Fall Break Travels to BelgYum and Switzerland

Hello everyone!
I can't believe I have been back in Galway for a week already since our big adventures over our fall break.  We arrived home to the cottages late last Saturday night and have had a great week catching up with everyone and sharing stories from our travels. Kelly, Meghan, Bethany, Katy and I had a blast in Belgium and Switzerland...here are the highlights!


Belgium: October 28-31

Belgian Waffles!

We actually started our travels in Dublin on Thursday the 27th because our flight to Brussels, Belgium left at 8am the next morning. We took the bus from Galway to Dublin and arrived in the early afternoon. We had been to Dublin for our group excurison just two weeks ago, so it was nice having a feel for the place already. We went out for a late lunch and then toured the Guinness storehouse and factory. It was more like a museum than a tour of the actual factory, and even though I can't really call myself a fan of Guinness, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about how important Guinness is to Irish history and culture.

Outside one of the many chocolate shops we visited

We left Dublin early on Friday morning, bound for Brussels.  It was just an hour and a half long plane ride, which went very quickly because we were all so tired! From the airport we took a bus and then the metro to our hostel.  The stop we were closest to was at the botanical gardens which we explored this afternoon.  We were located a little outside of the city center, but we made our way there for our first real Belgian waffles in the afternoon! I got one with sticks of Belgian chocolate stuffed inside so it was freshly melted. Delish! We were all still pretty tired from our early morning, so we had a low-key night to get ready for the rest of the trip! I was surprised at the lack of English in Belgium, but I definitely got the opportunity to practice my French!! Thankfully, unlike in France, the people in Belgium were very nice and patient with a non-native speaker!

Inside the Atomin!

We slept in pretty late on Saturday, which was fine because we had a few days to explore Brussels.  We headed toward the Grand Place, a square surrounded by buildings with amazing architecture, and found some waffles for breakfast.  There was a street market going on so we spent some time browsing.  As we continued along, we stopped in several chocolate shops along the way. We were pleasantly surprised when many gave free samples! That afternoon, we tried another traditional Belgian treat: Frites, aka French fries, although they tasted just like fries in the US to me.  We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around looking at monuments, gardens and other interesting buildings that we just happened upon.

There was a time change on Saturday night, but somehow we still made it to church at the right time! We decided we needed a little better of a breakfast than a super-sweet waffle, and we ended up getting a little more than we bargained for.  We found a nice French restaurant and ordered the breakfast special, which was (for each person) a chocolate croissant, a regular croissant, ham, cheese, toast and jam, orange juice and coffee or hot chocolate. Needless to say, our table was a bit crowded! We did more of the same this afternoon, browsing in chocolate shops and seeing the sites. We found a chocolate museum, but it was quite small and the chocolate making demonstration was in French, so all I caught was what temperature to heat each type of chocolate to. In the afternoon, we went to one of the biggest tourist spots in Brussels: the Atomin. It is a replica of an atom magnified 65 billion times it's original size. We took escalators up to the different levels and saw the view from (almost) the top. When we were leaving, the atom lit up just like the Eiffel Tower!

The beautiful town of Brugges!

On Monday, we decided to take a day trip to Brugges, a city about an hour away by train.  The city was beautiful and so were the fall leaves. That is definitely something I miss about fall in Minnesota! It was kind of a strange feeling arriving in a city where we had absolutely no idea what to see or where to go. It was a very toursity town though, so it was easy to navigate.  We walked along the canal, stopped at some churches and monuments and did some more shopping.  We had some delicious ice cream for a treat after lunch and continued our wandering. We stopped for lots of photo-ops along the way with the gorgeous leaves, canals and architecture in the background.  Before we headed back to Brussels, we had to stop for one last good-bye waffle!

Switzerland: November 1-5

Our first sunset in Interlaken!

We had another early morning as our flight to Geneva left at 8:30 am.  After a metro and train ride that took a little longer than expected, we finally made it to the airport and to our gate right in time for boarding.  After our short flight, we were excited to finally be in Switzerland! We took the train to Interlaken, a small town in the Alps about 3 hours outside of Geneva.  The train ride was unbelievable...definitely worth the expensive train ticket!! As we made our way outside of the city, we rode along side the breathtaking mountains and lakes. The first thought that popped into my head when we arrived in Interlaken was that it's the dictionary definition of picturesque. It was just a short walk through town to our hostel, which was a really cute chalet-style place. We were all very hungry and were happy to see an Irish pub just down the street! It's amazing how much we all missed Ireland after less than a week of being away.  We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the town, taking in the amazing surroundings, and of course sampling some Swiss chocolate!

Wednesday was our only full day in Interlaken, but we definitely packed a lot in! We got up early(ish) and went for a hike on some trails right from town.  The fall tree lined trails reminded me a lot of Minnesota at this time of year, except for the mountains! The view from the top of the mountain (well, more like a hill...) that we climbed was incredible and we could see little villages nestled right in the mountains. Then we headed toward the train station to meet up with three other friends, Billy, Brady and Joe, from our program who were staying in Leysin, Switzerland and planned to meet up with us for the day.  It's had to  make plans and connect with each other without cell phones, but we finally made contact and were so excited to see each other again.  On our way back to our hostel to make a plan for the afternoon, the boys saw a moped rental place right next door and we decided to rent four mopeds for the eight of us to take a tour into the mountains.  I was with Katy, who was the only girl brave enough to step up and drive, and after only one accidental swerve into the wrong lane, she did an amazing job!! We all had a blast spending the afternoon driving along the windy mountain roads with the sound of cow bells ringing in the distance and stopping in a few little towns for pictures and to explore the area.  After sending the boys back on their way, we got ready for another activity that was recommended to us...a chocolate show! It was at Schuh's, a fancy chocolate shop, and we were given a tutorial and demonstration of Swiss chocolate by Chef Stefan, along with lots of free samples! What a sweet way to end our stay in Interlaken!

Mopeding through the Alps!!

Bethany and me in Grindlewald!

On Thursday morning, we had some time before taking the train back to Geneva, so we decided to have one more small adventure in Interlaken. We took a mountain train up to another small town, Grindlewald. The train followed the same road we took the day before on mopeds, so it was fun to see the same scenery, but from new heights this time! One of my favorite parts were the streams running along next to the train. They were a beautiful shade of icy blue (Crayola really did get that color name right!). When we arrived at the top, we hiked along a path leading through the small village up to the mountains.  It felt like we were in the Sound of Music...but after they arrive safely in Switzerland :).  We took our time taking in the last few moments in the beautiful surroundings before heading back down the mountain and to the train station.  After another enjoyable train back back to Geneva, we were ready for the final leg of our trip! My cousin Adam, who is working in Geneva until December, generously invited my friends and I to stay with him and his roommate, Sylvia, while we were in Geneva! It was so fun to see a familiar face after so much time away from home and family! We met up with him at the United Nations bus stop and then took the bus over the boarder into Ferney-Voltaire, France where his apartment is. It is not uncommon for people who work in Geneva to live in France because it is unbelievably cheaper! As soon as we got to Adam's, our bags exploded in our bedroom. We had fun chatting and snacking before going out to a delicious Indian restaurant with the whole group.

The next morning, we slept in and had a leisurely morning around Ferney because Kelly and I had to register for classes and needed to be by a computer.  Friday was quite drizzly, but since it was the only rainy day of our trip we couldn't complain too much! Adam's parents, John and Donna, arrived that afternoon for a week-long visit, and I still can't believe how well the timing of everything worked out so we could all meet up! That afternoon my friends and I headed into Geneva and walked around by the lake for a while, but since the weather was still not so nice, we decided to do what we do best and order desserts at a little cafe. We took the bus back to Ferney that evening and had a wonderful home-cooked meal, along with some French cheeses and homemade apple crisp! We all agreed that this was the perfect way to end a great trip and are so thankful to Adam and Sylvia for all their hospitality!!

On Saturday, we had a few hours before catching our plane out of Geneva so we checked out the huge farmer's market along the main streets of Ferney.  They had everything from fresh pasta, breads, seafood, veggies and fruits to scarves and hair extensions!  Around 11am, we said our good-byes and headed to the airport.  Our first flight was to London, and after a four-hour layover, we finally made it back to Dublin.  Just as we were disembarking our plane, our other roommates Sarah and Michelle, as well as the rest of their traveling group came walking down the terminal! It was such a fun reunion, and we couldn't wait to share stories as we went through customs and boarded the bus back to Galway. Rory met us at the bus station and we finally arrived at Cottage 6 around midnight. After four countries in one day, we were pretty exhausted, but so happy to be back!