the motherland!

We just made it to Switzerland, and I'm finally living my ideal European life. We received a phone call and a TV alert in our hotel room at 6am. By 6:45 we were picked up by a very upset cabby. I accidentally broke the handle on my bag, and considering that the cab is small and we have more luggage than body weight, the driver was not happy with us. We drove to Gare de Lyon to catch our 8:02 train to Lausanne. The route was beautiful in the early morning fog and was lined with old buildings.

The train station looks like a combination of Grand Central Station and an airport waiting room. After reading a few boards and getting a little help from an English-speaking security guard, we found hall two where our train would depart. They don't tell you when the train is going to leave so everyone stands around in front of the board until twenty minutes before the train leaves when they finally post the track number. We were on track 19, car 16, seats 70 and 71. Getting on the train was a nightmare with people pushing everywhere and not nearly enough storage for everyone's bags. To top it off a man was sitting in our seats!! I don't even want to talk about it.

The train ride through the French and Swiss countryside was almost four hours long; green grass, hills, trees brown cows, the occasional white house with brown roof. Let's just jumpt ahead to the good stuff--Swtizerland!!

As a few of you might know, I'm a quarter Swiss and it has been a dream of mine to come to Swtizerland since I was old enough to say bonjour. Lausanne is like a combination of rural countryside and modern city with parks, old buildings, and enough churches to convert all of Europe. The entire town is hilly so the walk isn't a breeze, but it is well worth it. My mom and I stopped in a park to rest then decided to walk down to Lac Léman because our hotel wasn't ready until 2pm and it wasn't even noon when we arrived.

We managed to find a bank with an ATM, and guess whose debit card totally works in this country--this girl! The ATM had a choice of several difference languages and asked if I wanted my money in Swiss francs of American dollars. I opted for francs which we promptly used at the COOP. The COOP (co-op) a small convience store that is an American's dream; snicker's bars, tobasco, and even the French marmalade that I just fell in love with at Costco before we left. My mom and I got a huge baguette, herb cream cheese of the familiar Philadelphia variety, two bottles of mineral water, a can vanilla coke for me (by the way, I was craving vanilla coke before I left and couldn't find it anywhere. I had to come halfway around the world to find my damn coke, but it was delicious), and a bottle of normal coke for my mom. All of this bounty for eight Swiss francs!

We walked to the lake with our lunch and had the most relaxing meal of my life. This is the dream that I've been waiting for. The lake is beautiful and so peaceful. We strolled through the park and then back up the hill (ugh!) to check into our hotel.

We are staying at Hotel a la Gare as suggested by my cousins (thanks Marianne!). The room is tiny, but at least we have our own beds. This has turned out to be a one big trap for us. We couldn't open our door (the key is an actual key). I couldn't even turn on the sink or get the soap dispenser to work, but it is all well worth it. The best thing about this room is the Cartoon Network that is playing in the background in French as I write this post, and the biscoff cookie that was on the bedside table (yep, that biscoff that dreams are made of). Now it's time for a nap before we hunt down dinner.

Me at the clock at Lac Léman

The park that we stopped at on our way to the lake. 

Our hotel room; yep, that's pretty much the whole room

The view from our hotel window