Written by Jess, Photo by Matteo Catanese on Unsplash
The ocean girl has become a mountain girl
I have always been firmly an ocean girl. I love beaches and the water, preferably somewhere warm and tropical. However, I am now in a state of utter disbelief. After visiting Switzerland I might actually be a mountain girl *gasp*. I feel like my whole life has been a sham! Sorry to sound completely dramatic, it’s simply part of the charm. Thankfully, I am betting that I can probably be both (but maybe always an ocean girl at heart).
So, how did this mermaid turn into a mountain climber? Well for starters, I didn’t actually climb. It is sooooo much easier just to take a car up the side of the mountain. While the roads are a bit small and winding, it wasn’t too scary. Until we got on the bus and then went up a mountain. I honestly thought I was either going to pee my pants or die or pee my pants then die. Either way, I survive! Yay for drivers who know what the hell they are doing! My props to you.
As far as destinations go in Switzerland, we tended to stay away from bigger cities expect for Geneva and Zermatt. We flew in and out of Geneva, which is a super small and easy airport that I thoroughly suggest using. In the city, there are hundreds of stores to shop in (or look in, if you’re a broke college student like I am). The main church, St. Pierre Cathedral, is beautiful! It is located in Old Town Geneva, which is every bit as picturesque as it sounds. The Jet d’Eau was of no great importance to me at first. Then, I actually saw it. And WOW. I was definitely shocked that it was so cool. Mostly because it shoots up so high in the air. If you happen to find yourself in Geneva one day, simply walking around was breathtaking. For a city girl like me, whose favorite parts of traveling are architecture and language, it was perfect. However, I happened to be traveling with a bunch of non-city people, so our trip was quite short.
Getting around Switzerland can be expensive. However, getting a day pass for the trains can help with that. It is much cheaper to buy one for about $40 instead of each trip, which costs about double. This is especially important when going to Zermatt. Which is one of the most expensive cities in Switzerland since it has a mount you’ve probably never even heard of. The Matterhorn? Yeah, it was new to me too.
If Zermatt is the place you are most excited to go to and you want to spend an entire week there, no problem. However, think of staying in Tasch instead. It is just a train ride in and is much cheaper than actually staying in Zermatt. Which is a car less city, by the way. I do suggest going to Zermatt at least once while you’re in Switzerland. Seeing the Matterhorn up close is absolutely amazing. We went up to Sunnegga, which is much cheaper than Gornergrat. The difference coming to about $70. Even just going up a little bit higher and getting away from some of the tourists was worth it.
We spent the majority of our time in a small town called Niedergampel, since we have a connection there. Seeing the small town life was incredible; it is what Switzerland really is. However, I understand that not everyone has connections in small villages nestled in the Alps. No worries! Switzerland is still a must see for everyone! Even if you’re a city-loving ocean girl like me, you might find yourself in love with the mountains too.
Travel by the Book 