I present my report on my first trip to Switzerland. It was my first solo trip ever, and it lasted six days, and in terms of the impressions and excitement, they were the most memorable six days of my life. The trip wasn't without its thrills and adventures, as on the very first day it became clear that my car was broken and the trip could end at any moment. Nevertheless, everything turned out alright, although a couple of times I was so upset I thought I'd have to call a tow truck.
From this trip, I brought back about 5,000 photographs and visited many interesting places, both well-known to the masses and those whose existence few know. In this photo story, I'll try to detail and show what I saw and where I was.
I hadn't planned to take a vacation in August, as I'd only been working for three months and wasn't particularly tired. Besides, I don't like traveling during peak tourist season. But my company, it turns out, has vacations in August, and everyone is required to take vacations during that time. I learned this news two weeks before the vacation began, so it was too late to plan anything in advance. My brother couldn't join me on my trip because he had an internship in August, and the friends I'd been happy to have with me on this trip couldn't join me either, as they had other plans. So it became clear I'd have to go on vacation alone, which begged the question: where?
I didn't want to spend a lot of time on the road, so I started looking at neighboring countries. Switzerland was the closest, with the border located 50 kilometers from my town. I knew little about Switzerland, and it seemed boring to me based on my stereotypes. I thought it would be paved over, like Germany, and civilization had penetrated even the most remote mountain corners. To figure out a few potential destinations, I went to the ru-travel community and read all the posts tagged "Switzerland" over the past two years. I was disappointed by the posts—they were all the same old places, a distillation of tourist clichés: a castle on the shores of Lake Geneva, Bern, Lucerne, Zurich, a couple of other cities, a couple of popular resorts, and that was it. It seemed like Russian tourists never strayed from the beaten path. Scrolling through the reports, I didn't see a single place I wanted to visit. I did add one place to my list, however: the town of Zermatt and the nearby Gorgengrat peak. They're popular, but very beautiful, and they didn't disappoint. I didn't get any other information from Russian-language bloggers' posts about Switzerland, as they were mostly about cities, and cities weren't my thing. My readers came to my aid, recommending several truly interesting places that I added to my planned itinerary.
I had only one day to plan my vacation. As soon as my vacation began, a friend of mine came to stay with me for a few days, and I showed her the best places and cities along Lake Constance, so I had no time to surf the internet at all. She left on Wednesday evening, and we were scheduled to depart on Friday morning, so I had only one day to plan my trip. I woke up Thursday morning knowing nothing about Switzerland, and after spending until three in the morning online, I put together an excellent itinerary. It turned out to be so wonderful, diverse, and well-thought-out that I was proud of myself. I booked hotels as early as three in the morning, seven hours before departure. Incidentally, the prices turned out to be, contrary to my fears, the same as in Germany: 40-50 euros per night.
And so Friday came and I, taking with me a supply of food, water and alcohol, set off on my journey.
After driving fifty kilometers through German territory, I reach the border. Switzerland isn't a member of the European Union, so there's a border with EU countries, but cars are stopped very selectively. Incidentally, I forgot to bring my passport, but during the entire six-day trip, I only saw the police once, and no one stopped me at the border.
And here I am, in Switzerland. Northern Switzerland is almost indistinguishable from southern Baden-Württemberg: the same architecture, the same fields and towns.
A very boring place, although Lake Constance is nearby, its Swiss coast is extremely dull, unlike the German one.
Very soon the landscape becomes more diverse – the foothills of the Alps begin.
The further south I go, the higher the foothills become.
After half an hour's drive, real mountains appear on the horizon, and I'm filled with eager anticipation of meeting them. After all, until now I've only been to the Crimean Mountains and Neuschwanstein Castle. And that's not quite the same caliber. This trip should introduce me to real mountains with snow-capped peaks, glaciers, and heights I've never reached before.
The weather is nice, the ride is easy and joyful.
The landscape becomes more interesting with every kilometer of the journey south.
It soon becomes difficult for me to concentrate on driving as the beauty passing by outside the windows becomes too much to take my eyes off.
On the go, I’m learning to do two things at the same time: drive a car and take photos.
Soon, picturesque, forest-covered cliffs begin outside the windows.
The Swiss autobahns are magnificent. The transportation system of this small mountainous country is meticulously designed and a joy to use.
Speeding fines in Switzerland are hefty. At first, I was afraid to go faster than 120 km/h, as is the autobahn speed limit, but then, seeing locals going 140 and 150, I stepped on the gas. I did get a fine for this trip, but it happened on the way back home.
At the beginning of the journey, I had not yet been tempted by the mountains, and such landscapes evoked a storm of the most enthusiastic emotions in my soul.
The towns lying at the foot of the mountains seem completely toy-like.
If you remove the mountains from the background, the landscape wouldn't look much different from where I live. But the presence of mountains completely transforms the picture.
I pass a city whose appearance shatters all stereotypes about Switzerland. If not for the mountains in the background, it could easily be mistaken for one of the outskirts of Dresden or another eastern German city.
Nevertheless, this is the city of Chur, the capital of the canton of Graubünden. The city is actually beautiful, judging by photos online, but from the autobahn, it looks just like you see in these photos.
The main city dominants are two high-rise towers.
From time to time along the road you come across beautiful little churches...
…and even small castles.
Swiss perfectionism.
Tunnels begin soon. The closer you get to the mountains, the more frequently you'll encounter them along the way.
The highway was surprisingly deserted, considering it was a weekday and it was the only transport artery in the area.
Source: travel.ru
