The Grand Finale

I ended my semester abroad with a bang, aka Interlaken, Switzerland and the French Riviera. Our finals ended Thursday morning and we left Salamanca the next day. Friday morning came early, after our IES "Goodbye Gala" was a little crazier than anticipated and I woke up with a headache and an uncompleted packed suitcase. Andie and I said tearful goodbyes to our dear Adelaida and made the final trek to the bus station, lugging the entire last 4 months of our lives behind us which had somehow managed to fit back into our two suitcases and backpacks.

Friday proved to be one of the longest travel days we'd had in a while, having left Salamanca at 9am and not checking into our hostel in Interlaken until around 10pm. Speaking of which, Balmers Hostel is awesome—one of the most well-known hostels in Europe, it has a nightclub, backyard with hammocks, biergarten, hot tub, game room and free breakfast, plus it's just generally cute and very Swiss-looking. Definitely one of my favorite hostels of the semester. For dinner we tried a variation of our favorite European fast food meal, the dürüm, which is pretty much the same thing as a döner but in a wrap instead of on pita bread. These wraps were so big that we literally had to rest them on the table to bite off the top. I scoffed at the idea of finishing a sandwich as long as my forearm, but after 13 hours of travel, it was not as hard as I'd hoped.

We were predicting a weekend of nonstop rain, so were pleasantly shocked to have a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning and early afternoon. Taking advantage of the weather, we took a train to Lauterbrunnen, a small city in a valley higher up in the Alps than Interlaken. We then took a cable car to Gimmelwald, most certainly the tiniest, cutest little Swiss farm village in the whole country. With a population of less than 100 and no cars allowed, I really don't think I've ever encountered a quieter, more tranquil place. The views were unreal as well. After walking through the town, we hiked up the mountain to the next little town, Mürren. Because we were there only on the cusp of in-season, almost all restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. were closed from spring so it kind of felt like a very beautiful ghost town. By the time we got back down the mountain to Lauterbrunnen, it had started raining (pouring) so we took shelter in our hostel and passed an hour (two hours) playing fußball and pool and drinking an overpriced but delicious local craft beer. Dinner probably marks one the top 10 meals in my life. We obviously had to have fondue while we were in Switzerland, so we splurged for this meal and fasted the next day. This fondue was UNREAL. Picture two pots of bubbling cheese surrounded by bread chucks and vegetables and four hungry girls. Not only did it obviously taste amazing, but there's just something so fun about dipping your food into other food.

Gimmelwald

It rained all through the night, causing water levels rise and preventing Andie and I from going canyoning on Sunday, which was really sad. But we did the next best thing given the weather conditions...white water rafting!! We shimmied on our wet suits and hopped in the van for the 40-minute ride to our starting point on the Simme River. Besides us, on our trip was an entire Swiss men's lacrosse team, three German girls who were obnoxiously drunk and shrieking way too much in German for my un-caffeinated self at 10am, and two young nurses from Virginia who were actually normal. Thankfully we were not placed on a raft with the water-splashing, back-slapping, animal noise-making boys and instead shared a raft with the Virginia girls. The water was FREEZING—the first time I got soaked I felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head, but as we got wetter it got less cold. We were on the water for about an hour and a half, which is a decent trip for white water rafting. Riding through the valley, passing by little Swiss houses and cows and seeing the Alps in the distance was amazing. White water rafting is actually kind of hard in the sense that you have to listen to the river guide about when to paddle and in which direction. Our raft killed it, obviously, but I didn't realize just how important it was to steer efficiently until the Swiss boys flipped two of their rafts. After our raft had safely made it around this huge rock in the center of the river by paddling around it to the left, suddenly our river guide was ordering us to keep paddling, which was confusing since we had made it out of that part of the rapids. So we paddled harder, until he screamed, "AMERICANS ON THE LEFT GET OUT OF THE RAFT!" and then all of a sudden as our raft turned, I saw a raft hit the big rock sideways and flip, followed by a second raft that flipped off the first. Seconds later there were 10-15 male heads bobbing downstream and our guide was trying to lasso in as many as he could. This sounds kind of dramatic and even though it's accurate, it wasn't super dangerous (I don't think), as it's always possible for rafts to flip while in the rapids and therefore the guides are trained very well for that situation. Evidently the boys were not listening to their guide about when/where to paddle, which is why they hit the rock. After witnessing the morning's events unfold, my only conclusion is that boys are the same all around the world (read: idiots).

After a very hot shower and coffee, we explored Interlaken, walking all through the little city and then out to one of the surrounding lakes, Lake Thun. It had actually stopped raining, and even though it was a little cold, just being outside in this beautiful place and getting to see the mountains made me happy. Later we bought some Swiss chocolate, because not getting chocolate in Switzerland is like not getting beer in Germany: it would just be wrong. We ate Asian food for dinner because there is oddly an endless selection of Asian restaurants in Interlaken. On Monday morning we walked to the other lake that encompasses Interlaken (which by the way, is called Interlaken because the city is ~in between~ two lakes), Lake Brienz. Then we took the train from Interlaken to the Geneva airport, a beautiful ride that I desperately tried to stay awake for but just could not manage. This semester of frequent travel and gross lack of sleep has cursed me with the ability to pass out just about anywhere and anytime.

Monday night we arrived to our Airbnb, which we thought was in Nice but was actually in a little town right next to Nice called Villefranche sur mer. As we walked through the tiny cobblestone streets and lugged our suitcases along rocky paths hugging cliffs and up staircases, I remember being struck by the simplicity of this little place. It was adorable. In the morning we went to the grocery store to stock up for our day on the beach. After a semester of chaotic travel in big cities plus our aggravatingly difficult class assignments, laying on the beach all day was simply amazing. Our little beach actually had sand, uncharacteristic of Nice beaches, which was nice for us since all we had to lay on were hand towels. Unfortunately several members of the group received terrible sunburns (RIP to Andie’s feet and Addie’s entire body) but surprisingly I was spared, which was truly shocking. Late afternoon we took the train two stops over to Nice to eat dinner and explore there for the evening. This night marked my last real night in Europe, so obviously eating well with seafood risotto was necessary. We walked along the promenade with gelato as the sun went down. It was eerie being in the very place of the terrorist attack here last summer after recognizing features of the promenade from pictures. It saddens me to think about such an awful thing happening in such a beautiful place.

Our beach in Villefranche sur mer

My seafood risotto in Nice

On Wednesday morning we took the train to Monaco just to add another country to the list and see the infamous Monte Carlo Casino in person. The afternoon consisted of one of the coolest experiences I’ve had this semester. Somehow, five college students ended up on a boat on the coast of the Med, in which we spent five hours cruising down the French Riviera. We still aren’t sure how this was possible or legal, as no boat permit or license was required and we somehow entrusted our survival on Elise’s summers of boating at the Ozarks. Because a lake in central Missouri is pretty much the same thing as the Mediterranean Sea, right??? Long story short, we made it out alive but not without getting obliterated by ocean waves crashing onto our tiny boat whenever we tried to leave the coves. Regardless, it was incredible and the absolute best way I could’ve asked to spend my last day in Europe. I loved the French Riviera more than I ever thought I would. After docking the boat a little before 7pm, I was on my way to the airport an hour later, my hair still damp from the sea and coated with salt water because I didn’t have time to wash it. I flew from Nice to Barcelona, where I am typing from now at 2am, posted up in the airport with five hours to go until my second flight of four that will take me back to St. Louis—a 31 hour journey from hell. My hair still smells like salt, I have a sunburn settling in, the wifi is being sketchy and there are officially no stores or cafes open so hopefully I don't need nourishment before 7am. Wish me luck!!! Next time you’ll here from me, I’ll be reflecting on my semester from the States. Europe I just don’t wanna leave you…