Eurotrip Day 14

I awoke to my alarm telling me it was time to rise and shine. We had a guided tour scheduled at the Colosseum in just a few short hours. I rolled over to turn off my alarm and thats when it hit me.

Some call it traveler's sickness, some call it food poisoning, some call it.... well, I'll save the graphic descriptions for later. Needless to say, I did not feel good. I called the tour company to see if we could reschedule or get a refund, but they were very firm. If we weren't at the Colosseum in time for our tour, there was nothing they could do for us. So, like a champ, I pushed through. I forced myself to take a shower and do my hair and get dressed. I was moving a bit slower than normal and we didn't have time to walk, so we hailed a cab to get us to the Arch of Constantine where we would meet our tour group. Worst 10 minutes ever.

 We found our group, I found a bench. I sat a bit away from the group and tried to listen to the guide talk about the history and architecture of this amazing structure. Our guide handed out our passes and we made it through security and the express line to get in. And then something happened inside the Colosseum, quite possibly for the first time since the Gladiators bravely marched through those corridors. Right next to one of the giant columns of the Roman Colosseum, I puked. Everywhere.

That's right. Add me to the history books. I made my mark.

I was thoroughly embarrassed and equally guilty that my husband had to leave the tour he was probably the most excited for out of our entire trip, but our guide was much more sympathetic and gave us passes to return the next day, if I was feeling better.

We slowly made our way out of the massive building and down the street home, stopping to rest every 50 feet so I didn't let loose again.

Yes, Day 14 was a bust. We went back to our Airbnb and spent the rest of the day in bed.
Stay tuned for Day 15, it's much better, I promise!

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Eurotrip Day 12

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Eurotrip Day 11

After a good nights sleep with bellies full of fondue, we were up at the crack of dawn to pack up our things and catch our train. We had a few long train rides ahead of us with a couple exchanges in Spiez, Milan and Monterosso. By now, we were pretty comfortable with commuting by train, so despite the steady drizzle and chill in the air, we were excited for our next adventure.

The exchange in Spiez was without event, but Milan ... The outside was like a giant green house with a sort of domed filtered glass roof (eh, whatever) but, when we stepped inside of Milan's train station, We felt like we were suddenly inside another art history museum. It was beautiful! I went full-blown tourist and snapped a few photos so you could see...

It was good that this train station was so pretty to look at, because we had over an hour before our next train arrived. It wasn't long before I decided I needed to hunt down a restroom. I finally found one downstairs, complete with a guard and baffle gate that accepted euros. You had to pay to pee. I'm sorry, but no. Maybe that's just the ignorant, entitled American in me, but I was not about to pay to use a public restroom. I held it. Like a champ. All the way to Cinque Terre. Some might say that was prideful and unhealthy, but at least I'll have a few extra euros to spend at the doctors.

We had good company in our train car on the way to Monterosso; another couple from Oregon with an itinerary that eerily matched ours. We traded stories of our trip, so far and advice for future travels. I only wish we had exchanged info! (If you are reading this right now, we hope you liked Rome!)

So, I had read many reviews about Cinque Terre... some said it was a quiet little string of fishing villages untouched by tourism or commercialism and others said that thanks to a very well known travel author (not me, in case you were wondering) the place was crawling with tourists and had lost it's charm. We're happy to report that all charm is intact and you definitely need to go here! Yes, there were (a lot) of tourists. When we pulled up to the station in Monterosso, we thought, 'oh no!'. You couldn't even see the platform there were so many tourists! As soon as the doors opened they rushed on to our already full train like they heard a tidal wave was coming. We were convinced that the nay-sayers had this one, but they obviously didn't make it past the train stations. Once you arrived and entered each of the tiny villages, the crowd dispersed and it was magical. On multiple occasions, I said out loud, I feel like I'm in one of my pinterest pictures! ....Well, I was.

Our Airbnb was in Riomaggiore. Our host, Anita (who we recommend again and again, highly!) found us in the crowd at the station and greeted us with a welcoming, 'Ciao! Welcome to my Country!'. She swept us away from the busy platform and led us through a tunnel lined with mosaic seascapes. When we stepped out of the other end of the tunnel, she stopped and took time to explain things to us. The village center was to our left. 'This is where the crowds go that aren't staying in this village. You can get your Cinque Terre card here and there are many restaurants and souvenir shops.'

We continued straight down a staircase beneath a sign that said MARINA. After winding our way through for a moment, the walls opened up and we were standing here:

Everything was picture perfect. It was like a dream. The waves gently crashed against the rocky shoal and the ocean breeze cooled everything down. Anita graciously showed us to our apartment, complete with freshly picked lemons from her own garden and a nice bottle of wine. She told us that, if we like to hike, there was a small trail that not many people knew about that had the best views of all of the villages. We had just enough time today, if we hurried. So, we hurried!

We dropped our bags, used the restroom (finally!) and headed in the direction of this path-less-traveled. I will admit, there were moments on that trail when we questioned Anita's judgement. The trail was very sketchy in some places and the climb was so steep. We thought, can the view really be that good?

Let me tell you something important. A free little travelers tip: never doubt a local. When we reached the top, there sat a beautiful historic church, bell tower and all and the views were everything Anita said they would be. 

We rested at the top for a while, taking in the unbelievable view, before we decided to make the trek back down. It was at about this time that Daniel noticed a second path. Not the path that we came up on, but surely "a path that would get us home quicker." Famous last words, right? Well, I have to give this one to Mr. Dorn. The path was a bit more rough and steep, but halfway down was a little gelato place on the edge of the cliff where I had the best stracciatella gelato of my life, while enjoying this view of Riomaggiore. Ten points to Daniel!

By the time we got back to the Marina, we were exhausted and starving. We sat outside for a nice seafood dinner. We ordered a bottle of local white wine, oysters on the halfshell as an appetizer and a mixed fried seafood and veggie plate. It was delish! Unfortunately, the food was too good and we were too hungry to stop and take any pictures. Just trust us, it was amazing.

After dinner, as tired as we were, we were still so excited to be there that we couldn't go to bed just yet. We explored all around our quiet little marina until we could barely keep our eyes open anymore.

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Eurotrip Day 10

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Eurotrip Day 10

Interlaken, as we learned, is the go-to place for anything 'outdoor adventure'. They have canyoning and ice climbing and river rafting and hang gliding and paragliding and bungee jumping and glacier trekking and sky diving (pause for air) and those are just the summer activities! They have a whole plethora of winter activities for people who like not being able to feel their toes.

Needless to say, we had a hard time choosing what to do. I definitely wanted to do something scenic, but the thought of canyoning (basically sliding down the side of the mountains via waterfalls and streams and boulders sans boat or raft) sounded a little too cold for me. Daniel definitely wanted to do something adventurous and maybe a little daring, but the thought of jumping out of a plane or helicopter was a little too much thrill. After all, we wanted to live to experience the rest of our trip.

We decided to head into town for breakfast while we pondered our options. As we walked through the cute little streets, catching glimpses of the alps through the buildings, we came across the 'landing field for the para-gliders and hesitantly removed that from our list of potential ways to die. ...Maybe next time, Switzerland.

And then we found the chocolate. My word, the CHOCOLATE! It took every ounce of self control to not pull an Augustus Gloop and start shoveling truffles into my mouth like a chipmunk. 

If you've ever had real Swiss chocolate, you know. I'm not talking about the Lindt truffles you can buy at Walgreen's either. They may look the same, but true Swiss chocolate is indescribably better. 

We bought as much as we thought we could fit in our carry on bags and got the heck out of there before I embarrassed Americans everywhere. (You're welcome.)

We decided on whitewater rafting for our Swiss adventure. I've always wanted to go and Daniel had been before, in the states, and loved it. It was a great way to see Switzerland!

Much to our relief we were issued neoprene wet-suits to help keep us warm. Then, we were split up into groups and our guides gave us the safety spiel. That's when we realized the rest of our group had already been rafting the day before AND FLIPPED THEIR RAFT. Every single one of them had gone overboard and had to be rescued. No amount of neoprene could keep me warm enough if I was freely floating down that river, so I took those rafting 101 instructions very seriously. If our guide said jump right, I jumped right. If our guide said get down and hold on, I gripped that safety line like a boss. I was one with the raft. We were ready.

We were floating down the Lütschine River. It didn't take us long to discover that 8 degrees Celsius is freezing. The very first rapid we hit came over our side of the raft and soaked us. I instantly couldn't feel my hands gripping the paddle. I have to give kudos to Daniel though; he grabbed the very front seat in the raft and handled every splash like a champ.

The scenery was stunning! We wound through the valley, passing little cottages and farms; even a lady trying to herd her dairy cows over a little bridge. 

As we approached the second or third rapid, there was a lot of chatter on our raft (english wasn't their first language, but we knew something was up). Turns out, this was the rapid where they FLIPPED. 

Our guide was really amazing and his expertise got us through safely. I do admit it was a team effort, but I have to credit my fear-driven reflexes. We made it further than our group had on their first attempt. 

After a few more river bends, the chatter started again. My first thought was 'oh, no! not again!' Of course, they couldn't have flipped twice. This was the point where they were finally able to be rescued after grabbing onto a small sand bar. No, thank you. That was too long to be bobbing in 8 degree water. 

At one point, the river widened and calmed a bit. So, our guide decided it was the perfect opportunity to practice the rescue techniques he taught us before we left. He asked 4 of us to 'jump overboard' so the other 4 could pull us back into the boat properly.

He wasn't kidding.
I asked him.

Then, he laughed to himself and said 'wait, you guys already know how to be rescued - don't you! You two in the front, jump in!' 

He was referring to Daniel and I. Yep, this sunshine, heat-wave loving, Florida girl got out of the raft. Daniel did too, but lets focus on whats important here.

We jumped in and the people sitting next to us had to pull us back in the raft before we died of hypothermia. Toward the end of our excursion, our guide offered for our group to jump overboard and free float over the last, small rapid. All of the guys did it. I stayed in the raft with the other two sane people.

There comes a point when your body gets so cold that you begin to feel warm. I never got to that point. I was freezing the whole trip, but it was so much fun, I didn't care. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The river spilled into the beautiful Lake Brienz and that was the end of our Switzerland adventure. 

We showered off, warmed up and enjoyed an amazing Swiss fondue for dinner. Tomorrow, we would head to the Cinque Terre. 

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Eurotrip Day 9

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Eurotrip Day 9

This morning we had no choice but to up and at 'em early. We would be taking our (first ever!) high speed train to Switzerland. Turns out, they don't post the platforms for until 20 mins prior to departure. Since we already had our validated train tickets, we were there a bit too early and had no choice but to sit around drinking coffee and people watching. Tough luck, I know.

When we finally did board, we found our coach and our seats pretty easily. Everything was roomy and comfortable, even in '2nd class'. When we pulled out of the station, you could barely tell it was moving. We decided to watch a movie on our tablet and before we knew it we were arriving at the station in Basel, Switzerland. I mean, literally before we knew it.. . with our headphones in our ears, we missed the announcement for the next stop. It wasn't until I glanced out the window and saw the BASEL sign at the platform that we realized and had to grab all of our stuff in a hurry! Our connecting train was already there and about to depart. So, that transfer was fun. The next train was a little more roomy and we halfheartedly finished our movie whilst listening for more announcements and taking in the passing scenery.

It's funny really, as I was looking out the window, I kept thinking, 'Wow, the alps are beautiful!' they're so green and huge...

...but, it wasn't until we had almost arrived at our final Interlaken stop before we really, finally caught a glimpse of the Swiss Alps.

Wow. That was all I could say.  You know them when you see them, that's for sure. The snow covered peaks seemed to disappear into the sky. I snapped a few shotty cell phone pictures because our good camera was in the overhead compartment, but no camera could do these beautiful hills justice.

Everyone just needs to stop reading this blog right now and go book a flight to Switzerland.
I'm serious.
It's breathtaking.

Our airbnb was actually located in Darligen, which was just one quick stop after the Interlaken Station where our train ride ended. The trains run between the towns every hour or so. So, we had some time to kill. We decided to walk around and explore. And eat.

My favorite part was the water. I'm from Florida. I've seen the crystal clear water of the Florida springs. I've snorkled in the tropical blue waters of the Keys. None of that compares to the water from the Aare River. It's an indescribably beautiful shade of deep teal-blue.

The town was really quaint and most of the shops and restaurants hadn't opened yet, but we found one cafe right by the station. I was surprised to find out that most of Switzerland speaks German, or some variance of Swiss-German. Well, I hadn't studied any German before our trip, so I had to get a quick lesson from our server, danke schoen!

Our breakfast consisted of croissants and coffee and breads. Simple, but delicious.

After we ate, we had just enough time to catch our next train to Darligen. Our host was gracious enough to pick us up and give us a ride the rest of the way to our apartment. It really wasn't far, but with all of our luggage, that hike might've been a little tough.

We dropped off or luggage and then went out again to explore our surroundings a bit. Just at the bottom of our mountain, Lake Thunersee offered some amazing scenery.

After our evening stroll, we got settled into our room and decided to 'rest our eyes' for a bit. Yep, that was the end of Day 9. We woke up around 7pm and made our own dinner in our kitchenette and then tried to plan what we would do the next day before falling asleep again.

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