Understated Abroad

Wow it's 2019 and I finally figured out how to upload this video to ze blog and I am SUPER PUMPED to be able to share it on this platform. This video was really one of the biggest joys of 2017 for me because it captures so many sweet sweet moments of one of the best years EVER. 

I first heard this song in 2016 and I just knew that it would be the perfect soundtrack for a year where I got to explore so many incredible new places. 

The year started out in Atlanta, GA for Passion Conference, the most incredible gathering of young people that love the heck out of Jesus. Carrie Underwood was there, and we stayed in the hotel where they filmed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 

In between a lot of Phi Lamb Prez fun, the SLiCK roomies and I visited the Johnsons in Dallas Texas. We went to the movies and saw the majestic Emma Watson in The Beauty and The Beast (we also saw James Cordon recreate the performance in the middle of a crosswalk). Highlights also included the Aquarium and Arboretum. 

In the summer I took advance Spanish in summer school (ew.) and ate a lot of snow cones with the sibs. Also, I got ready to go on the adventure of a lifetime. 

In August I took off for Europe and this whole crazy thing got started. London was amazing and full of fun solo travel. But the adventure really got started when I arrived in Geneva and met all my incredible classmates and my host mother. Super special shout out to mon pommes de terres the Alt Squad. Brussels, Paris, Lisbon, Florence, Stockholm, and EVERY SINGLE CORNER of Switzerland. Ugh, 2017 you have my heart. 

Stockholm was one of the coolest and most hip cities I have ever had the fortune of visiting. I knew coming in that the city had a hipster reputation but I didn't know how good the food would be!! In Switzerland the food was good, but it had been a long long time since I had had fried chicken or tacos or BRUNCH.  It had also been forever since I had had a good cup of filter coffee. Stockholm had all of this and more, and quickly became one of my favorite European cities. To celebrate the wonderfulness that is the city of islands, I thought I'd do a round-up of all the best food I had there because there were some GEMS in this city.

Best Brunch: Greasy Spoon

Brunch an essential part of the food scene in Stockholm, and Greasy Spoon does it SO WELL. The food was amazing (I recommend the bacon scotch pancakes, the full English, and any variety of egg) and the coffee had FREE REFILLS!! UGHHHHHH just like home.  Another cool part of this cool spot was that all the waiters and waitresses all wore overalls, but not in like a farmer way, in like a trendy/comfy/casual/cool way. Overall, if you only eat in one place in Stockholm, make it this one. 

Best Tacos: La Neta

La Neta was the first place I ate in Stockholm, and it really set the tone for the whole city. The tacos were INCREDIBLE and authentic, the employees spoke Spanish with me, and the salsa was deliciosa. 

Best Fika: Cafe Pascal

Fika, aka the best cultural tradition I have ever heard of, and also the love of my life, is the Swedish tradition of a coffee/snack break.  Because of this,  the cafes and coffee in Stockholm really are a cut above the rest. All of them were really great (even the chain spots like Espresso House), but Cafe Pascal was cute and airy and had a great cinnamon roll. Fika is everything in Stockholm, and fika is everything to me.

Friendliest Employees: Cafe Bolingo

Trying to find a place to brunch on a Sunday morning in Stockholm without a 4-hour wait is a lot like trying to find a place to park at a Razorback football game. It's nearly impossible. So when we found Cafe Bolingo with nearly no one in it, we didn't know what to expect. What we found was fantastic food and friendly service. They even gave us free coffee and pastries when our food took longer to cook than expected. Why is everyone so nice in this country? 

Overall Sweden was an incredible country and Stockholm had way more to offer than just its incredible food scene. If you haven't already, think about saying Hej Hej to the Swedes and enjoying the land of the fika. 

As I have talked about a bit before, our independent study period gives us a lot more flexibility with our schedules and finally gave some extra time for long weekend trips. The first destination on my list was Lisbon, Portugal. 

Lisbon, or Lisboa in Portuguese, was a dream. A mix of Mediterranean and European styles, Lisbon was a warm and fun getaway from the chilly hustle and bustle of Geneva. We had a great time walking along the winding (and extremely uneven) cobblestone streets and buying as much food as we could to take advantage of the lower prices (coming from Geneva any meal under $20 is basically free). 

Here's a round-up of everything that I recommend checking out if you ever find yourself in the capital of Portugal: 

Tile 

Portugal is known for its artisan tile work, and it was evident, as 75% of the buildings were covered in beautiful arabesque tile. This really set the tone for the entire city and made walking around the city even more enjoyable (as if that was possible). 

TAP Portugal 

Time-Out Market

POP Cereal Cafe

Probably the greatest little surprise of our trip was this cereal bar that we stumbled upon in Barrio Alto. For only 5 euros you get a delicious bowl of cereal and they even put a scoop of ice cream on top, because why not. Eat breakfast here, eat dinner here, eat here in the middle of the night, just get here okay? 

Sintra, Portugal

Sardines

 The cool thing about Switzerland is that you don't have to search very hard in order to find a beautiful place to spend a day. This proved true the day that we decided to visit Kandersteg and Oeschinensee. Oeschinensee is a beautiful crystal clear lake at the top of a mountain. But apparently, the route up to see it closed for the season in early October (I mean it's cold, but it's not that cold). We somehow ended up seeing a little lake called Blausee (pictured above). The following is a retelling of a day filled with happy accidents and beautiful views. What are the chances? 

7:45 am: I wake up after about 7 alarms go off, and get dressed for the day in my warmest fall clothes, assuming that in a few hours I will be on top of a mountain. 

8:20 am: I pack a lunch and make a coffee to go, taking my time for the moment, as I still have a good amount of time before my train leaves. 

8:30 am: I discuss my plans for the day with my host mother over a raspberry yogurt. 

8:34 am: I realize that the train leaves at 8:39 am, that I live 20 minutes away from the train station, and that I am never going to make it.  

8:35 am: While waiting for the elevator, I see that there is a 3-minute delay on the train (an anomaly in Switzerland) and think "I can work with this." 

8:37 am: My bike pass works for once in my life, and I hop on an e-bike and literally fly towards the train station, yelling out "PARDON!" and "EXCUSEZ-MOI" to all the people I practically run over. 

8:42 am: I somehow miraculously beat the train to the station, park my bike, and get on board the train, out of breath and amazed that I made it on time. This was an all-time bicycle speed record, and I expect calls from the Olympic Committee shortly. This was the first miracle of the day. 

11:30 am: We arrive in Kandersteg, only to find that the cable car to the mountain is not doing what we want it to do. We ask the employee at the tourism office what to do, and she writes a German word on a business card and tells us to get on the next bus and then get off when everybody else does. We say okay.  

11:50 am: We get off when everybody else does, not really sure where we are, and not really sure what we are looking for. We follow everyone else to a little ticket hut. 

11:52 am: We buy our tickets (with that student discount whatuppp) and ask the ticket lady how long the hike is to wherever we're going (still unclear at this point). She responds with "Go looking." We say okay. 

11:55 am: After validating our ticket and walking about thirty yards, we found what we were looking for: 

CRYSTAL CLEAR BLUE WATER

FALL FOLIAGE

SCENIC VISTAS

12:15 pm: We walk several laps around the little blue lake, totally dumbfounded by how we had ended up here and how it was so beautiful. You can see the trout in the first pic just living their life in the most clear lil lake I've ever been privy to. This was definitely the second miracle of the day. 

We are immediately met by a glacial waterfall and some very well maintained trails.  All smiles.

The inside was as cute as the outside.

Milch, lol.

Now that we no longer have class every day (helloooooo thesis project), we're free to set our own schedules and work on our research on our own.  For me, this means that exploring Switzerland isn't just for the weekends anymore. Enter: this Tuesday trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. 



This GORGEOUS valley is home 72 waterfalls and some seriously scenic vistas. Fall was in full swing, and the trees throughout the valley were vivid with color. And unlike hiking up the mountains, hiking through the valleys is leisurely and doesn't make you think you have asthma. Still takes your breath away though. 

My face all the time in Swiss nature.

The highlight of the valley is the Staubbach Waterfall, the tallest freefalling waterfall in Europe. You can even walk right behind it and take in the view. 

WOWOWOWOW. Mountains and fountains, ya know?

Laughing about how great life is when you don't have class every day.

From the main falls you can take a casual hike to see the rest of the valley and waterfalls and a lot of happy Swiss cows. And some goats. 

One day we'll all be goats.

Another highlight of the valley was Trümellbach Falls, which was 11 consecutive waterfalls INSIDE A MOUNTAIN. Super loud, super nature, super cool.  

Caves are not conducive to good photo lighting, but here is 1/11 falls.

Me, in a cave, looking at a waterfall. Probably saying "wow".

On the walk back to the train station (we love you SBB) we saw a vending machine.  That in itself was a little odd, and when we got closer, we saw that it was filled with local jams, cheeses, and wines. SO SWISS!!!

Like Wandering Oaken's Trading Post from Frozen, but in 2017 and a bit more Swiss.

And of course, I got to see my favorite Swiss cows. Look how cute they are. The cows here are basically a national treasure and take priority over everything else.  We found this out when we turned around and saw a herd of cows holding up about 10 cars worth of traffic. Even more Swiss. 

THE COWS. THE MOUNTAINS. FALL.

T'was a magical Tuesday.