Switzerland

I'm not really sure what I expected from Switzerland but the incredible beauty of the country was definitely a pleasant surprise. Driving from Munich to Lucerne, the mountains progressively get larger and rockier until every direction you look ends in a very steep and tall rock face. However, the scene gets even more picturesque when you look down into the valleys of the mountains and you see all different shades of green perfectly manicured fields, stretching up as far as possible before being stopped by the rock. On each of these fields are herds of cattle and sheep grazing to their hearts content. A little farther down and there is a little farmstead made of logs completing the fairy tale scene. This scene isn't just in one little area, but its in almost every single valley I passed in the Swiss Alps.

I stayed in the ski town of Engleberg way up in the mountains south of Lucerne and it was absolutely perfect. Each morning I could sip my espresso while staring at gorgeous snowcapped mountains, and each evening I could do the same with a glass of Swiss red wine.

Although the town is very small, there were still a few fondue restaurants which is all I needed. A big pot of bubbling gooey cheese to dip bread in will make me a happy camper any day of the week.

I figured that while in Switzerland, I would be only eating Swiss food, but some Finnish people had other plans. The ski lodge I stayed at was run by some people from Finland and I happened to be there during their celebration of Midsummer, which is celebrated similar to how the Fourth of July is celebrated in the United States. To help celebrate, I joined their backyard party of music, food, and drink and even was given a Scandinavian summer plate!

Although Finnish people are great, Switzerland's soccer team was playing in the World Cup, so I had to end my Midsummer party early and go find a bar to watch the game with some locals.

The larger city of the area, Lucerne, seems to be what I had in my mind as a prototypical Swiss city - one surrounded by beautiful mountains and filled with chocolate, cheese, and watch shops.

Although the chocolate is good and the watches are too expensive, the real attraction to Lucerne is the city's mountainous backdrop that pictures just don't do justice. Other than that, I didn't think Lucerne had much else to see besides the oldest wooden bridge in Europe (which was pretty picturesque) and extremely overpriced food (as in 28 Euro for a sub-par Caesar salad and water).

Since the real attraction to the area is the nature itself, I set out to see more by taking a cruise across beautiful Lake Lucerne (once again, my pictures do not do it justice) to get to the base of Mount Pilatus. 

To get to the top I rode on the world's steepest cogwheel railroad which took me to the top where I could then explore the peaks of the mountain. Unfortunately I visited on a partly cloudy day so the brilliant views of the rest of the Swiss Alps were hidden to me... I guess that just means I need to come back!