Euro Trip: Bern, Switzerland

May 28, 2015
4 min read

The time has come to finally be reunited with our best friend, Kathrin, 'The Mad Cat Lady.' The only thing in the way of us is a very long 16 hour bus journey from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, where we will have a bit of a wait for our bus that will bring us all the way into Zurich, Switzerland. On an up, at least the bus is nice and comfortable with loads of leg room. Jason has kept himself entertained with finally updating his travel diary. It's only about a year coming. But none the less, it's better late than never. The only problem is, he is still only on Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. My poor Jay! At least he is making an effort to correct the lack of travel entries.

When we got to Frankfurt, Germany we had a bit of a wait for the next bus, but at least we could relax in the train station. When our bus to Zurich finally arrived it was a double decker that was pretty full. It certainly was not as nice as the first bus but sure what can you do! At least we are now finally on our way to 'The Mad Cat Lady.'

Thankfully, we arrived in Zurich a few hours later. We're both really excited about seeing our wonderful friend Kathrin. Saying goodbye in Thailand when she left us was one of the hardest things we have done. At least now all three of us will finally be reunited, if only for a short time! Kathrin and her brother, Marcel drove up to Zurich to meet us. It was lovely seeing them.

As Friday was forecasted to be the better day over the weekend, all four of us went for a nice trip up to 'The Alps.' I was able to see for myself if they were still there or not! Thankfully they were and they were simply postcard perfect. It's great having someone with you who knows where to go! We were taken up through the mountains to a stunning waterfall. It was stunning. So beautiful! After a couple of minutes taking in the majestical scenery of the waterfall and the ice blue lakes below, we all headed across to a picture perfect hotel which was right in the mountains in the middle of pure tranquillity. The hotel itself looked absolutely stunning. What a shame it was well out of our budget! Maybe in a few years! Fingers crossed! We did get to enjoy a beautiful lunch courtesy of the lovely Kathrin! You should have seen the views we had! Absolutely stunning! And of course, the food was mouth-wateringly good! Thank you Kathrin. Your so good!!!

With our bellies now full, another look around the beautiful Alps is a must. After all, it's not everyday one see's such natural, untouched beauty. From the waterfall, we drove down to the bottom of the mountains so we could enjoy the beautiful lakes with their beautiful ice blue water and stunning backdrop of the amazing Alps.

From there, we went on a drive to a town called 'Interlaken' where we were able to enjoy a nice bit of ice cream while taking in breath-taking views of the mountains on the roof of the towns tallest (and ugliest) building. There were even people falling from the sky with parachutes. Looks amazing. After a million or so photos it was time to say goodbye.

After hearing a lot about Kathrin's apartment, the time has finally come to check if out for ourselves. Was it as we had imagined it! Definitely! What we loved about it was that it was 100% Kathrin. Unfortunately, I don't think her two cats really liked me! I guess I better try harder next time!

When your in a different country, it's nice to get an authentic local experience. Having Kathrin with us ensured just that. So what better food to have than traditional Swiss fondue which is basically melted cheese in a heated pot. All you do is simply dip some bread into it and eat it! As you can imagine, it is very heavy but really good. In this instance, I think less is more!

The next day, myself, Jason, The Mad Cat Lady and Marcel all went on a little tour of Bern. With its old city being UNESCO listed, as you can imagine, there were lots of historical buildings and monuments. The river that the city is built on, the River Aare is absolutely stunning. I don't think I have ever seen a river so ice blue before. Simply breath-taking. It puts our filthy River Liffey to shame! In the middle of certain streets there were streams of water that ran through. Of course, a cage that ran over it so you couldn't fall in. In different parts was an old monument, and for some reason, on either side there was no cage. Maybe it's a trap for all the cities drunk people to fall into! Who knows? Whatever the reason, it feels more Asia than Europe! All in all, we really enjoyed our day out and we can't wait to visit Bern again!

After our nice day out in the capital, it was time to head back to Kathrin's. On the way, we dropped Marcel off at his as he had to prepare for his big trek from Switzerland to Spain, which he was planning to do by foot with a big heavy backpack. Fair play to him, and best of luck! Later on, back at Kathrin's we enjoyed a nice bit of food and a few drinks. It was great being able to catch up and reminisce about our adventures together.

I can safely say, after all the amazing stunning places we have visited so far on our big adventure, Switzerland is, without any doubt, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. It is definitely somewhere everybody should visit before they die. While it may be on the pricey side, just be prepared to bring a lot of money with you! Myself and Jason loved seeing 'The Mad Cat Lady' and getting a little taste of her life! I told Jason that next time I would love to visit the Alps in the winter when they are covered in snow. For now, unfortunately it's time to leave beautiful Switzerland and our wonderful travel buddy! Until next time...