Switzerland: My Last Free Weekend

Our time in Germany is coming to a close, and we are making our way to the capital for one last excursion. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and is filled with history. It makes me sad to think about leaving this country, but I am excited to see my family and friends (and new lab puppy) after being gone for so long.

On my last free weekend I traveled to Switzerland with Angela, Edward, and Angelica. We stayed in Lucerne, which my parents had been to before and recommended. Unfortunately, it was raining on saturday which affected our outdoor plans to go kayaking on lake lucerne. My mom's birthday was on saturday and I was able to recreate a picture she took by the Lucerne bridge when she was there.

We saw some of the historic sites in Lucerne, but what I will remember the most is the people we met there. We met a group of students from Michigan at our hostel that we explored the city with on Friday night. On saturday as we were looking for a cafe to have some hot chocolate at, a group of people about our age asked if we would like to join them. We did not have much else planned so we sat down and enjoyed their company for several hours. The group all lived in Lucerne and were already working at the ages of 21 and 22. That seems crazy to me since I will be in school for at least four more years. But most of my friends who aren't going into the medical field will be entering the "real world." Getting to know a group of people our age from across the world made me start to really think about possibly living over seas at some point in my life.

On sunday we planned on hiking up Mount. Pilatus, but when we found out that the hike took at least 2 and a half hours we opted to take the cable car instead. Halfway up the mountain was a toboggan track that we decided to try out which was a great experience! The view was great and it was something none of us in the group had tried before. We also went up to the top of the mountain and even though it was cloudy, the view was breathtaking. Climbing up to different peaks and taking in the sights from the top of the Swiss Alps was something I will never forget. Nor will I forget seeing Yao Ming at the top of the mountain! He was with his family and bodyguard so we were not able to actually talk with the former Houston Rocket. Switzerland was the perfect place to spend our last free weekend in Europe!