As the University of Kent school system includes a month-long Easter break with no classes and a campus that empties, most students either go home or, if they’re internationals, go traveling. My boyfriend, Andy, and I had been planning a three-week Europe trip for a while, so it felt almost surreal when the time came for me to pick him up at the airport. We visited London, Ireland, Amsterdam, Paris, and Switzerland, each location for about three days, and now that I’m back in Canterbury, I’m sorting through pictures and feeling a bit nostalgic. The trip was so interesting, and I got to experience so many places that I’d never been before (anywhere outside the U.K.). Blogging about it all together would be a disaster though, so I’m going to skip to my favorite parts and do those first.

                Besides London, which will probably always hold a special place in my heart, I loved either Switzerland or Ireland the most. (I blogged about Ireland before, when I visited Galway, but this time I got to spend more time in different locations and travel across the country more.) The country is just so beautiful, raw, and comforting in subtle ways. Even though some of the towns are run-down or industrial, the landscape is always breathtaking, and the slow pace of life away from a city appealed to me, especially after long days walking around. Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed Switzerland too: once again, the landscape was unbelievable, like screen-savers that are actually real. (I always assumed the Swiss Alps photos you see in picture frames are photoshopped, but the mountains looked even better than the pictures.) In fact, after walking out of a pub one night, we thought the sky in front of us was really dark, but it was actually just the giant mountain looming in front of us and obscuring all the starlight.

We stayed in the resort town, Interlaken, which means “between two lakes” in German, at the best hostel in the world–for all you considering a visit, Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof is a must-stay hostel. It had a home-y feel and a cappuccino maker that was free. In contrast to the go-go-go lifestyle of touring cities such as Paris or Amsterdam, life in Interlaken moved at a slower pace–as most people staying there were on vacation themselves–and we spent many hours just sitting on couches and watching live footage of skiers on the Jungfrau. Although we considered taking a Flying Wheels motorbike tour of the Alps, the steep price and the possibility of rain convinced us to take a leisurely hike on our own instead: we found a local trail that went around one of the lakes, so we got to see the town of Thun across the water. It did start pouring halfway through our hike though, so we returned to our hostel drenched and ready to eat Lindt chocolate (which we did…a lot).

                The rest of the time, we walked around the town, which was full of tourist shops selling the quintessential Swiss trinkets: watches, clocks, knives, cheese, and chocolate abound, although to get quality stuff you have to spend more money than I was willing to. In fact, everything was really expensive in Interlaken: even though the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Swiss Frank is roughly the same, a Caesar salad at McDonald’s costs 12 Swiss Franks…it was the cheapest dinner we could find. Needless to say, we lived out of grocery stores that weekend and bought few souvenirs. The view of the mountains and the gorgeousness of the town, however, made up for it all. Although the town was pretty touristy, it was also a haven–with people paragliding and flying kites, mini-golfing (which we did too!), and biking around. My favorite part of Interlaken was definitely getting off the beaten path a bit to walk the paths around the mountains and glacier-water rivers: nothing can beat Switzerland for raw beauty. Even now, back at home, I find myself thinking of Switzerland most when I recall my trip, and I’d definitely recommend the trek to get through the mountains to a small Swiss town–the landscape is stunning and the relaxation is a nice break. The chocolate isn’t that bad either.

Location: Interlaken, Switzerland