Thursday, August 7, 2014

interlaken, lauterbrunnen, and murren:


{exploring the small town of interlaken}


{swiss national day parade down the main street, hoheweg}


{we took the tram up to harder kulm and saw amazing views of the town between two lakes}


{town fireworks for swiss national day}


{a short drive to lauterbrunnen for the beginning of our hike}


{mountain view trail}


{post-hike pit stop in murren}


{exploring st. beautus' caves before our trip to lucerne}

i feel a bit odd posting these pictures and writing this blog in light of the events going on around the world.  i know our generation has been through war and disease and political turmoil in the past, but i feel as if i can't even open the new york times homepage these days without reading a heartbreaking story that really puts things in perspective.  the struggles going on throughout the world make me even more grateful for the cities i've been so fortunate to experience this summer, and remind me that there is so, so much more out there than my little corner i call home on the upper west side. 

switzerland, especially geneva, is kind of a funny place.  my friend went on a tour of the city while i was working earlier this week, and she was told that more than 50 percent of the people living in this city aren't even swiss.  the influx of expats is mostly due to all of the global organizations situated in and around geneva, and also because the country lacks a central ethnic identity.  bordered by italy in the south, france in the west, and germany in the east, switzerland claims 3 languages as their own.  i remember the moment in the middle of our road trip this past weekend when the "EXIT" signs switched from "AUSFAHRT" to "SORTIE" in the blink of an eye as we crossed from the german-speaking section over to the french.  and don't worry, the pronunciation of EXIT in german is definitely not lost on my five-year-old-esque humor. 

hiking through the alps is one of those activities that kind of feels dream-like at the moment... like that time i jumped out of a plane in the middle of nowhere, tennessee (something definitely NOT natural for the human body to do = fling itself out of a plane) or the first time you dip your toes into the water on the west coast when you originate from the other side.  these pictures above constitute only half of our trip - i'm a photo-happy camera user!  more to come very soon. 

"if i don't pit myself against things that are larger than myself, i'm lost." 
- frank langella

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