air. We took so many pictures, and we breathed the cleanest air we've been in for months. We came down from the mountain feeling peaceful and rejuvenated. God's hand and presence can be felt in nature.

Tomorrow I think we'll be hiking up to some stunning waterfalls, and I can't wait. I am so glad to be here with Kenna, and that we are in the most beautiful nature. We both needed it, and I'm happy to be in the mountains again. Life is incredible.

Welcome to Switzerland. The place where every angle is magic.

Some of Wengen. Wengen consists primarily of hotels and a few permanent residences.

Oh I'm in love with this place. Do you see those mountains?!

Me and Kenna. We were so.happy.

Seriously the most beautiful place I've been.

Everything is clean and orderly in Switzerland, even stacks of wood.

We came across a memorial to Felix Mendelssohn. The first bassoon song I ever learned to play was by him, so I was pretty excited.

Frozen, anyone? "Yoo-hoo! Big summer blowout!"

Me, finally back in the mountains. It's the best feeling.

I loved seeing all the cows (though I did not always enjoy smelling them). They all wear these big bells, and the sound of the cowbells is musical and delightful.

Also, I dare you to find more beautiful cows than these.

We looked back at one point on the hike. . . Stunning.

Kenna was just as excited as I was to be back in the mountains.

We both remarked several times that this was just like Heidi.

The view from the top of our hike. We're going tomorrow to that valley because apparently the waterfalls there are incredible.

Oh man this place smelled so delightful. This wood especially made for a pleasant aroma.

ARE YOU SEEING THIS?! Okay I'll stop freaking out on the Internet.

This is where we ate dinner. We got take-away from a local restaurant and climbed to this churchyard.

We went out hiking again after dinner, and Kenna revealed her skills as a cat-whisperer. Apparently this was the softest cat she found that night.

I just really liked the colors here.

Hello Wengen.