One of the most impactful experiences I have had so far in my abroad experience was exploring during my trip to Switzerland with my roommates. We made Zürich our home base for the weekend. We did a six-hour tour that took us all around the city by bus and on foot through Old Town, learned about their interesting history, and took a river cruise to the Lindt Home of Chocolate museum, which was amazing! We then went on the Ferris wheel in the middle of town, which had the best views of the mountains and the city. We had a typical Swiss dinner, and then went to bed super early the next day, which required a 5:30 am wakeup call.
For our final day in, we wanted to take a day trip to Interlaken and explore a different side of Switzerland than Zürich. We took a 7 am train, which was an experience in itself. The mountain and town views on this train ride were amazing, nothing like the Amtrak trains that I have taken in Pennsylvania! We got off the train after about two hours and were excited to start our journey. We went to this delicious breakfast place and walked around the town, watching the paragliders land in the park. Interlaken is most famous for its views of the mountains and lakes, so we decided that we wanted to hike most of the day. After doing some research, we found a hiking route that covered all of the must-see spots in Interlaken, though it required some extra transportation. After navigating another train and a bus that took us halfway up a very steep mountain, we found our starting point.
It had snowed the night before, so the trail and steps were a bit icy. We were very determined to get to a certain point on the route we planned out, because we wanted to see the waterfalls that were further along. We held on to the railings up the steep, ice-covered stairs and kept walking. We finally reached the waterfalls, and it was absolutely beautiful. We were standing behind the waterfall on the trail, looking out towards the mountains and the lake, which had stunning, bright blue water. Looking out at this view, I realized that this trip was unlike any place I’ve been before.
We kept going on the hike for a while longer and then stopped at this hotel overlooking the water to get some food and refuel. After we were done, we stepped outside onto the balcony and noticed a small trail leading down to the water below, but we couldn’t see where exactly it led from so far up. We all wanted to get closer to the water and see it up close, so we decided to follow the path. As we were walking down, we noticed that we didn’t see a single person on the trail with us, as opposed to the more “mainstream” route we took for the first half of the day. After a while, we finally reached the bottom. The view was absolutely breathtaking, and we couldn’t believe we were the only ones down there. The mountains seemed taller than before, and the snowy peaks blended in with the sky behind them, making it hard to see where the sky began. The water was bright turquoise and surprisingly clear, and we could see all the rocks beneath the surface. This was the most incredible view I’ve ever seen, and it was all from nature, nothing made by humans. My three other roommates and I stayed in this spot for a long time, taking in all of the views and sounds of this place. All of us agreed that this experience was unlike anything we have done, and that we will always remember finding this gem of a viewpoint. I will be forever grateful for stumbling upon this trail. It is a reminder that not everything has to be planned out, and sometimes the beauty of life is its unpredictability!
