Thursday morning I flew to Geneva and then took a train from the airport to the main station near the city center.  I got in around 11 and the sky was clear and blue and the sun was shining.  I wandered down near the lake and had 3 hours to kill before I could check into the hostel I was staying at.  I stopped at a café in a park with outdoor seating and ordered a beer.  I enjoyed the weather and the giant fountain in the lake I could see from my table for about an hour and then walked towards to the edge of the water.  I spotted a tram that looked like it was driving around giving tours so I got closer and ended up hopping on.  The tour went through the business district of Geneva and explained all of the buildings and organization HQs that were there like the Red Cross, UN, a couple labor rights organizations, and tons of others.  The tour was boring and I wanted to hang out in the sun by the lake so I when we stopped briefly I hoped out in the cobble stoned Old Town District.  I walked around there and enjoyed the layout and buildings and the fact that I was in Switzerland and I saw dozens of people eating paninis out of these white and green bags and I eventually saw the food truck they were being served from.  I asked the server what he recommended and then took my sandwich down by the water and ate on some steps with all kinds of people from business men to students hanging out enjoying lunch.  After eating I wandered some more to a nearby park where I came across life sized chess boards filled with old men smoking cigars and scratching their chins over the game in front of them.  It was a lot of fun to watch and funny to watch the guys go back and forth at each other.  I hung around there until I could check into the hostel which was in the middle of the city and a 5 minute walk from the lake.  My roommate was an old French Canadian named Dave who was visiting some family.  He was an odd but nice guy.  Although I didn’t want to waste the beautiful day I needed some rest and took a nap.  When I got up I went back to wandering around Geneva.  I walked to a park further up the lake than I had been yet and got a better view of the downtown than I had before.  Geneva was a small city of only about 400k people  and with not much to do so I’m glad I only stayed a day but I’m glad I stopped by because it was so beautiful and a great place to enjoy a couple of nice days by the water and I wanted to just chill and relax this past weekend.  I walked the length of the park that ran along the lake’s edge and eventually sat on a bench , turned on some music, and took in the mountains in the distance, the surrounding hills covered in homes, and the city that was slowly starting to glow as it got darker.  When it got dark I wandered around looking for dinner and eventually walked into a mall with a huge food court on the bottom.  I had a really great salmon burger.  After dinner I walked back along the lake and walked along the docks and eventually back to the hostel.  I put on a movie when I went back before heading to bed. 

Friday I had to check out by 10 and wanted to catch a 10:15 boat tour of the lake.  When I got down to where the boat tour was leaving I found out it was not running that day so I got on a public water taxi and road it around the lake for a couple stops.  After I had some time to kill before the train I was taking to Zurich was leaving.  I walked out onto a pier that was very close to the geyser/fountain in the middle of Lake Geneva and laid in the sun on a bench.  When it was time to go I walked to the train station I arrived at on Thursday and hopped on the Geneva-Zurich train.  Geneva was great and very relaxing and I was lucky enough to be there when the weather was oddly warm.  A day was perfect and I didn’t leave feeling like I wanted to leave/wanted to stay I was satisfied when I left. 

The about 3 hour train ride to Zurich was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip to Switzerland.  I had a few beers and some lunch watched Switzerland go by.  It was almost surreal riding through the rolling hills scattered with houses and surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains.  I had a lot of fun on the train and I wanted it to go longer so I could enjoy more scenery.  I arrived in Zurich around 3:30 and walked from the train station to the hostel I was staying at.  It was very warm when I arrived the city was a lot like Geneva on the tip of a lake running into a river but was definitely larger and had more churches/historical buildings.  The majority of the city’s streets were also cobblestone and it was a very old looking yet modern place.  Just really cool and pleasant to be in and explore.  I took nap and when I woke up it was dark out.  I talked to the lady working at the desk of the hostel and she helped me book a countryside tour for Saturday.  I left to find dinner and got an awesome sausage and beer and ate them by the lake.  It was interesting to notice the differences between the French part of Switzerland in Geneva and the German part in Zurich apart from solely the language differences.  I walked along the edge of the lake after eating and past a bunch of people hanging out and drinking on the edge of the lake because drinking outside and is legal the “boardwalk” type area turned into a giant party.  After seeing more of the city I headed back and went to bed.

My tour of the Heidiland was scheduled for 11 am Saturday.  Saturday was the end of the nice weather and it was supposed to rain all day but we were lucky to have mild overcast throughout most of the trip. I got to the bus and met the tour guide and fellow passengers all of which were 40+ Indian couples which was cool with me.  We drove through Zurich getting information from the guide sitting in the front next to the driver talking into a mic.  “on your left…etc”  Our first stop was at a small town on the north end of the lake with ancient castle.  We were able to walk around and explore for an hour after which we had to meet at the bus.  I went up the thousand+ year old castle and enjoyed the amazing views and beautiful setting.   After I went to the restaurant that was recommended and had their savory cheese pie which was the best thing I ate over there and washed it down with a beer.  Every beer in Switzerland was very tasty and even the cheapest were leagues better than the crap we get here.  After lunch back on the bus we went for some more driving through the beautiful country side which was very enjoyable.  Our second stop was at a very tiny country of 34k people between Austria and Switzerland, Lichtenstein.  We had an hour there too and apparently that is the place to do some shopping for coo-coo clocks and buy stamps.  I let my fellow tour-mates to do that and I walked up to Dukes castle over looking pretty much the entire country.  It was a very average place but at least I can say I’ve been to Lichtenstein now? and it was definitely interesting to learn something about this tiny random country.  We were back on the bus again and to our last stop of Heidi’s original house used to film.  The scenery there was the most beautiful I had seen yet and would see in Switzerland.  We got to hang out up there as it got cooler and the rain came in.  As soon as we got on the bus the rain really started coming down and we were on our way back to Zurich where we passed a really beautiful lake.  The tour was really fun and proved to be an enjoyable and relaxing day to enjoy some of the beauty Switzerland has to offer.    Back at hostel I met 2 kids from NY who I got dinner and some beers with at a bierhaus.  We ended up buying some cheap beers from a grocery store and bringing them back to the hostel because it was raining and hanging out there.  We met some other young travelers and an older Irish woman and ended up drinking and talking in the hostel until around 3 when I went to bed.  It was a fun night and always great to meet new people especially other travelers.  Sunday I checked out and did my last walking around in Zurich in the cold rain.  I eventually had to find a McDonalds and get some wifi and get warm to kill time before my flight.  I got one more sausage before heading to the airport and saying goodbye to Switzerland.  It was a perfect trip and I enjoyed being free to doing whatever I wanted to do when traveling.  I think Switzerland was a good choice of places to go by myself because the nightlife isn’t too crazy that I was missing out on going out to bars/partying with friends and I could sit by myself and enjoy nature, the lakes, and the scenery that was everywhere.  When I got home Jeremy was here and Zach was still in Sevilla and Max in Dubai.  I cooked and did homework and got ready for the week ahead.  We also watched Barca beat Real Madrid in el clasico 4-3!

Monday was a usual school day as was today.  The weather has been in the high 50s low 60s with sunny days but a lot of cold wind.  Thursday night we are flying to Berlin which I am very excited for after experiencing some German culture and beer in Zurich.  

http://imgur.com/a/G8VrO