Escape to the Swiss Mountains

Hi Everyone!

 

From the moment that I came to Switzerland about a month ago, there has been almost zero time to relax or sit back. Weekdays are a constant balancing act between figuring out how to live by myself in a foreign country, adjusting to the academic system here, and making new friends. While weekends have been just as busy, as attempting to make the most out of every single minute of traveling isn’t always easy.

Therefore, due to the last few weeks being hectic for myself and everyone else, my group of friends and I chose to find somewhere where we could finally unwind. Luckily for us, finding a place suited for relaxation wasn’t difficult at all because Switzerland is filled with woods, mountains, lakes, and other serene nature attractions.

After only a little bit of searching, we chose Viznau, a tiny town of 1,000 people that is on a lake and encircled by vast mountains. Just to get there we had to take three different trains and a bus because of how remote the town is. To add to that, our villa for the weekend was a 45 minute walk from the town, which made it completely isolated. That evening and night that we spent at the Villa was exactly what I needed to recoup from the intensity of the prior weeks. All we did was appreciate the view, cook a big meal for all of us, and hang out. The whole time there wasn’t any sound but the one coming from our voices and the music we were playing. All in all, it was one of the most carefree days in my entire life.

I would’ve stayed there for forever if I could, but we had to be a little more productive in our touristic endeavors. Therefore, on Sunday we took a train from Viznau up to Mount Rigi, a popular mountain in the area. The train ride lasted about an hour and had increasingly more spectacular views the higher that we went up.

 

 

 

At the top of the mountain, we were greeted with the most spectacular view of all: a breathtaking panorama of mountains. We took it all in for about an hour, taking as many pictures as possible and trying to comprehend the beauty of what we were looking at.

 

To top off an already extremely relaxing weekend full of remarkable views, we spent the rest of the day in a spa on the top of the mountain. Not only was the spa itself much better than any I have ever been too, there was an outdoor heated pool that overlooked all of the mountains. 

The hard part of having such a calm weekend is going back to the busy life of an exchange student after. However, despite not always having much down time, these last few weeks have been some of the best of my life. Whether its trying to order food at a restaurant when the server doesn’t speak English, catching up on Finance homework, or being in a spa on the top of the mountains, I have loved it all.

 

Radek