Farewell Switzerland

Tonight is our third and final night in Switzerland before returning to Paris.

Initially, we’d planned to stay for two nights in Lucerne and one night in Zürich but we fell in love with Lucerne and my friend, Dario, has made our stay here so pleasant that it’s going to be hard to say farewell to the city, to my friend and to Switzerland.  This place is absolutely amazing, everything I’d ever imagined Switzerland to be and worlds apart from some of the other places we’ve visited in Europe.

We arrived a little after midnight our first night here and were welcomed at the train station by Dario.  It’s been nearly four years since we last saw each other and it was great to see his smiling face again.  He’s one of the happiest and sincere people I’ve met and his generosity to us has been beyond what either of us could have expected or even imagined.  He might be the only person who’d think to put heart-shaped chocolates on our pillows!

Our conversation stretched into the early morning hours and the next morning, Erin and I spent our day wandering the streets of Lucerne while Dario was at work.  It’s rare to find a place where you are in awe of the beauty surrounding you but that’s exactly what we found in Lucerne.  It felt as if we were wandering around in a postcard.  The mountains, the beautiful buildings and the people who brought life and energy to the city all make this place great.

When Dario got off from work, we went grocery shopping and came home to make a traditional Swiss meal called Raclette, with potatoes and cheese.  It might be compared to fondue but not exactly.  You roast the cheese in an “oven” and then pour it over the top of boiled potatoes and sprinkle seasoning over the top.  And it was delicious!

Today, we left to run errands like going to the bank, post office and grocery store but before long we were once again captured by the beauty of the city and its surroundings and began to wander with our cameras at the ready.  Our conversation was one of how it would be possible for us to live here and what we’d have to do to turn it into reality.  We have both really, really enjoyed our time here and can’t wait to be back.