Euro Trip 2018
Although being dual-citizen has so many perks, one flaw is constantly being away from one side of the family. When my family and I lived in Belgium, we were far away from our American relatives. Now, we are far away from our Swiss relatives. Well this past July, I got to go and visit my Swiss family for two weeks! The main reason for this trip was to celebrate my grandmother's 95th birthday. Not only did I get to see family, but I got to explore Basel for the first time on my own, go to a new place with my sister, and I got to travel for the first time by myself!
I flew out of Dulles by myself, and it was a really exciting experience for me! I have been flying since I was a baby and have always loved it, but I never had flown by myself until this trip. The flight was so empty, and I actually had the whole row to myself, which was a great bonus! I also flew back alone, which was a little bit more complicated, as I had a connecting flight in Munich. Well, my flight from Zurich was delayed by an hour, so I had 20 minutes until my next flight by the time we landed. I ran through the airport to get to my next flight, along side maybe 15 other passengers from the same flight. It was ridiculous! Now I know for future reference not to book a flight that has less than a two hour layover!
My time in Switzerland was great. I got to explore downtown Basel, which has a beautiful view of the Rhine river, gorgeous fountains at every corner, and even a famous street known for its shopping! I went into Basel so many times while I was there, because it is just so beautiful to explore. I also would go on evening walks to the Bottmingen Schloss, which is actually where my parents had their wedding reception. It is a beautiful castle, and basically just right down the street from my grandmother's house.
My family is so fun, and always entertaining. We had a blast celebrating my grandmother's 95th, and I still can not get over how much energy my grandmother had that day. I hope to be as healthy and energized as she is at that age! I saw a lot of family at the birthday party that I haven't seen since we moved to the states (I was 10 years old when we moved back). Sme of those family members was my God Father and his family. they had the best reactions by far. They all jumped and were shocked because they still remember me as 3 feet tall! It was an amazing day to get to catch up with all of my family, and celebrate the big 9-5 for my grandmother.
One funny story I have from my time in Switzerland is the night we went to my God Father's for dinner. There is a saying in Switzerland that if a stork flies over you, you will be expecting a baby soon. Well that night at dinner, about five flew over the table, and all of us girls were pretty close to running inside! Now, obviously this is just a saying, but it was just funny to see and hear everyone's reactions when a stork would fly over us.
Not only did I get to spend time in Switzerland, but I also got to explore a new place! I went to Alsace, France with my sister for a weekend. Alsace is a region in France known for their white wines. The two whites that are most famous is Reisling and Gewürztraminer. I brought back a bottle of each from Riquewihr, which is one of the towns we visited while we were there. We stayed in Colmar, and mainly explored that town for most of the weekend.
The first day we arrived was pretty crazy. We decided to take a walk to one of the towns, Eguisheim, which is about a one and a half hour walk. Now, google maps told us that it would be more of a nature walk to the town, so we said why not. That was not the case though. Almost the entire walk was along side a highway, and the "nature" part of the walk was cutting through a farm field where the crops and grass were taller than me. It was miserable, but the town was beautiful. One great perk is that it is a law to give free tastings, so we tried about 15 different wines after that horrendous walk, which made up for it. The best part of this whole adventure is that google maps said that there was no bus to get there, but when we got to our first destination, our wine expert told us that there is, in fact, a bus. We ended up taking that home. Eguisheim is a beautiful town, and while in Alsace, we later found out that the recent "Beauty and the Beast" movie based the town off of Eguisheim. My sister and I sang the songs the rest of the weekend through all of the little towns, because they all have a similar style.
Our last day in Alsace, we biked from Colmar to Riquewihr, and that was a beautiful trail. It was such a beautiful day, and we had so much fun! It was the first beautiful day all weekend, as it was pretty cloud all weekend (and we had a bit of rain as well. Fun Fact: Alsace is the second region in France to receive the least amount of rain...). All in all it was a beautiful place, and I hope I can go back one day!
This trip was so much fun, and it got me excited for my trip to South Africa this winter, as I will be traveling completely alone! It also got me excited for my hopes to move to Paris after graduation, and take classes to get my French degree. I can not wait to go back to Europe again, but for now, I'm just excited to be starting my senior year of college.
Below are some photos from the trip!
