Switzerland

After traveling through Southern France with my friend Grace, we met up with our friend Haley who was studying in Switzerland for the summer. She was living in a tiny little Swiss town. And by tiny, I mean TINY. The study abroad program doubled the population of the town! It was so cute and charming and Switzerland was everything I dreamed it’d be. Beautiful mountain vistas and cowbells, lots of cowbells.

We went on a hike to Monte Generoso. If you read my post about the Calanques in Cassis, France it was kind of like that but ten times longer and steeper and more beautiful! Swap tourists for cows and beaches for mountain vistas. It was one of the most incredible hikes of my life.

Along the way, we saw goats, sheep, cows, and lots of little lizards and bugs. The cows were my favorite. They were so peaceful and the sound of the cowbells is magical, kind of like a church bell in a gorgeous natural landscape. It’s a beautifully random yet melodic sound of movement and life as the cows graze peacefully.

We passed a few abandoned structures on our way up the mountain. We also walked through this goathouse. These were the most spoiled goats I have ever met because their house was gorgeous! I think the goatherders live in the other side of the building. I wish I could’ve talked to them because their way of life is SO different than mine.

At the top of the hike, we were blessed with a gorgeous view of Lake Lugano and Como. We got icecream at the top. There was a fancy restaurant with a little guest store and museum thing about the history of Monte Generoso and a very expensive tram so their guests didn’t have to hike like we did!

Switzerland was so beautiful and a perfect way to end our trip. It was so nice to get away from busy, touristy spots and get some fresh air.

I love Switzerland!

If walls could dream… they’d dream of hiking up beautiful mountains in Switzerland.