First Trip to a Different Country
Hallo aus der Schweiz! (Hello from Switzerland!)
One of the many perks of studying in Switzerland is its location in Central Europe. There are multiple countries that are only a few hours or less away, which means the possibilities for trips are endless. Last weekend, my friends and I decided to take full advantage of that by going to Konstanz, a small town in Germany and only a hour train ride from where we live. 
Unfortunately, Konstanz is right by the Swiss border, which means that it is very similar to what I’ve gotten used to in Switzerland. While studying abroad I hope to experience many different kinds of cultures and people while traveling and Konstanz didn’t provide much of that. There were many of the exact same stores that I see in Switzerland and the people even spoke with a similar Swiss-German dialect.
However, even though I may not have gotten the full German experience that I craved, the town made up for that in multiple ways and it was more than a worthwhile trip. To start, everything was much cheaper than it is in Switzerland. I had already heard of Swiss people going to Germany just to grocery shop, but I didn’t think that there could be such a drastic change in prices. Luckily, our train ride back to Switzerland was late at night, which meant that we could save money on lunch, coffee, and dinner while in Germany. Not only did everything cost about half as much as it would in Switzerland, it was some of the best food and coffee I’ve had while being abroad so far. For Lunch and then later for coffee, we went to the most popular café in town called Pano. The food drew us in, but the intimate atmosphere of the place gave us no choice but to stay there for a few hours. To top off an already amazing food day, for dinner we went to the most authentic German restaurant we could find and I had a Weiner Schnitzel. It was satisfying to come back to Switzerland that night without an empty stomach or wallet.
Aside from eating and drinking coffee, my friends and I spent much of the day walking around and trying to see as much of the town as possible. Konstanz was filled with fantastic architecture and streets, and it being situated on a lake didn’t hurt at all either. Half of the fun of traveling comes from just that, exploring the towns you go to and discovering various unique features. The other half of the beauty of traveling comes from being able to connect with the people that you travel with. I may someday forget some of the towns that I see while being abroad, but I’ll never forget all the memories I make. The day trip to Konstanz was filled with carefree moments that I’ll always remember.
Konstanz was the first of many possible day trips that I’ll be able to have while studying in Switzerland. However, for the meantime it’s back to school and living in Winterthur. I’m slowly starting to adjust to the Swiss system of academics and I’m thrilled to share my experiences from that standpoint in future blogs.
Till next time,
Radek