Le mie benedizioni: Adventures in Switzer(Wonder)land

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous before making this trip. I was obsessed with Switzerland as a child, and was worried I had set my expectations so high and that reality wouldn't live up to my imagination. When I was younger and living in Oregon, I loved my mountains. When I heard of a magical place called the Alps, an inconceivably great and glorious range of mountains, and that Switzerland was right in the middle of it, the only conclusion my mind could make was that Switzerland was paradise. When I was 16, in one of my high school classes we had to create a project where we imagined what our future life looked like, and we had to include everything in it, like our job, marriage, future family, etc, pictures and everything. In the middle of this project that I created, I have a large picture of the Bern Temple, stating that is where I was going to get married, no matter what. Now, after all these years, I was finally making the journey to Paradise and see all of these things I imagined as a kid, and I couldn't help but worry I had dreamed too much about how great it could be.

"Oh ye of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Turns out, despite all the rains and clouds I had for almost the entire week I was there, Switzerland did not disappoint. It still seems quite like Paradise to me, and I would totally live there forever, if only such a thing were possible (after living with a roommate for 3 years who was dating a guy from Switzerland, I almost feel an expert in just how impossible it is to get a Swiss Visa. Their story ended well though, as they finally got married, she got her visa and they now live in Geneva).

Despite how much I loved Switzerland, my week was definitely interesting, and probably nowhere near the typical tourist experience. Every time I tried to do one of the major typical tourist things, it completely backfired on me. I have no glorious picture of Interlaken, or breathtaking views of the Alps after having ridden a gondola to the top of a mountain. Even the bears in Bern's bear park were on summer vacation while their area was getting some re-construction. But I was super lucky to have a friend in Switzerland, and because of this friend and other super lovely people I met along the way I was able to get the ultimate Swiss adventure camping in the mountains, discover the city where my ancestors came from, and enjoy many beautiful views of the country.

Here are some of the pictures I took from my adventures this week: