Swiss Bliss

Sisters, sun, mountains, lakes, outdoor adventures, gelato, and cooking…what else could I possibly ask for in a perfect weekend?
Truly, this weekend was a mountain top experience (both literally AND figuratively). It was one of the more memorable weekends of my life for so many reasons.  

Of course, as is the case with any trip that I take, it actually got off to a rocky start! My friend, Rachel, and I left our pension with plenty of time to walk to the place to catch the bus to the airport (in front of McDonalds). We got there with about 15 minutes until it was supposed to come. We began to ask the people around us where exactly we should wait. Eventually, we discovered we were at the WRONG McDonalds…the right one was about a 20 minute walk further down the road, and we had about 10 minutes until the bus was supposed to come. Sooo in a slight panic, I handed my (huge) backpack to Rachel, and sprinted down to the correct location. I arrived in time to catch the bus and tell them Rachel was on her way. Bless her heart, she showed up a few minutes later, carrying both of our bags! It should have been as simple as just buying a ticket and getting on the bus, but the driver refused to speak any English with me! He wouldn’t let us on without a ticket, but also wouldn’t let us buy a ticket. We were apparently both very confused! Eventually, through some VERY broken german on my part and flashing a lot of documents in his face, he let us on, and we were on our way to the airport!
Well, thankful to say, that was actually the extent of complications! From then on, the trip was nothing but blessed!

Sarah and a friend met us at the airport late that night (so we didn’t have to figure out public transportation to Lugano which would have been additionally complicated!), and we arrived at her house at about 1:15 AM. Sarah is such a dear to pick us up that night, as she had to teach the next morning!

I woke up to the most beautiful view I have ever awaken to. The beautiful mountains and lake of Lugano are breathtaking! EVERY time I walked outside I was taken aback.
Since it was a Thursday and school was still in full session, I got to watch Sarah teach her first hour class. This was so fun to watch her in her “element”, and meet students from all over the world! I LOVED getting to help teach music and assist different children. It was good practice and I surprisingly enjoyed it a lot. When Sarah finished classes for the day, we walked around the beautiful campus and then left with two of her guy friends to go rock climbing in Italy!
Although neither Sarah or I have done this in YEARS, we were very anxious to get on the side of the mountain! Her friends are extremely knowledgable about it all, so we trusted them with our lives☺. It was a blast – I was so proud as I watched my sister attack that mountain – she is awesome! However, we also got quite the laugh…when it came to getting back down the mountain, neither of us are quite as brave! We both had a little trouble leaning back and “letting go”…for quite awhile, it was a definite possibility that we may be stuck up there forever. ☺ But alas, we made it down and fit in one more awesome climb to wrap up the evening. That night, we made homemade pizza with one of her friends, which turned out delicious! It was a wonderful first day!

Friday morning, Sarah pointed me in the direction of an INCREDIBLE running path in the mountains near her school. While she taught in the morning, I went for a long run, including getting lost in the woods, of all places I have been lost while running – this was by far my favorite! The path was BEAUTIFUL and every so often, I’d find myself on the edge, again, about to lose my breath from the beauty of the view.

That afternoon we walked to downtown Lugano, got some delicious cinnamon and coffee gelato, and explored the quaint little town. A few hours later, we went to her friend’s for a homemade Persian dinner and game night. This night was one of the more fun nights of my life…I don’t remember the last time that I laughed so hard all night long. Her friends are hysterical! I felt right at home with them as we played board games and talked for hours. My cheeks were pretty sore by the time we left!

Saturday was essentially a day of perfection…in a nutshell, this day was the most refreshing day I have had in a long time. Let’s just say that hiking in the alps just doesn’t QUITE compare to hickory hill park or Garcia trail. ☺ Sarah and I headed up of the mountain across the lake from her house, called Mt. Boglio. We had our backpack, water bottles, and a picnic packed…and a STEEP mountain ahead of us. But the next 6 hours were full of laughter, quality conversation, challenging conversation, ideal weather, crunchy leaves, views of splashed together fall colors, a picnic on the border of Italy and Switzerland, and a definite physical challenge! It was amazing and I wish it never could have ended.

That night, some of her awesome friend purchased a fire pit, and we got to be the first to break it in☺ We had a bonfire in their backyard on the mountain she lives on, overlooking city lights and lake. It was hard to pull ourselves away from another night of laughing and fun conversation…but we had to be up at 4:45 in the morning, so we did eventually call it a night.

The next morning came quickly (maybe 3 hours of sleep?:) ), and Sarah drove us back to the airport. In our grogginess, we said goodbye, with more gratitude in my heart than I knew what to do with. I am SO thankful for everything that was put into this weekend to make it what it was, and so thankful for a sister to experience it all with…now if only we could get the rest of the family over here!

ENJOY SOME BEAUTIFUL PICTURES :)