A very busy 72 hours in Switzerland!!

So almost a week has past since I went to Switzerland. I can't believe it! It went by so fast and was so much fun! Everything about this country was so beautiful and the people were so friendly and nice. It was a very nice change from Cyprus life! We only had about 72 hours to spend in Switzerland, so the whole weekend was booked and incredibly busy!

My first flight from Cyprus to Frankfurt airport went well, but I almost missed my connecting flight to Zurich. The Frankfurt airport is one of the biggest in the world and they took us on the bus and brought us to the complete opposite side of the airport. I had to go through security again and because of my boots, my shoes went off and I had to be frisked (Dad, you would be proud)! They brought me into a little room and were asking me a ton of questions and my flight was boarding in 5 minutes! I then asked the lady how to get to the gate and she told me to run! So there I am sprinting across the airport to try to make the flight for at least 10 minutes! It was insane! When I got to the gate, I asked the woman if the plane had left and she was like, "you are the last person...go go go!!" Well, I finally made it onto the plane, heart pounding and sweaty but at least I knew I was on my way to Zurich!!

When my plane landed on Friday night, the Grobs were on thier way to get me. Patrizia and I ran up to eachother in the airport like a reunion scene! I was so glad to be there and to see them! After calling my parents to let them know I got there, we were on our way to Patrizia's Grandma's apartment (which is where I stayed). It was probably one of the nicest and beautiful apartments I have ever seen!

Saturday morning, we woke up early for a great day! We had a delicious breakfast with thier whole family and of course I had to try everything! (I think I gained about 10 pounds just from this one weekend!) Patrizia then took me on a little tour of the small town of Andelfingen. It was the cutest town and I couldn't help myself but to take pictures, even though I was completely embarassing her! The town is very small and quiet, but so sweet! Everywhere, when passing on the streets everyone greets eachother by saying, "Gruezi" or "hello".  The train into Zurich had 2 levels, so of course we went to the second one; it was a really fun ride! When we got there, we went to Lindenhof where you could look down and see a gorgeous view. You could see the trains going right along with the sidewalks; it was really beautiful!

View from Lindenhof

We took a little walk along the water and went to lunch! I tried a drink called Rivella which absolutely amazing! It is only made in Switzerland, so now I know I have to go back just to have that again! It is made from some kind of milk product and is absolutely delicious! Hildi ordered me Capuns, which at first did not look very appetizing, but when I tried them, they were so good! It was warm dough wrapped in some kind of herbs and surrouned with melted cheese! Delicious!!

After the restaurant, we walked around some more. I had to get eyedrops and ended up paying 16 Euro for them! At least they will last me a very long time! Patrizia and I found an amazing candy store, where we bought a Gummy Schlange (a gummy snake) and devourded it!

Patrizia with a candy pizza

Next, we went to the Grossmunster Cathedral. We decided to walk up the tower to see the views! However, the walk up was crazy. It was a windy and narrow staircase that not only led people up, but also down. Everyone was pretty much clutching the sidewalls and shimming thier way up. It was so worth it though! When we got up, you could see the whole city of Zurich! I took a ton of pictures and Patrizia and I wrote our names on the top where everyone else had! The walk down was even more intense; it was like breathing a sigh of relief when you finally got down to the bottom! Then we went to the chocolate headquarters! It would not be a trip to Switzerland without buying some chocolate! They were giving away free samples which were incredible!

View from the top of Grossmunster Cathedral

Stairwell

That night, we had a big dinner with their family and had tons of good laughs and memories! We got into a heated discussion as to the correct way to pronounce "scones" and ended up calling my dad! We put him on speaker phone in the middle of the table and when he pronounced it the way Patrizia's Grandma does, she was esstatic! It was hysterical!

Sunday morning, we woke up and had 2 breakfasts with both sides of family! It was so delicious. Switzerland definitely has the best yogurt I have ever tried! When we went to visit the other grandparents for more breakfast, a whole cake was brought out! My eyes got so wide at the thought of eating cake after filling myself up with everything else at about 10:00am. But hey, when in Switzerland....
the cake was incredibly delicious!

We went on a little walk where Patrizia introduced me to the "Zurich Vitaparcours", which is like a little workout in the woods. You run from sign to sign and do the motions they tell you. Later that day, we went to the Reinfalls! They are apparantely the biggest waterfalls in Europe. They were absolutely incredible and so beautiful. It was kind of rainy/snowy, but it was still so enjoyable to see them! I absolutely loved it and wish I could go back!

Reinfalls!

Then, we went to the Schloss Laufen Castle where I got my picture taken next to the armor. I even got hand gear to go with it! We then went to an art gallery. The collection there was really great and we spent a long time going through. After taking art history in Cyprus, I now appreciate art a lot more.

Before going back, Patrizia and I walked around some more and went into a music store which was really fun. We then ran to catch our train to make it back for another incredible family dinner. We had Raclette which is where you grill your own personal meat on a little table party grill! It was so cool and just like everything else I tried, absolutely amazing! I met thier little 5 year cousin, Ana, who is an absolute ball of energy! She wanted to play with us but was speaking in German which made for a very interesting way of communication; Patrizia filmed the two of us trying to communicate with one another!

Unfortunatley, the next morning, we had to get up bright and early to catch the 6:06am train so that I could make my flight. Saying goodbye again was very hard, but I know there are plently more adventures to look foward to! Seeing and meeting the whole family was really great and gave me a good taste of home, which is exactally what I needed. I am so grateful this trip worked out so well! Everything about Switzerland blew me away; it was so beautiful and I hope that I will make it back there someday...