INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND

So after coming back to Barcelona from Madrid, we had a week of classes and then last Thursday night we headed to Geneva, Switzerland!  There's a company in Europe called "Bus2Alps" and it does exactly what it advertises, it buses study abroad kids to the Alps and other hot vacation spots all over Europe, and offers them housing and discounted activities.  Earlier in the semester a Bus2Alps rep handed us some brochures about the trips, so my roommates and I thought it would be fun to do one of them.  We all agreed on Interlaken as none of us had been to Switzerland and wanted to ski as well.  So we impulsively booked the 160 euro trip and we're getting excited about our bus trip to Interlaken.

After about 45 minutes of soaking in the impulsive purchase we read over the confirmation email, and realized that our "bus to the alps" was arranged to pick us up from the Geneva airport at 11:30 pm on Thursday night.  We were really confused by this because we assumed that we would be taking a bus from Barcelona to Interlaken, as was advertised.  As the realization set in we discovered that not only would we be paying 160 euros for the hostel stay and activities, we would have to also purchase a ticket to Geneva, where the bus would then drive us to Interlaken.  (Interlaken is about a 2.5 hour drive from Geneva).

This was really frustrating at first, but there was nothing we could really do so we frantically started searching flights and thankfully found a decent 70 euro flight on Swiss air that got us into Geneva at the right time to meet the Bus2Alps.

First off, the flight to Geneva was incredible, Swiss air is an awesome airline.  Not only do they let you check a bag for free, but on the flight they offer complimentary beverage, sandwich, and swiss chocolates.  My friends and I couldn't believe how lucky we were.

So when we finally did get to Interaken, it was 2:30 am Friday morning and we were exhausted, but we had planned to get up bright and early only 5 hours later to ski, so we went straight to bed.

Interlaken was a charming and beautiful city beneath the mountains.  If you have never been, I STRONGLY recommend it!  This photo was taken right outside of our hostel, which was a really cute typical Swiss hostel, 3 of my roommates and I ended up sharing a room with 3 girls also studying abroad in Barcelona who all go to Penn State, they were all super nice and we spent most of the weekend hanging out with them as well.

So on Friday we got up early and walked next door to the ski/snowboard rental shop and got our skis rented (with Bus2Alps we got a slight discount on rentals) and got ready to head up the mountain.  The commute was somewhat long (we took a bus to the train station, hopped a train to another train station, took another train up the mountain, and then a gondola up to our ski location) but it was worth it because the views were amazingly beautiful.

Since I hadn't been skiing since Lake Tahoe in 2006, and my skiing abilities are not superb, I was a bit intimidated by the enormous Swiss Alps.  Two of my roommates, Michela and Julia were pretty seasoned skiers, and Charlotte had never skied before in her life, so were had a bunch of different levels of skiers.  The part of the mountain we were on had breathtaking views and the runs were really fun.  For lunch we had a really good (and expensive!) meal of sausage and french fries at the mountain lodge.

     After a day filled with skiing,  we had a casual dinner at the really good Thai restaurant next to our hostel, and because we were so exhausted we decided to call it a day.  The second day we decided to save our money and not do another activity (skiing alone cost around 250 US dollars!)  so we decided to explore a little more of Switzerland and chose to see the town of Murren.  It was another long commute up the mountain but it was an absolutely beautiful day so the price of the train ticket, and time spent on getting there was well worth it.  

If anyone is looking for their next vacation spot I would highly recommend Murren, Switzerland!  It literally looked like a storybook town in the mountains.  People would ski right up to the grocery store and around town, the lodging looked so nice/cozy, and the ski lifts are right in town.  I had such a great time just walking around taking in all parts of the beautiful town, and the views literally were nothing I had ever seen before.  My pictures truly don't do it justice, you must go see them for yourself!

When we were walking around in Murren we came across this little rec center that had an outdoor ice rink that let you rent skates, so me and some of the other girls decided to rent skates and skate around.  It was so nice just skating around, and really made me miss the times when I played ice hockey.

After a long day, we decided to go for an authentic Swiss cheese fondue dinner.  Although the taste of the cheese fondue wasn't quite what we were expecting and not really to our liking, it was good to say we tried Swiss cheese fondue in Switzerland.

Our last day in Interlaken was unfortunately really cold and rainy, so not the best way to end the trip, but it was nonetheless one of my favorite places I've ever been, even though I was only there for a weekend.  It is an incredibly beautiful place with so many different things to do, I would strongly suggest visiting Switzerland at least once in your life.

MADRID

So I'm back writing on my blog, I was at first having a hard time keeping up and documenting all of my trips and such since I've never been good with a journal/diary or anything like this, but after being notified by my mom that I would be receiving financial compensation for each new post, I figured I would start up again. (I am a college kid studying abroad after all, I need the $$).

So two weekends ago was my first trip outside of Barcelona to the capital city of Madrid.  Our program arranged this trip so we took an "Ave" train which is one of their bullet trains that clocks up to like 150 mph.  We got to our hotel which was in a very centrally located area, and then decided to be tourists and do some site seeing.  We were only just a block from the Plaza Mayor (see pic above), which is Madrid's main square with tons of street performers and restaurants.  I had been recommended by another CEA student who had gone to Madrid the previous week that we had to visit "El Parque Retiro" which is kind of the "Central Park" of Madrid.  It was absolutely beautiful and she also recommended that we must do the boat rides on the lake.  It was only 4 euros so we gladly signed up.

After getting to know the city the first day we had one of the best meals I've had since being abroad at this little hole in the wall called "Doña Antonia" and I had a deliciously fresh chicken sandwich on a pita.  We loved this restaurant so much we went back the next night, and I had one of the best hamburgers I've ever had in my life.  But the second day we got up early to go on the guided bus/walking tour.  Madrid's architecture blew me away, and one can really feel the historical sense of the city from their buildings and architecture.

Feeling touristy and engulfed by the historical feeling of Madrid, one of my roommates Charlotte and I walked over El Museo de la Reina Sofia, which in English is the Queen Sofia Museum.  It's their museum of contemporary and modern art.  It was a striking building and an amazing experience seeing some of the world's most famous works.  It's definitely a privilege to say I got to see Picasso's masterpiece "Guernica" up close.

Later that night we decided to go out and experience Madrid's nightlife and our CEA chaperone recommended a local bar called "La Vía Láctea" which translates to "The Milky Way" in English.  It was definitely an experience as the bar was located on a dark alleyway and had posters of American 80s bands, and was playing tacky American 80s films, but nonetheless a fun one at that.

On our last day, since I had discovered that I really enjoyed museums, I knew I wasn't going to leave Madrid without seeing El Prado, one of the world's most famous and impressive art museums.  I couldn't take any pictures inside but the building on the outside was a work of art in itself. (See picture above).  The murals and masterpieces I saw on the inside totally affirmed my love for classic art.  I walked out of the museum extremely pleased that I had made sure to spend a few hours there, and would highly recommend anyone who visits Madrid must visit El Prado.

Overall, it was a quick but really educational/enlightening trip.  The fact that I got to see 2 of the world's most famous art museums was really exciting, and now I CANNOT wait for my trip to Paris to see some more world famous works of art!