39.SWITZERLAND

Everyone in the world knows a few facts about Switzerland. The relatively small country (135th largest only) is world-famous and known for its stunning mountains, beautiful lakes, banks, its neutrality (actually not that neutral), wealth, insanely high standard of living and the associated prices. The country is culturally extremely diverse by European standards: Four national languages, 26 cantons and many foreigners living in the country. This passage I have found is quite accurate I think: "Switzerland showcases three of Europe's most distinct cultures. To the northeast is the clean and correct, 8-to-6-working, more stiff Swiss-German-speaking Switzerland; to the southwest you find the wine drinking and laissez-faire style known from the French; in the southeast, south of the Alps, the sun warms cappuccino-sippers loitering in Italian-style piazzas; and in the center: classic Swiss alphorns and mountain landscapes. Binding it all together is a distinct Swiss mentality."

I have seen and experienced all the things mentioned above. But one thing came out of the blue for me: The friendliness of the people I met there. I have seen many many parts of Europe but in Switzerland, I have been so lucky to meet some of the best people I met on my entire trip. One of the big reasons I bought myself a tent was to be able to survive financially in Switzerland. In the end, I did not even sleep one single night in my tent. I got treated to meals, it was super easy to hitchhike several times and I found people surprisingly open. I had a hard time understanding people. Their "interpretation" of German (Schwyzerdütsch) was quite a challenge sometimes and I had easier times chatting with grandmoms in Malaysian villages.

My itinerary in Switzerland pretty much started in Buchs & Grabs, two random villages that I decided to go to because I wanted to see Liechtenstein. I stayed there with Yoel from Peru for 2 nights, who was my second friend in Switzerland. His hospitality was amazing, he treated me to delicious Peruvian dishes (especially Ceviche) and Pisco! Together with Dalilah from Zürich (my first friend from Switzerland :D) we went on a day trip to an absolutely beautiful mountain lake, where we escaped the heat and had a picnic. The countryside was exactly like Switzerland in the textbooks: Grazing cows, men blowing alphorns and amazing mountain scenery.

From Grabs I hitchhiked half the way to the city of Sankt Gallen, the main city of Eastern Switzerland. The city is packed with heritage buildings, pretty small roads and parks. David hosted me for a night there and when I reached his place he awaited me with a package of Swiss specialties. He showed me around the city, & his university and did a Swiss supermarket tour with me :D

The third stop was pretty Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the city of Rorschach. The lake is a great place to be in summer. The lake borders 3 countries (AT, DE & CH) and is a popular tourist destination. Rorschach was a very quiet town and having a beer at the lake with Benjamin was a good experience. He hosted me in his apartment, where I had to help him to remove a dead crow from his window and even more difficult in Switzerland: To dispose of him PROPERLY! I realized that Switzerland is even crazier with the number of rules than Germany, Singapore or Denmark.

Life is unpredictable and the grand final of my week in Switzerland was Zürich. I stayed there for 2 days with Dalilah, who I met earlier already in Grrrabs. Of all people I met on my trip over the last four years, she was one of the characters I connected the best with. It was the second time in the country that I was welcomed with a gift set (!!!) and the entire time in Zürich was just memorable. We went for a walk in her neighborhood (I have actually never even seen central Zürich!), had an Indian and Thai feast and talked about anything and everything. Thank you so much for your hospitality!

The only downside of my trip to Switzerland was that I did not have enough time. On this rare occasion, I had a deadline since I planned to be in Germany on a fixed date. Without that, I would have easily extended my stay to two, three or even four weeks. There was soo much more to explore and I see my time there as a quick trailer to come back hopefully with a lot of excitement soon. Especially the Bernese Highlands and Ticino are at the very top of my list!

Now it's time to spend a few weeks with my family and friends in Germany before leaving for new adventures!

3 Highlights:

- Spending a day at Voralpsee in Grabsand sampling Peruvian dishes with Yoel

- Getting a Sankt Gallen city tour by David

- Choosing Altstetten over Zürich Old Town

Visited places in Switzerland

Reaching Switzerland from Liechtenstein

The border between Liechtenstein and the Kanton of Sankt Gallen

Charming Werdenberg Castle between Grabs and Buchs

Peruvian feast with master chef Yoel, the Ceviche was a 10/10

Together with delicious Pisco Acholado brought from Peru

On the way to a lake close to Grabs

A picnic at beautiful Voralpsee

Lost Dalilah

Perfect place to spend a sunny day

Contributing to a proper Swiss mountains atmosphere

We went to the lake by bus and missed the last bus, had to hitchhike back and met the warmest old Swiss marriage ever

Traveling in style in Swiss trains

Sankt Gallen

The chocolate selection in most Swiss supermarkets, mind blowing!

Cows at random locations, the only connection I found between Switzerland and India. I think those 2 countries are the biggest contrast in the world in every aspect