After parting ways with South America i flew to England to spend some time with family, relax, eat some good food and rest up.
I spent two weeks in England and did very little in the way of sightseeing apart from one day in London and Leicester square. A day of mountain biking through the forest, a little bit of drinking, a couple of Ipswich football games, and a family bbq. It was great to see family and so nice to just take it easy. Like usual i was spoiled by my family and can't thank them enough for everything.
From England i flew into Geneva, Switzerland. While full of international organizations, including a huge UN building the city itself was unremarkable. From Geneva i went to a small town in the southern alps called Gryon (just northeast of Bex). The little village was nestled onto the side of a mountain and was incredibly beautiful. I spent 4 days hiking through the mountains and exploring the little villages.
It was unlike anything i have ever experienced- as you hike along trails devoid of any other humans, you stumble upon little chalets or farming houses dotted amongst the forested alps. The views were amazing and every where you looked offered another sight to behold.
One hike took me up to the peak of a mountain to look down at the valley on both sides, then i descended into a quaint village of a dozen houses, with no electricity surrounded by their cows, in a bowl with mountain peaks looming on two sides. From here i hiked to another little town where i was to get the tram back to my village. Little did i know the last train was at 6pm, so when i strolled into the station at 6:05 i soon realized i had another couple of hours of hiking left before i could get to the next town and take another train. As i looked at the times for trains from the next station i saw that i might be able to catch the second last train if I really hurried (ran) or i would have to wait another two hours for the last train of the night. Up for the challenge i ran most of the way to the next town (about 45 minutes), to get to the train station just as the train pulled away. At this point, i just laughed, found a bench overlooking the valley and watched the sunset as i waited for the last train. A much better result than if i had made the train. I would get back to the hostel without any further trouble.
Farmers in the swiss alps still put bells around the necks of their cows, so its easy to hear a herd from afar. Indeed many of the hiking trails went through farmers fields and several times i had to walk around the large herd, once i even had a cow lead me to the trail head at the end of their paddock.
From beautiful Gryon i went to stunning Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Here i hiked both sides of the valley that led up to the Matterhorn, thus allowing incredible views of the mountain. One particular hike is up a mountain that has a train that runs to its peak to allow for lazy tourists to take in the stunning view of the Matterhorn.
When talking to workers at the tourist office i was informed that the hike was too long to go up and down and that i would need to buy a ticket for the train. Skeptical, i inquired as to how much a ticket cost. 40 swiss francs (about the same in C$) was the answer. If i were to hike up and down it would take upwards of 8.5 hours, not including the time spent at the top i was informed by the weasel of a man behind the info counter. So I did it in 5 hours 20 minutes (not that i took it as a personal challenge or anything).
After Zermatt was Interlaken and more great hikes with stunning views, this time with the huge jungfrau, the tallest mountain in europe, overlooking everything.
Then Zurich - an expensive city in an expensive country. A city of money. Common cars on the streets were Audis, Mercedes and Bmw. I saw lots or ferraris and porsches, even multiple lamborghinis and rolls royce. For comparison (i swear i didnt eat there haha) a burger at macdonalds was around 12 swiss francs. The city itself was, like the rest of the country, beautiful.
Switzerland was amazing and its people very friendly and helpful. Despite the cost i would say it is my favourite country so far.
From Zurich i went to Heidelberg, Germany. Site of the ruins of Heidelberg castle, still standing proudly halfway up a hill at the end of the city. I visited a museum describing the history of the area, including a replica of a human like jawbone found in the area over a hundred years ago. An important find for anthropologists who named the human ancestor homo heidelbergensis.
Atop the hill opposite the castle, i walked around ancient celtic ruins, an open air amphitheater made by the nazis and the ruins of a monastery built centuries ago.
From Heidelberg i travelled to frankfurt, and stayed in a hostel in the red light district. But a city of little else but business towers.
I am writing this on the train from Frankfurt and in a few minutes i shall arrive in munich - for Oktoberfest :)