Stranger in a Strange Land: Our Swiss Adventure...

As many of you know, my parents were here visiting for the past couple of weeks (hence, the lack of recent posts! :)). While they were here, we traveled around Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France... We had such a great time exploring and experiencing the many things that Europe has to offer. We had so much fun spending time together, shared LOTS of laughs (especially when it came to my driving! :)), and made some wonderful memories! :) Needless to say, their time here flew by too quickly, and it was very difficult to say goodbye when the time came for them to head back to the U.S.! :(

Over the past two weeks, we managed to cover ALOT of territory! I figured that I won't be able to consolidate all of our adventures into just one post, so I'll just spread them out over the next few days...

Our first big adventure took place a few days after Mom and Dad arrived in Germany... We decided to head to Switzerland to check out Mt. Santis and Zurich. Not only was the trip to Switzerland a new experience for Mom and Dad, but it was also quite a new experience for me, in that I literally had to drive up a mountain... yikes!!

Now, as many of you know, I'm not a big fan of driving here. I try to avoid it as much as possible... Since our move to Germany, Brian has pretty much taken over the role as designated driver. :) I'm ok with driving short distances around town, but when it comes to long road trips, I very happily turn the keys over to Brian. :) Well, that is, until he broke his leg... Since then, it's been another story... I've now been promoted to "designated driver"... Grrr!! And my driving abilities have really been tested over the past month, as I've had visits from my sister and my parents... And, the only way to really get around to see all of the sights is by car... So, in the past month, I've had to get over my fear of driving here VERY quickly! And, I have to say, that I managed to do just that, and over the past month I have had some huge accomplishments in regards to driving... Most notably, driving up a mountain in Switzerland!! :)

Mom, Dad, and I embarked on our journey to Switzerland early on a Saturday morning... As we drove, we watched the sun come up over the Alps. The scenery was amazing ... Between the rolling green hills, the mountains, and the cutest little towns and villages where the flowers were in full bloom.... It was definitely a beautiful drive!

As we neared Mt. Santis, I noticed that we started to make our way uphill. (Now, for the record, I DO NOT like going uphill while driving a stick shift... It makes me VERY nervous!!) I didn't get too worked up at that time, as I figured that we would simply go uphill for a short time until we arrived at the parking lot for the cable car, which we would then take up to the top of the mountain. Oh how very wrong was I!! We continued to make our way uphill, higher and higher and higher... As I continued to climb higher, I began to panic... The only thing I could get out of my mouth was "I didn't know I had to drive up a mountain! I'm not ready to drive up a mountain!"... Meanwhile, Mom was in the backseat trying not to notice the fact that when she looked out the window all she saw was a sheer drop off, and praying that I didn't go off the side of the road! :)

Let's just say the drive up seemed to take FOREVER! I was gripping the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles were white! :) Thankfully Dad was sitting in the front with me and was able to talk me through the drive. Mom was encouraging me from the back as well... I was quite happy when we finally arrived at the parking area, which was located about 3/4 of the way up the mountain... Crazy!! But, as scary as it was, I was quite proud of my accomplishment. :)

After our driving adventure up the mountain, the three of us took the cable car to the top of Mt. Santis... The view was absolutely stunning!! :) We wandered around the top of the mountain for a while before we took the cable car back down and headed to Zurich...

The trip to Zurich was much more uneventful than the drive up the mountain. I actually found driving in downtown Zurich to be less stressful! :) Zurich is a very pretty city with its old buildings and gorgeous views of the Alps. We spent the afternoon in Zurich wandering around the downtown area. Unfortunately it was a Swiss national holiday, so none of the stores were open... Although, based on the fact that Switzerland is outrageously expensive (a large Coke at McDonald's is almost $7), it wasn't too much of a disappointment! :)

Overall, we had a fabulous day in Switzerland... It was filled with many accomplishments, alot of laughs, and beautiful scenery! What more could you ask for?? :)

On the way up the mountain... :)

Dad and I with Na-Tah-Ka at the top of Mt. Santis... :)

The view from the top...

Absolutely stunning!! :)

Mom and Dad at the top of Mt. Santis... :)

The three of us... :)

The cars lined the road leading to the parking area... Being that it was a Swiss National Holiday, it was BUSY!!

The view of the Alps on our walk back to the car... Such a beautiful area! :)

We found these two little guys laying between two cars in the parking lot, in their attempt to get out of the hot sun... Poor things! :( And, of course, I had to go pet them! :)