Ciao! Come read about my third week studying abroad in Florence, Italy. This week I went to Switzerland!!
Monday
On Monday I went for a walk around the city followed by some shopping.
Tuesday
On Tuesday I made chocolate lava cake in my cooking class, followed by a walk with my friend, and aperitivo time. In Italy, aperitivo time is usually between 4-8pm where you meet with friends and get drinks and snacks. Italy is very focused on community, slowing down, and spending time together; all highlighted in aperitivo time. We decided to splurge and get Hugo St. Germain’s from Paszkowski in the Piazza della Repubblica square. Afterwards we went to Red Garter, a karaoke bar.
Wednesday
On Valentines day I had class all day followed by a girls night out. For dinner we tried Berbere pizzeria. I wasn’t a huge fan of it.
Thursday
On Thursday I went to Shake Cafe, an American cafe with a garden atmosphere. I ordered the chicken ceasar wrap which was pretty good. Then I packed up for my first big trip outside of Italy, SWITZERLAND!!! We took an overnight bus there to save money on accommodation.
Here’s the link to book my trip to Interlaken, Switzerland! Use code “REILLY” for an additional discount.
Friday
Friday morning we arrived in Interlaken, Switzerland! We stayed at the Mattenhof Resort Hostel which included complimentary breakfast which was mediocre. Following breakfast we walked over to High Tide Kayak School for a morning kayak tour on Lake Brienz. I highly recommend High Tide Kayak School. They were super welcoming and helpful and even gave us free tea when we got there. The scenery is amazing. Then my roommate and I suited up in our kayak gear and headed out to the lake with our tour guide. Kayaking in Switzerland in the alps is one of the most unique experiences. We had great weather and the environment was super peaceful and zen. In total, our tour was 3 hours with 2 being on the water.
After kayaking, we walked into town and explored Interlaken. Interlaken is a very small town in Switzerland. I recommend staying in a bigger city where there is more to do and making a day trip to Interlaken.
Friday night we opted into a group dinner where we had traditional Swiss food: cheese fondue, mac n cheese with ham and apple sauce, and chocolate fondue (which I could not have unfortunately). I highly recommend getting cheese fondue while in Switzerland.
Saturday
On Saturday we decided to take a day trip to Thun, Switzerland because there wasn’t a whole lot to do in Interlaken. We took the train in the afternoon to Thun and when we got there we headed to the Thun Castle. I highly recommend a day trip to Thun. There was much more to do here and was very beautiful. We spent about an hour in the castle taking in the history and the views.
After exploring the castle, we walked around the area and found a cute church where they were playing music. Then we went to Chillounge by the river for nachos and beer. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I was a bit tired of Italian food at this point and wasn’t a big fan of Swiss food. Also it is worth noting that food in Switzerland is pretty expensive and this was an affordable option.
Lastly, we walked around and explored the area and saw Lake Thun.
Sunday
On Sunday we spent the morning walking around Interlaken. We really wanted to go up to Harder Klum but it was closed for the season. You can still hike up to it, but the hike takes about 4 hours and is very steep. Then we concluded our trip with a visit to the world famous Funky Chocolate Club where we got chocolate covered strawberries (nut free). These were AMAZING I highly recommend gettin them!! Then we headed back home to Florence on the bus.
