I've been home from Europe for 14 months and I haven't even finished blogging about it!

It's pathetic, I know.

I will get around to finishing one of these days, I promise!

Unfortunately, I haven't been blogging other aspects of my life as a result of wanting to keep up on my Europe posts (and clearly failing at that, too), and I decided this last Christmas weekend that it was simply unacceptable!

My life has been a constant whirlwind for the last six months and now that I finally have a reprieve from classes I'm getting around to documenting some of the most important things that have happened. 

So, prepare for a whirlwind of posts!

 (Mainly used for my own documenting type purposes :) ).

My Month in Europe: Swiss Alps!

Well, it's officially been one year since I was in Europe. 

Oddly enough, at this time last year I had just left the Swiss Alps for Germany!

It's a little pathetic that it's been an entire year and I'm still working on blogging my trip, but when you spend 23 days in Europe and you're intent on blogging each and every one of those, it can take some time!

Especially when it comes to days like this day spent in the Swiss Alps.

I'll just say from the start that it was honestly, completely, 100% beyond words.

Every time I've tried to describe it to anyone I get so frustrated at my inability to put the feelings I felt and the things I experienced this day into words, and their inability to comprehend something so life changing for me.

So in order to give you the most authentic description possible, I'm going to share this day using what I wrote in my travel journal that night back at the hotel (with some more personal experiences left out).

Captions are from Instagram posts made during and after the trip!

October 9th, 2014

"Wow, I'm just going to start this by saying that there is no way I'll be able to adequately describe how truly incredible this day was.

We woke fairly early to drive into the Alps, and the drive was so surreal and beautiful. Then, seeing the Alps even from the bus was breathtaking.

We rode the gondola up and none of us could believe our eyes. I barely wanted to take pictures because I knew they wouldn't come close to doing the real thing justice. It was an unusually clear day so we could see all of the peaks perfectly.

Today was one of the most perfect and unbelievable days of my life.
#hikingtheswissalps

A group of us hiked (well, leisurely walked, really) from the gondola into Muren. We had the Alps in front of us the whole time and every view was truly magnificent! I wish I could adequately describe the feeling and the view.  

 

Once getting to Muren and catching our breath from the view, we found a place to have Swiss cheese fondue! We had a great view and ate amazing and delectable tomato soup and fondue! Switzerland really does have the best cheese and chocolate. Oh! And Water! They have running water spigots where you can fill up water bottles with water fresh from the Alps! It was the best water I've ever tasted!

Alright friends, I know you're all sick of my Europe posts, but I am so nostalgic for this today! It's hard to believe I was eating Swiss cheese fondue, in the Swiss Alps, drinking fresh Alp water, petting Swiss cows, and buying a Swiss watch from the sweetest little old lady. That day was as close to perfect as you can get.
#swissalps

We walked around to some shops where I bought a shirt and also walked up to see some Swiss cows! They really do have bells, and I swear the cows there are actually cute :)

After spending time in Muren we went back to the Gondola to take it down. While waiting for the Gondola I was able to catch a few minutes alone just taking in the view. I had an indescribable and truly perfect moment of the deepest gratitude to Heavenly Father. I couldn't help but feel so much love and gratitude, I was overcome with it. I am truly grateful for those rare and precious moments that I feel so remarkably close to Him. 

These mountains allowed for so many moments of peace and profound disbelief. I spent the entire day in awe of this world and my Father in Heaven who created it. As I go to sleep tonight and cary on through the rest of my life I will always remember this day and the deep sense of gratitude I felt that was impossible to ignore. The Swiss Alps will forever hold a special place in my heart. 

Once down off the mountain we walked around more and I surprisingly found a Swiss watch I fell in love with! So of course, I splurged.

I bought it from the sweetest little old lady who told us her story in broken English. She was born in the home that still stands across the street from her store and has lived there her entire life. Her and her husband lived there together and he has since passed, but she wakes up every morning and carries on running the business independently. She was the sweetest.

It wasn't a fancy or a busy day. It was simple, relaxed, and easy, but so very, very special. I will remember my Swiss Alps experience for a long time to come!"

Last night I had a beautiful view of the Wasatch mountains as my plane was flying in. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was home. No mountain range will ever compare with the magnificence of the Swiss Alps, but for now I am perfectly content to call the beautiful mountains of Utah my home.

My Month in Europe: Zurich Day Two

I must have been exceptionally tired this day, because I only have a few pictures from everything that we did!

We started off our morning with a business visit to Partner's Group, a private investment company.

The presentation was really interesting, but the best part was afterward!

They had pots of warm milk with little packets of Caotina hot chocolate, and it was easily the best hot chocolate I had ever tasted.

I took a picture of the package so I could look for it during our time in Switzerland, and I ended up finding a big tin of it when we were in the Alps the next day!

I still have about half left (almost a year later!) and I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering some once I run out!

We had some time to burn before our chocolate factory tour (yes, you read that right, we were going to tour a SWISS chocolate factory!), so we made our way into the city of Lucerne.

You guys, if I thought I loved Switzerland before Lucerne, then that city definitely sealed the deal.

LOOK at that!
I think I should move there :)

We walked along the bridge where I took this photo and I was just in heaven with how clean, simple, quiet, and serene this city felt.

After a couple of hours we got on the bus to drive through the Swiss countryside to the Maestrani chocolate factory!

These bus rides are some of my favorite memories with the people I spent a month of my life touring Europe with.
On this particular trip, our bus driver, Patrick, made us all sing some very terrible karaoke.
I know someone has some videos somewhere that I need to steal!

Now, back to the factory tour!

Let me tell ya... the chocolate... oh the chocolate is literally heaven!

At the beginning of the tour they show you a video about the history of Maestrani, which you watch while eating endless samples of their chocolate.

Walking out of the little theatre room they hand you a wafer dipped in fresh, hot, chocolate fondue.
This was before the tour had officially started and I thought I had already died and gone to heaven!

They have a rule that throughout the tour you absolutely must be eating their fresh samples as you walk through.
(Think Costco sample day times 1,000,000 and with the greatest chocolate you've ever had.)

They make their chocolate with cocoa beans from Peru and with milk from cows that live in the Swiss Alps. These cows have a very organic diet, drinking water from the alps and only feeding on the flowers and vegetation that grows in the mountains.
I wish I could have just had a glass of milk from one of the Swiss cows!

At the end of the tour they have a store where you can buy everything you just tasted (and more!).
After getting something for everyone in my family and enough to keep a stock for myself for a good year, I had spent $60 on chocolate alone.

Even though I was so sick from chocolate by the end of the tour I so do not regret spending that much!
In fact, as I'm writing this I'm enjoying my second to last bar of chocolate, Orange Noir, or Dark Chocolate Orange :)

By the time we got back into Zurich we were so sick from chocolate and needed some real food, so we headed back to Louis ' Take-Away that we had the night before.
It really was that good! Or maybe we were just really starting to miss the USA...!

While we were eating we heard some music nearby, so we walked down to this romantic little cobblestone square with restaurants all around.
There was a band there playing called SoulManiacs, and they were pretty good!
We stayed to listen and dance, and also entertain ourselves with some incredibly drunk people ;)

It was so fun to stumble across that little gem!
It felt like such an authentic moment and I absolutely loved it.

The music all throughout Europe, from the guitarists and singers to the accordion players, really added a lot of value and experience to the trip for me.

My Month in Europe: Zurich Day One!

I have to say, it was a big mistake to drag out getting all of these posts done!

I'm coming up on a year from when we left for Europe, and looking at pictures and reading my travel journal is just breaking my heart!

I want to be back so desperately!

I suppose I'll have to be content with blogging about it here for family's enjoyment (as well as my own!). 

This was the day that we travelled from Strasbourg, France, to Zurich, SWITZERLAND!

I was so excited for Switzerland!

On the drive we cut through a corner of Germany and our wheels hit the Autobahn for the first time!

Unfortunately, we were on a giant bus, and our awesome bus driver, Patrick, was responsible enough and kept the speed down.

But it was so cool to see all of these Ferrari's, Maserati's, BMW's, Porsches, and more flying by us at ridiculous speeds.

One day I'll go back and experience that first-hand, preferably in an Aston Martin ;)

We stopped at the Burg Hohenzollern Castle while we were in Germany too!

I stole the above photo from this website, where you can read all about the castle!

The drive up to the castle was a long, slow, windy road, but we kept catching glimpses of the castle above and the valley below, and it was breathtaking.

The views from the castle were incredible, too!

Although, it was rather windy all the way up there on that hill...

Hey, at least I look happy!
There was more than one failed attempt at taking that photo, so we had to change scenery...

...much better :)

LOVE these girls!

Once we got to Zurich we had some time so we walked around downtown!
I was immediately impressed with how incredibly clean the city was!

Walking around we saw the exterior of the Protestant Reformation Church, which doesn't have stained glass for windows, but rather the windows are made out of rocks!

We walked around the shopping district and the lake.
I quickly fell so in love with Switzerland.

Switzerland can't really be explained, but it's just so clean and polished.
The atmosphere was just great and I felt so comfortable there.

It also helped that Switzerland was easily winning on the car front so far...

Engine in the back... :D

We walked down to the lake where there were dozens of Swans.
It was a gorgeous night!

We finally ventured off to find some dinner, and that's when we realized that no one was kidding when they said Switzerland was expensive!
To put it into perspective, a McDonald's meal would have been about $15!

We didn't dare sit down anywhere to eat, so we found this placed called Louis' Take-Away and I got a Tina Burger, which I highly recommend!
The sauce on that thing and the swiss cheese were to die for. I'm craving it just thinking about it.
We even went back for it the next night, too!

When we were walking back to our hotel we came across a place called Bierhalle Wolfe with a band from Austria playing inside. They were decked out in their lederhosen and all!
We wanted to go in dance, but you had to either eat dinner or order alcohol, so we stood outside and listened for a bit.
The guys kept looking over and at one point they said something to us over the microphone, but all we could say back was "English!"
All they said back was "Room #10!"

Crazy Austrians :)

We ended the evening with another ridiculously intense game of Catch Phrase in Katy and I's room.
We all got competitive to the point that a few friendly fights broke out, but us ladies obviously ended up dominating and winning yet another game!

It's safe to say that at this point I didn't think I would ever want to go home.
Switzerland is perfect.

My Month in Europe: Strasbourg Days One and Two

Strasbourg Day One

After Paris our next adventure was on to Strasbourg, the capital of France!

We desperately needed a little bit of a break from the adventure filled days of London and Paris, so this couldn't have come at a more perfect time!

Our travel day to Strasbourg was very relaxed, and to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot! 

Before we left Paris we stopped by the Paris Temple site, where we had a presentation from a member of the church involved with purchasing the ground the temple was to be built on. 

I was so miserably tired that I was hardly coherent and barely remember the presentation.

Oops!

Once we got to Strasbourg we went to an "American" diner called Franky's. 

I was surprised to be craving a hamburger and a milkshake, but I suppose nearly two weeks into the trip I just wanted a little taste of home!

I had the best chocolate banana milkshake and I was satisfied for another few weeks until we were home :)

That night we just spent in the hotel playing catch phrase, chatting, and catching up on some major sleep.

Strasbourg Day Two

The next day we woke up bright and early for a business visit with the European Union. 

I was really ridiculously excited for this visit, but unfortunately, I was still so exhausted.

When we were preparing for the trip, our teachers told us that there would be a point that we hit a wall, and this was definitely that point.

Our tour guides for the EU were fantastic and so incredibly knowledgeable.

At one point they took us to a room for a presentation with comfy chairs and dimmed lights, and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever struggled more to keep my eyes open. 

I kept looking around and nearly half of our group had their eyes closed.

I felt so bad, and we probably came across as so unprofessional. 

Overall though, it was a great visit!

We had the rest of the day to ourselves, so first up on our list was a nice long nap.

Katy and I went back to our room and were out nearly as soon as our heads hit our pillows.

That was the most glorious nap of my entire life...

Until...

The loudest, blaring, fire alarm woke us up.

I am an incredibly light sleeper, but it took me a good minute to realize it was a fire alarm disturbing me. 

I thought it was Katy's phone and I was so irrationally angry at her, I was about to yell at her to make it stop.

Then, at the same time, we both realized it was a fire alarm.

I confusedly and sleepily poked my head out the door, half dressed, wondering if we actually needed to go downstairs.

By the time Katy and I were putting on clothes and shoes and grabbing our most important belongings, the fire alarm stopped.

It took us a good while to snap out of our groggy and grumpy state, but once we did we felt refreshed enough to head out for the day!

Katy, Brandon, Ryan, and I all went to Old Town to explore and walk around for a bit. 

It was absolutely perfect and everything I had imagined France to be!

Bakeries, patisseries, Fromageries, Creperies, Chocolatiers, quint mom and pop shops, dogs wandering around off of leashes, cobblestone streets, and more. 

I was in heaven. 

I mean, just look at that! ^

We made our way to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg, which had magnificent architecture. 

Story goes that the building owner didn't want the design of the cathedral to ever be replicated, so once they finished building it he took all of the architects and builders up to the top and pushed them off. 

The locals claim this to be true, but who knows!

After the cathedral we were on a hunt for crepes and gelato.

We found a place that served both, and I'm pretty sure were those obnoxious tourists who don't speak french, don't know how to order food, and went back twice for crepes and gelato ;)

But let me tell ya, those crepes and that gelato sure hit the spot.

Who says you can't have dessert for dinner?!

When in France, right? :)

Straciatella, Raspberry, and Mango gelato pictured above :)

What I wouldn't give for some of that right now!

On our walk back to the hotel we sampled nearly everything we could in all of the different shops.

It was a truly fantastic, relaxing, and rejuvenating day.

Exactly what was needed!