Next Stop: Switzerland

So my mom and I had to leave Venice, both of us feeling as though we could have just canceled the rest of the trip and stayed here for the next few weeks (honestly, maybe forever).  Although it's not too bad leave Venice when the next stop is Interlaken, Switzerland!

We decided to schedule the train for mid-day so that we would be able to see the beauty of the Italian and Swiss Alps as we entered.  The woman next to me on the train was Italian, and can I say that despite all of the hype about beautiful Italian women, this one in particular while rather pretty did not wear deodorant.  Phew.  The Swiss Alps now have a smell memory attached that I was NOT planning on associating them with.

After arriving to Interlaken by train, we had to catch a water ferry to Iseltwald.  From the first steps off the train in Interlaken, it almost reminded me of some sort of movie setting.  EVERYTHING was pristine; the grass so well manicured, the buildings clean, the sidewalks without a piece of trash or gum on them.  While I had looked at some photos of Switzerland before, what was before my eyes in terms of nature was something that I could not have prepared myself for in any way.  The water was the deepest turquoise, the mountains provided this gorgeous greenish contrast, and in every direction there was some sort of flower or plant that was like a reminder of God's incredible creativity!  WOW!!  Words really cannot capture the beauty that is Switzerland.

                                           On the ferry ride over