Last nights hike was lovely. I went on a twilight hike to the waterfalls just around the valley, and it only took about an hour to get there. It was a very pleasant hike and it was not up a strenuous hill or anything, which was nice. I was back to the chalet by 10pm to enjoy a warm cup of hot cocoa. Today is my day off and Elaine, Christina and I decided to travel to Lugano for the day. Lugano is located in the southeast part of Switzerland and is known to be Italian-Swiss country with lush Mediterranean vegetation and vineyards. Lugano resides in the canton of Ticino and is highly influenced by the Italian culture, Italian/Romansh is the language spoken in the region. Our day began at 8am when we took the bus down to Frutigen to catch the train that will eventually take us to Lugano. But, since the Tour de Suisse was going through Frutigen (unknown at the time), the normal route was blocked and thus we had to take a detour along a very scary footpath or wanderweg (german word pronounced vanderveg). We arrived to the station with only 2 minutes to spare and since we had to purchase our tickets we therefore missed the first train we wanted to board. The next train left 45 minutes later, bummer. But, that was okay, the time gave us a chance to go to Coop (local grocery store) and buy lunch to go and snacks for later in the day, this ended up saving us money on purchasing food. The lady at the train station gave us a timetable so we would arrive in Lugano around 2. Originally, we were supposed to arrive in Lugano around 1:30pm. We arrived in Brig on time, but little did we know the next train we were scheduled to take was actually the Glacier Express and since you must have a reservation we did not board the 10:40am train to Andermatt, bummer again. So, we sat in Brig for another 40 minutes to wait for the regular train to Andermatt, hurray it came! We boarded the train and we were off for a 2 hour scenic route through a part of Switzerland I probably would never see =). We switched at a station I cannot remember the name or know how to spell it and we were off to Bellinzona and then to Lugano. The train ride through Ticino was my favorite part: the Spanish tile roofs, the hillside and mountainous vineyards, the lush green mountains, the monster bridges and dangerously steep tunnels was absolutely unexplainable. We switched trains in Bellinzona and boarded an Italian train. Even the way people dress was entirely different than anything I have seen in Switzerland, and I really liked it. The Italians would stare at us from time to time then proceed to carry on with their personal matters. Hurray, we arrived to Lugano around 3pm after a very long semi-complicated day of travel. The weather was not sunny and perfect, but rather eerie and gray and somewhat calming. It was not raining, yet, but since we purchased a travel day pass we got to ride the trams and buses around Lugano. Our first train was to the piazza or main square part of town. We were literally dropped off in the middle of town and there were cute little shops all around. We followed the cobblestone road around Lugano. I took pictures of all the buildings and architecture and anything that I fancied. I really wanted to visit Parco Civico, the main park of Lugano. I took a picture in front of the fountain and we eventually made it to Lake Lugano. It was now raining a little bit but the mountains, lake and city buildings facing the lake were still beautiful. I even saw a man swimming laps in the lake. We walked along the lake and eventually reached the beachy part of Lake Lugano, although it was too wet to actually do any beach activities. We finally arrived to Parco Civico and it was situated facing the lake. The plants, flowers and trees were very different from the Bernese Oberland as the climate is much warmer in South Switzerland. I even saw some palm trees! There was a casino, library and museum throughout the park. I saw people studying through the very large windows in the library. We then stopped for a hot drink and I bought some post cards along the way. We wandered around the town for an hour or so and then walked into a local church. The inside of the church was absolutely beautiful; I was purely amazed as to how beautiful, intricate and delicate it was inside. There were orchids, roses and other flowers but the detail was breath-taking. Next, we continued wandering until we got to the main square, which reminded me of something that Italy would look like. After that we walked uphill on Villa Catedral to the Cathedral. It was remodeled during the 15th century! We walked along a little red stone road up an alley with shops and boutiques all along the way. When we got to the top we could see the view of the city and lake and it was quite beautiful. The red Spanish tile roofs and lake were very tranquil in my opinion, I really enjoyed the view and took a minute to soak in its’ beauty. We walked into the cathedral and again the inside was gorgeous and anciently decorated. The wood-work, paints and stained glass windows were unique, I have never seen a cathedral or church of such beauty. I really enjoyed the inside. It allows peace of mind and peace for the soul. I enjoyed taking a minute to relax, reflect and enjoy life. After the cathedral, we sat at a bench to take pictures, relax and people watch. The break was quite pleasant. The three of us then went to a pizzeria to get pizza and drinks to take on the train to go back to Adelboden. It took 7.5 hours to get to Lugano and it only took 5 hours to get back due to the fact that we didn’t miss any of our trains. We had pizza and wine on the train ride back, and the pizza was only 5 CHF! It was a nice train ride and I got to see the vineyards and the beautiful mountainous countryside. We saw a total of 5 lakes in one day, which is quite impressive. We basically had a train tour around Switzerland. Although we were on a train for most of the day, I still enjoyed the scenario and walking around Lugano. We arrived back around midnight, so it was a very long day. Goodnight!
