I've Been Doing a Little Travelling...

So it has been ages since I updated here. It's in between spring and summer terms here, and in the ensuing holiday I have been to Switzerland, Rome, various places around York, and the Cotswolds. I've seen my parents - my dad and Michelle in Rome, my mom here in the UK. It's been good.

I left for Switzerland March 18th - a little more than a month ago. I spent the first night in Basel, then was on the train in the morning for Lucerne. I spent two nights in Lucerne, then headed for Grindelwald, where I spent one night. My last two nights I spent in Interlaken, and then I was on the train for Rome.
Lucerne was wonderful - my favourite place on the trip. The city was beautiful, very old and interesting and set on a lake and river of a rather surprisingly blue colour (I kept expecting to see sea turtles, because the colour reminded me of Hawai'i). The scenery was nice, when it wasn't snowing or cloudy (though the snow was also nice).
My first night there I took a walk in the evening and suddenly all the church bells in the city were ringing, off in the distance - it was one of the most beautiful moments of the trip.

It took a bit of adjustment at first, but I really enjoyed travelling on my own, having adventures and seeing things on my own terms, at my own pace... I like travelling with other people, too, it lets you be social, but it was nice to get away on my own, and, in a way, to prove to myself that I could do it - even in a country where I didn't speak the language. (I was very thankful that French is one of the official languages of Switzerland, especially when it came time to cook for myself, because the food generally wasn't labelled in English, and I'm useless when it comes to German.)

Grindelwald was pretty nice - and very pretty! When I got there it was dumping snow, which was nice enough, but sort of disappointing, because I'd gone there specifically to see the Alps, and maybe do some walking. The walk to and from the hostel ended up being enough for me, though - it was up the hill from town, and what a hill it was. Especially in the snow.
In the morning I woke up and was greeted by a window full of Alp - absolutely stunning. I sprang out of bed (wrapped in my duvet - it was cold!) and sat by the window, just looking at the snow-laden landscape and the mountains across the valley.
I spent the morning just wandering the town - but it was over-nice for me, really. A resort town, and full of skiers, because it was that season. I'd like to go back in the summer, sometime, and walk there - there's glaciers within a fairly short day hike of the town.

That afternoon I headed back down the valley to Interlaken, my final destination in Switzerland.
The town wasn't that great, really. I'm not sure what crowd it caters to, but I was pretty bored. I spent a lot of time wandering in and out of tourist shops (same in Grindelwald, really) and looking at the scenery (not as impressive as Lucerne or Grindelwald, but still deliciously Alpine), and feeling cold. It didn't snow quite as much as in Grindelwald, but the wind was really cold.
Also, Interlaken has the very dubious honour of being the only place outside the US where I have ever seen a Hooters restaurant. It was right next door to the grand 19th century hotel, just for contrast.

The hostels across Switzerland were really good. My first night in Lucerne I had a four-person dorm to myself, which was pretty sweet, but otherwise I was sharing rooms. The only place that was really a problem was in Interlaken, where there were 5 other people in my room and it could be a bit distracting when I was trying to sleep. All the hostels were well cared-for and comfortable (the beds always had duvets!). Other than in Grindelwald the hostels had kitchens, so I cooked for myself the whole trip, which was nice.


From Switzerland it was on to an interminable train ride and then, finally, Rome. My arrival was anticlimactic - it was raining and chilly and dark out and I got lost on the way to the hotel, which was only about three blocks from the train station - but it all worked out, and I settled into a very nice room - with high ceilings, huge windows facing the street, and a chandelier - in an 1870s hotel near the opera. My dad and Michelle arrived the next morning (the 25th), and stayed through the 31st. We did all the big stuff - Forum, Colosseum, Vatican... walked a lot, saw a lot of opulence and a lot of nice art, both Roman and Renaissance / Baroque. We also ate. And ate and ate.
And I might update more on that later, but for now... this is a long entry, I'm hungry, and I should really get back to revising for my exam next week.

Pictures from Switzerland and Rome are up, but not captioned, here.