We started today with a walking tour of Lucerne - a small city of only 65,000 people, but it is one of the top 10 most visited cities in the world. I have never seen such a beautiful city like this - it might not even be right to call it a city. On a clear warm day like today, we were sitting on steps eating our lunch and looking at a clear blue lake surrounded by green countryside and the Swiss Alps! It didn’t feel like real life being in city that had such gorgeous scenery. Ideally, this is the best of both worlds for me!
We met a local who (was pretty cute) told us that the water in Lake Lucerne is so clean that fish can’t live in it (no food for them). That’s so crazy to me because the Atlantic Ocean water I grew up with is so dirty and gross!
At the last minute, I decided to do the Mt. Pilatus excursion, which ended up being one the most amazing experiences of the trip!! We took a ferry through Lake Lucerne for an hour - which consisted of me gazing out into the gorgeous mountains and bright green grass wondering what it must be like to live in the mountains….if only…
We got to Mount Pilatus and got free hats for the ride! I’m not a big hat person, but I enjoyed having it on backwards all day with my Ray Bans on. We took a train all the way to the top of the mountain, which is 7,000 ft high! The ride was fun because we were all trying to take pics, but either a cave would come suddenly or trees would randomly pop out! Even as we got higher, we saw cows grazing grass and people climbing who had started from the very bottom. I would love to do that someday, but I should probably start with something smaller than the Swiss Alps.
When we finally got to the top after the train dropped us off, I stood up on a ledge, looked down, and felt on top of the world. The air was fresher and cleaner than anything I had ever inhaled before. I was so amazed at how we were above the clouds - and on top of that, the fact that naturally made things like mountains exist above the clouds.
I gazed out into the mountains thinking how peaceful it is up here. Nothing moves, except you. The greatest movement otherwise is the cow grazing the grass. I guess I haven’t been surrounded by mountains so far in my life. Seeing snow on top of the Alps, seeing cows surviving at about 3,000 ft high and looking down at Switzerland was so mesmerizing for me. This was a moment of peace & tranquility that I’ll never forget. The combination in Switzerland of clear water, green grass, and mountains is my idea of true relaxation and peace.
Later that day, Manin spotted a grey strand of hair on my head!! (EW!) He said I’m too stressed out and that really hit home for me. I LOVE how I feel when I’m completely at ease, like on this trip or at a live concert. So the fact that I have a grey hair at 19 makes me afraid I’m not enjoying life enough. Gotta work on destressing myself.
Back at the hotel, a bunch of us were being goofy on our porch staring out at our beautiful mountainous view. It was SO much fun. I’m so glad we’ve gotten to the point that everyone is comfortable with each other and we can be silly without fear of judgement. I truly felt like I was being myself, being real, and feeling proud of who I am.
Overall, it was an amazing day and I was so impressed with Switzerland. I would love to come back for a week and sail around on a boat, climb mountains, and lay in the grass gazing into the abyss. Breathe in the crisp air and live in a moment of happiness.