If I were to close my eyes and imagine what I think (want) heaven to be like, it looks pretty identical to Switzerland. One day, while we were there, Andrew got out his phone to search up something. When I looked over at his phone, he was looking up organ donation jobs in Switzerland. Andrew loves Utah with every fiber of his being and has never talked about leaving until he saw Switzerland. He has been to 20-something different countries, and said it is easily his favorite now. All of the kids said the same, and I did too. Who knows, if Andrew starts doing dualingo now, he can eventually get a job there?! The trails are limitless, the views are breathtaking, and the people are so wonderful. I feel like every cell in my body felt calm in Switzerland. I could also live fully off of the cheese and chocolate here, so I think at some point we will have to live here:).
When we arrived, Sarah picked us up from the train station. She had her favorite pretzels waiting for us and drove us to her home on the lake.
The kids didn’t care that the water was 47°F, they got right in.
After a few hours at the lake, we went inside and Sarah and her husband Rocky prepared raclette for us. I already bought this one so we can do this at home.
We then drove to Zurich to attend a soccer match with them all. My soccer-loving kids were very happy with this decision.
The following day, I was able to join Sarah and her friend, Bec, on one of her favorite biking loops. Biking in Switzerland is an entirely different experience for me vs at home. It felt so safe because the few drivers we saw were mindful of us. Cyclists are everywhere you look here, and the roads through the mountains go on forever. We climbed over 1500 ft with 11 miles, and I have never climbed more on a bike than I did for this ride. My legs burned. The Swiss Alps are behind us in this picture:
We then drove to Zurich to visit the Lindt Home of Chocolate. The tour included a very interesting museum tour, and then we got to sample all of the chocolates.
They let you sample from chocolate fountains, machines that drop samples of different Lindt bars into your hands, and then they send you home with even more chocolate.
We then picked up lunch at the grocery store and ate it outside before starting our hike.
Sarah recommended that we do the Zugiblubbi Theme Trail, which was perfect for our family.
The hike was 3 miles long, had stunning views, and there was some playground or activities for the kids every few minutes. Regular hikes are going to feel boring now to them after this…
At the end of the hike, we met Sarah’s family for a grill. We had brats and s’mores!
Then Sarah took us to Beck’s new heaven: a fresh milk dispenser at a farm. He was giggling because he was so happy.
Sarah told us to leave the kids with her the next morning and go for one of her favorite trails. Andrew on one of their bikes and I was running… about halfway up, we realized Sarah has a bit of a warped view of us ha because this trail was very hard, but I’m so thankful we did it. One of Sarah’s family sayings is, ‘Quit whining and start climbing,’ and that mantra helped me get to the top. The trail that we did was called the Wildsplitz trail. We did take a wrong turn at some point, but it all ended up with the most stunning views.
We had all of the trails to ourselves; we felt spoiled.
We got ready and went to Lucerne to get on a ferry to head to Vitznau.
The ferry took about 75 minutes, but with the perfect weather, we sat on the front deck, and it felt so luxurious.
We then took the Cogwheel train (which felt like it was going vertical for parts;) up to the top of Rigi. The mountainsides were full of goats and cows with bells on them.
The mountains went on and on for as far as we could see.
Sarah told us to get the Swiss mac and cheese with applesauce at the top but they were all out sadly, but the goulash was fantastic!
There were trails everywhere to hike around on, we could have stayed there all day!
When everyone in Sarah’s family was free for the weekend, we didn’t do any other normal tourist activities because we really just wanted time with them in their area. Our kids quickly became the best of friends. Sarah and Rocky provided the most beautiful meals for us, along with a chocolate tasting test and bingo game (with prizes that my kids said were better than Christmas;).
We went to a gorgeous heated pool overlooking the lake for a few hours and then spent the rest of the day at the lake. Kebab pizza needs to happen more often in my life.
We did another grill with all of their friends which we loved.
Along with an Easter Egg hunt.
I am very grateful for Mrs. Jensen’s 9th-grade English class, where I met Sarah. Sarah has forever changed my life and I look up to her in so many ways. Andrew and I have started working on our list of 100 ways we want to be like Sarah and Rocky and will be focusing on five each month. It isn’t possible being around them and feeling anything but fully welcomed, loved, and important. They will also make you laugh harder than anyone I know. We already cannot wait to come back.
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Who has been to Switzerland? What were your thoughts?
Mountain lake or ocean beach? Which do you prefer?
Tell me what your workout is today.
Is it spring break for you?
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