These past couple weeks of ‘ traveling vacation’ (but not really because I still work everyday) have been super busy. Every time I blink, I’m trying something new in a place I’ve never been before. Last week, I left Spain and headed to Switzerland to see one of my very good friends and old roommate/teammate from UAlbany, Solène.

I hadn’t seen her since she came to visit me last summer in Spain, so we were long overdue for a reunion.

The forecast in Zürich, where she attends school called for rain and gloom all weekend. This was accurate on Friday, so we just grabbed a couple of beers and some soft pretzels at a local hangout, and then relaxed at her place for the rest of the evening.

We decided to take our chances against the inclement weather and woke up early Saturday morning to hike one of the Swiss Alps. This happened to be a fantastic decision on our part as the weather in the mountains was beautiful and sunny.

We hiked Mt. Rigi, which provided great views of the surrounding alps and Lake Lucerne. About two steps into our hike, I immediately started snapping shots of the incredible scenery. Solène laughed and said it was nothing compared to what would come later in the hike.

All I could think and say during the hike was ‘WOWOWOWOOWOW’ because the scenery was incredible. Aside from a five minute drizzle it remained sunny the entire time.

I also couldn’t stop singing ‘the hills are alive with the sound of music’ because, well, look at it. Here are some photos of the stunning landscape. Let me know if you want a postcard made out of any of them. I’m pretty sure I’ll cover my room in these photos.

After we reached the top, we enjoyed a nice cider in one of the resorts and relaxed until it was time to come down.

I would highly suggest this hike for anyone visiting the area, who wants to see the views. Obviously Sólene was a fantastic tour guide/expert of the mountains and the city in general, but this is definitely a great hike for any level–it only took a couple hours to reach the top. You can also cheat and take the little train or cable cars up to the view point as well.

I am currently in Amsterdam trying to see the sights while also keeping up with my writing jobs, so blogging yet again has taken the backseat. I still want to share more about my trip to Spain and the rest of the weekend in Switzerland, so be on the look out for future posts. For now, I will enjoy the week visiting some more friends and seeing the Netherlands!