We checked out this morning with the first city down and Zurich in our sights. Tom and Liz have a pretty badass Fiat which was our limousine for the 5 hour drive. Passing Verona, Milan, vineyards, and some mountainside in both Italy and Switzerland made for a memorable drive....those things among others, of course. After cutting in to Jordan's massive formation of cheese and before we reached the border, we stopped in to the city of Como bordering Lake Como (seen in Casino Royale and Ocean's 12). Absolutely goooorgeous scenery! Picture a massive lake that spans miles and yet you can see only a small part of it surrounded by mountains and hillside with villas and magnificent resorts built all along the side. We went and sat by the lake for awhile to take in the view before driving up into the mountainside to look down into the valley and for more pictures. Now, this may seem an easy feat, but you would be mistaken. The roads are not marked, two way traffic, sharp turns, blind corners, pedestrians jumping out, bicyclists around every bend, tunnels that dead end, and cars parked all along the side of the road....slightly scary and almost roller coaster like. Pretty sure my eyes were closed for most of it, but what I did see were views that will be etched in memory for a lifetime (see below for poor pictures that don't do it justice, but all I've got for now).
After getting back on the road, we made it through the border crossing and were greeted by Switzerland with a gigantic rainstorm complete with lightening and thunder. It may not sound like a good thing, but again,it made for some beautiful pictures. Driving through with hillside in any direction, natural waterfalls, vineyards, rock walls, huge clouds enveloping the mountains....maybe you have to be a lover of rain and nature to appreciate, but our car definitely took it all in!!
About an hour out of Zurich we decided to stop and eat....partly for the food aspect, but mainly because it was a BEA-utiful view of the mountains with another large lake below and clouds drifting over head. As we entered the restaurant and were greeted with live Music from several instruments including the accordion, we knew it would be an interesting dinner. And that it was. This was due primarily to the fact that the entire menu was in German...and there was no translation to this menu. We did the best we could with drawing some key words out, but I decided to stick with spaghetti. Yes, I know my safe zone and do not hate on me for not branching out. There's always tomorrow! Anyways, dinner did turn out well for all involved and no one was left with a plate of who knows what or who knows where. After dinner, we rolled on out and finally made it to our home for the next two nights, the Zurich hostel.
Surprisingly enough, the hostel seems to be very nice and new! Liz and I are in a room with 2 other females and the guys are in a 6 man room with who knows who(probably high school girls they aren't telling us about). Beds have linens, showers and bathrooms are clean, lockers and wifi available....oh, and beer on tap :) This may or may not currently be what we are enjoying!
Well, another night down and another city to enjoy tomorrow. We did discover the very, very unfortunate news that the Lindt chocolate factory is closed weekends, but I have faith in our sleuth skills and being able to find some kind of chocolate to get into. So until next time: cheers to new friends, new experiences, new places, and a trip of a lifetime!!!
*PS I really do hate the quality of these iPad pics, but trying to give you something to work with!
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