This week we had our second physiology exam. I stayed up multiple days studying for it as it was not only interesting but also made me understand what goes on in our bodies when we run, and I go jogging sometimes. It’s good that I’m learning a lot in physiology that is also practical in everyday life, and not just in the bubble of academics.
I spontaneously booked a flight to Switzerland with two of my friends. I was a bit worried because Switzerland is expensive compared to the US dollar or Euro, and my host mother even gave me a huge bag full of snacks and meals to take with me. I’m lucky that my flight and hostel costs were cheap compared to what they usually would be from Germany, so I wanted to take full advantage of it! The train tide from Zurich to Luzern was expensive, and we had trouble buying the tickets before we got on the train. When we got checked, the worker was nice enough to let us buy the tickets from her, which was about 30 swiss francs one way. The hostel were owned by Koreans and they offered an included breakfast of korean fried rice. The breakfast was tasty but was missing an important component of the dish: a fried egg. However, they gave us unlimited refills and the food in general in Switzerland is expensive. The hostel had some interesting board games and a mini pool table where we could meet some people but I actually met some people in our rooms. There was a pair of English girls that were traveling around and having fun, but we didn’t get to see them that much due to our schedule differences. The people who moved in afterwards were also American. They were humanities students studying at University of Notre Dame back in Indiana, USA and in Europe they were studying in Ireland. They were very chatty and nice, and we even saw them and their bigger group of friends when hiking. I may be an introverted person, but meeting people is one of my favorite things to do.
The food was definitely overpriced. We went to a donner shop late one night because it was the closest open restaurant, and the cheapest box meal was about 10 swiss francs. Back in Germany, the same thing would only be about 3 euros! We also tried to get thai food, but when we went we noticed that the servings were 3/4 of the regular size and about double the price. Instead, we went to a curry restaurant. The serving and price were decent, especially for Switzerland. However, I think the chef mistook the salt for sugar because my dish was especially sweet that it hurt my stomach.
We visited Kapellbrücke, which is a wooden bridge from the 1300s. It reminded me of Hogwarts and cross the Reuss. The first hike we took a bus upwards a mountain and the nature literally changed from suburbia to green woods to a snowy wonderland. We hiked in the Eigenthal area and since it had recently snowed, the area was untouched and beautiful. We hiked all the way up until the path was covered in snow, and we kept going until we made it to a hill with a wooden cross on it. We saw some animal tracks as well! Since it had gotten foggy and extremely cold, we went back down as it could have easily came dangerous. The other hike we went on was Mt. Pilatus. This was scenic as well, as there were waterfalls, rivers, people jogging with their dogs, and mini paths along the main path. We went up a small portion as Mt. Pilatus is quite massive and did not take the cable car up as that was quite expensive. However, the view was amazing: we could see bodies of water, the mountains, forests, and the town all in one.
Back in town, we went to Aldi’s to get some groceries as we used up all of my host mother’s food. We made spaghetti which was actually quite delicious, and I bought chocolate mousse for everyone as the chocolate is apparently the best in the world. Of course, we bought chocolate to eat and take back with us.
The town in Luzern was beautiful. Annoyingly enough, there were some tourists that literally pushed us to get a photo of the swans on the lake. I wish people would stop feeding bread to the birds because bread is bad for birds — it gives them a nutritional deficiency that can lead to the horrific condition angel wing (where the bird’s wings point out laterally instead of lying flat on the body) and force them to become reliant on human hand outs. Giving bread to birds is the equivalent of giving cake to your children! Don’t do it!!
But anyways, the majority of the shops were closed in Luzern but just walking around Altstadt was scenic and relaxing. Getting to eat ice cream with a view of the mountains, lake, and birds was unreal. I’m glad I got to go during Easter weekend and enjoy it more fully than a regular weekend.
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