Swiss Bliss or Why I’m moving to Switzerland Part 1

Part I of III

With a couple of wool blankets a bottle of wine and some cheese, we found a grassy spot by the farm shed and waited for the first stars to appear. Things didn’t look promising at first as there was a pretty heavy cloud cover but as the night darkened the clouds dissipated and we were left with a stunning night sky speckled with millions of stars. At this point I just had to keep pinching myself. How did I end up stargazing in the Swiss Alps?

Switzerland was another adventure in couchsurfing as it started. I had been contacted on the site by Alex who was coming to Slovenia on business and was looking for a couch to sleep on for a night so he could explore Ljubljana. I was excited to be a couchsurfing host for the first time since I had such a great time couchsurfing in Vienna, but also a bit weary of it. So we began exchanging messages so that I could feel out the situation. Unfortunately, after a few messages I realized that I would be in Croatia at the time of his arrival so I wouldn’t get my chance at hosting after all. But we continued talking because he had questions about California for an upcoming trip he had planned. I joked with him that I would gladly answer his questions if I had a couch to sleep on in Basel (where Alex lived) if I should ever find myself there. His response was welcoming and as with most things since I arrived in Europe I decided to take the opportunity in front of me.

Over the next few weeks we planned my trip to Basel. Alex suggested that we should take a trip to hike in the Alps while I was there. I agreed of course. I arrived in Basel late Thursday night by plane. On Friday I did some touring around Basel while Alex was working, and saw all of the major tourist sites. Then in the evening we did some food shopping for the trip and went back to his apartment and enjoyed a great BBQ on his balcony. But let’s get to the good part. On Saturday morning we departed for our hiking trip in the Alps in Saoseo, Switzerland.

We hopped on the train fully prepared for the next 6 hours. A few bottles of wine, cheese and meats, chocolate, strawberries, the fixings for sandwiches…what else do you need? Unfortunately we discovered pretty early into the trip that we had left a bunch of items behind in the refrigerator. Trying to look on the bright side I suggested that perhaps we will find an even better cheese as a replacement and besides we would have food waiting for us at the end of the weekend. At the next train change where we had a layover we ran over to the store and sure enough we found a nice local cheese that was delicious. This seemed to set the tone of our trip. Absolutely nothing could go wrong.

The last change put us on the old red Bernina train that we would ride on switchback tracks through the Alps. The windows came down on this one and we were able to stick our heads out and take some amazing pictures. For the last two hours of the train we both were standing with our head out a window alternating between each side of the train to take in all the views. I think I had a smile permanently etched on my face as I’d never really experienced anything like this before.

When we reached the last stop we switched over to a bus that drove us  to the next town where we would begin our hike. Apparently we could have taken the bus all the way to camp but we opted for the 3 hour uphill hike after such a long train ride. It was extremely hot and for me it was the first time hiking with  a large pack. We took a few breaks here and there and then stopped at a nice spot to have a picnic lunch. One of the great things about traveling with Alex is his mutual love of food. And not just any food…he has good taste. This is important since I get quite cranky if I don’t eat often enough. We found a nice bench with a backdrop that looked unreal and unpacked our spread to feast. With full bellies we continued our hike and finally reached camp.

I would describe the camp as visiting Grandma’s house. A nice older woman ran the place and for just an extra 10 euro you could enjoy a home-cooked dinner served around 8pm. Aside from us there were a couple families we had seen on the bus staying in the dorms. The accommodations were clean and comfortable and we had an amazing view from the open shutters of our window.

After eating way too much at dinner we decided a walk was in order. We hiked down to the lake just below camp. The lake was a bit hidden until you were basically upon it and suddenly you just saw a pop of turquoise through the trees. We’d brought our cameras and photographed until we began to lose light and decided it would be better to hike back up while we could still see.

And that’s how I ended up on a blanket under the stars in the Swiss Alps. Of course this isn’t the end of the story. Far from it actually.

The next day we woke up to the sound of cowbells through the open shutters as the cows grazed up and down the creek. We had a nice breakfast and set out for our day long hike. I can’t begin to describe the scenery in words so I’ll just let the photos do the talking. Everything was breathtaking. Alex was a great hiking partner. We had a good pace going and took breaks whenever we needed them or whenever we wanted to take a photo. I never felt rushed, we ate often and stopped many times just to take it all in. About halfway through the day we hiked down into a valley to Lake Saoseo. We indulged in a little schnapps, relaxed a bit and then headed down to the lake to explore. I brought a bathing suit with the hopes of doing some cliff jumping. Alex warned me that the water would be cold but I shrugged it off and explained that I love the rush you get from jumping into cold water. I wasn’t convincing him and he agreed he would film me jumping in but that he wasn’t going near the water. We found a good cliff to jump off of but now I was a bit nervous about how cold the water would feel. Finally after a lot of stalling I jumped. I’m pretty sure that’s the coldest water I’ve ever been in but I will never forget it for that same reason. I don’t think Alex will either has he seemed to find it extremely entertaining when I surfaced with a shriek and began swimming as fast as possible to shore.

After the lake we set off for a peak that seemed far enough away that it would take another day of hiking. Every time Alex would point to where we were going I thought he was joking. But some how we made it to each spot. This was the first time I had hiked with a pack and definitely the longest hike I’ve ever been on. It was great feeling to conquer the mountain and be rewarded by an amazing view from the top. After building a snowman in some patches of snow and ascending the final peak we started to head back to the hut for a well-deserved beer, dinner and some late night wine and starscape photography.

After such an amazing trip neither of us could imagine parting ways for good. On the train ride home we discussed planning another trip together before my time in Europe ended. As luck would have it my 30th birthday was 2 weeks away and I had been toying with the idea of spending it in Italy. All I was lacking from making confirmed plans was someone to travel with. So, it was decided… we would meet once again in Tuscany.

Read Part 2 here.

All photos are by both Alex and I. If there weren’t enough in the post you can see all of on page 2 of this post. (sorry for the duplicates.)