Switzerland (Day 1)

I’m in the birth land of Roger Federer!! Well, aside from that this country has the most beautiful sights you can ever imagine.  Green meadows, high mountains and of course historical sites.  But beware, Swiss is one of the most expensive countries to splurge on whether for food, shopping or hotels. So before you go to Swiss, remember to prepare extra money before your trip. Oh and also for Indonesian travelers, don’t forget to exchange your money in Indonesia not in Europe. I strongly suggest this since the currency in Indonesia for Swiss Francs or Euros are stronger compare to Europe.

Now back to the trip. My family and I flew by Garuda Indonesia from Jakarta to Amsterdam. We took an 8 hour flight -transit in Abu Dhabi. We left at around 8 o’clock PM and arrived in Amsterdam at 9.15 AM. When we arrived, we had several issues with our luggage. Everyone got their luggage except for several people, including me. I don’t want to think of it as a sign of bad luck; as it is at the beginning of our trip. Thankfully, we were able to retrieve our luggage. But because of that we missed our flight to Zurich by KLM. So then, we have to buy tickets to Zurich by using Swiss Air. When we arrived at Flughafen Zurich (Zurich International Airport), it was already 3 o’clock in the evening. This is such shame as we have already constructed a schedule and we were supposed to go sight-seeing around Zurich for a whole day.

As I told you before, Swiss has the most expensive hotel rates. Luckily, my mom has a friend who lives in Swiss. She used to work in the same office as my mom. She’s such an angel; she welcomed us to her home with open arms. By staying at her house, we were able to save a lot of money so blessed her. I thought she lives in Zurich, instead she lives in a small city called Bulach (only 20 minutes away from Zurich by car). This city is so beautiful; I can imagine myself living here. It’s quiet, peaceful and everybody seems to know everybody. What I love most about the location of her house is that it is located in the Old Town. So, here’s a fun fact. Every city in Europe has an Old Town where the Old Town is separated by a wall. So, if you walk around a certain country in Europe and there is giant wall, then it means you are about to enter the Old Town. 

Me, Ms.Patricia and Mom in front of the Wall. Now, it's in a form of a house

Usually, this town has brick floors and not asphalt roads like most cities. Another indication of the Old Town is that there are old houses that looks like it came out of a fairy tale. I stopped by a big house made from wood with beautiful carvings with heart shaped windows. It looks just like a house from Snow White! Many of the houses are also surrounded by lovely flower gardens.  The interesting facts about houses like these are that the owners are not allowed to alter the design of the house. You cannot change the outside of the house but you are allowed to re-decorate the inside of the house. If you want to change the exterior of the house, you must have legal rights. It’s very complicated, but I love that they are able to preserve old values in this modern time. Although the vintage houses are amazing, my mom’s friend (Ms.Patricia), lives in a 3 floor small apartment. Nevertheless, it’s also very beautiful.

Beautiful Old House

Another unique factor about Bulach is there is a church in the center of the city. This church is no ordinary church, it resembles a clock tower. For every hour of the day, the clock will ring. It rings longer around midnight and early in the morning around 6’ o clock in the morning (intended to wake people up). Guess what the best part is? The church is near Ms. Patricia’s apartment! Lucky us huh? However, since I was so tired, I got to the point where I can ignore the continuous ringing of the church bells. 

Stay tune for Day 2, it gets even better. And get this; we saw snow in the summer in Swiss! I’ll post about it later. Adieu!