City lights, Cars, Canals and Cheese: We arrived in Zurich. 

Arriving to lovely Hotel Adler was so refreshing after a long 3 hr train ride from Zermatt. From riding in a Kiddy cart full of screaming children afraid of the dark and then dragging our luggage in puddles from Zurich train station to our hotel was a mission in itself. 

We were excited our hotel was centrally located and it was so cozy and beautiful with a mural of Zurich painted on the wall. It felt nice to finally relax. Outside of our hotel, there was live music and people dressed in costumes due to Fasching (Carnival similar to Mardi-Gra celebrated in Europe typically before lent begins).

Valentine's Day Dinner reservations were at 9:00 p.m. so we got drinks with Mark's friends beforehand and then set out for our Fondue dinner. 

Cheese fondue is a traditional Swiss dish originated in the Alps. It is typically made up of 2 or more cheeses usually aged Gruyere, white wine, and Kirsch. Hearty country white bread and potatoes are served to dip into the cheese. 

The smell of the cheese was intoxicating and so delicious. We sat outside hoping to get a view of the river, but instead we froze to death even with the blankets the restaurant provided us with. We roamed around bars that night and followed many of the musicians dressed in costumes celebrating Fasching. We called it an early night a little after midnight. We planned to rise early the next morning to sightsee.

 We got up early and went to Swiss Chuchi, the restaurant in our hotel for breakfast. After loading up on meats and cheeses, croissants, and coffee, we set out to explore Zurich.

Walking along the river, we noticed a beautiful swan so we decided to take pictures of it like typical tourists. The swam seem to be used to humans because it wasn't scared to approach us. I was kind of scared because it was getting really close to us and seem to be ready to "Beak" Mark.

In one of the pictures below you could see this silly Swam  upside down with the beautiful Fraumunster Swiss Church (green peak) in the background. This church is mostly known because it  has five stained glass windows by the French artist, Marc Chagall.

 Zurich is a very beautiful photogenic city so Mark and I took advantage of that by putting our photography skills to the test.

 There is something always so calming about being by water, but being in a new city with the one I love was perhaps the best feeling ever. A million thank yous to God and life at that moment weren't enough.

This Ganymede sculpture by Lake Zurich has been there since 1952. It's supposed to symbolize men's longing to ascend Mount Olympus. In Greek mythology, Ganymede, is the handsome King's son who was abducted by Zeus and taken to the top of Mount Olympus. Ganymede pleads with Zeus who appears as an eagle to take him there. Why is this in Zurich again? Well the artist Herman Hubacher was Swiss.

One of my favorite stops in Zurich was at Confiserie Sprungli, which is a Swiss luxury confectionary founded in 1836. Mark and I bought an assortment of 12 truffles and split them over a cappuccino. They were out of this world.

 Perhaps the saddest moment of this whole trip was parting ways with Mark. We had an amazing weekend together, but saying goodbye is always hard. Till Next time, my love! See you soon!

Zermatt, Switzerland

Last weekend was a dream! I got to see Mark and spend Valentine's Day weekend in one of the most beautiful countries I've ever visited, Switzerland.

The sight of the Matterhorn was breathtaking (photocred: Mark)  and the Swiss Alps powdered with snow were incredible especially when skiing on them.

The journey started Thursday night after work where I made my way to Nuremberg airport to catch my flight to Zurich. Being the risk taker that I am, my flight was supposed to leave at 7:00 p.m. and arrive to Zurich at 8:00 p.m. and the last train to Zermatt was supposed to leave at 8:18 p.m. I knew that it was cutting it very close especially since I've never been to that airport, but I had hope I would be fine and be able to reunite with Mark that night.

To my luck, some issues were going on with the plane and we didn't start boarding until 7:20 p.m. At that point I knew my plan would not pan out, so another alternative was to take the train from Zurich to Bern and to Visp and then take a taxi to Zermatt. By the way, Switzerland is very expensive,  so I wasn't too happy, but being able to see Mark that night was worth it.

We were staying at Mark's friend's chalet along with 15 other of his friends and family.
 Chalet Gemini was perfectly located and had the most amazing views of Zermatt. Thanks to the Ransohoff family for being such amazing hosts! :)

We got up early in the morning and set out for our first ski day. I was super excited to ski with Mark, though I'm sure he was nervous I wouldn't be able to keep up or be able to ski to the lunch spots and Après Ski parties.

Before going to Zermatt, I had taken ski lessons so I had a jist of the basics. But, because I'm a beginner, I was given a Ski guide named Patti and he was great in helping me refine some of my ski skills as I did runs on a couple of slopes. It was a great time and we met everyone out for lunch. I had this amazing charcuterie board with different cheeses and meats and also grilled chicken with salad. I was so full I could barely eat dessert.

We set out on my first day of Apres parties and nightlife and lets just say Zermatt knows what its doing. Really cool rustic bars with unlimited amounts of FISK shots. FISK is a danish vodka that has a mixture of eucalyptus, menthol, and licorice. The aftertaste is that of Vicks, but I'm not complaining because my breath was always fresh.

The following day was pretty much a repeat of the first except, Mark and I took a gondola to the Italian side of the mountains. But, because the weather conditions were very windy and snowy, it was closed and we skied on a glacier instead. Good thing I was dressed warm because it was really cold! The views were amazing, but there were some runs that were really steep and I continued to fall as I went down. Somehow I managed to make it down without hurting myself or yelling at my Ski teacher,"Mark," out of frustration.

We all met up for lunch at this cute place and our group dominated most of the restaurant. We ordered amazing appetizers, I ordered a veal steak smothered in a morel mushroom sauce with homemade tagliatelle. I tried some of the sweetbreads Mark ordered and also had a pie with meringue topping. It was all so delicious.

After lunch, we skied to a bar called Hennu Stall and pretty much partied until 7:00p.m. It was so much fun!!  We definitely started the dance party!

After hot tubing and getting dinner, we all went out for our last night in Zermatt! I miss the nightlife already!

The next morning, we had breakfast, packed our bags, and went to get a last view of the Alps before we left for Zurich.

We roamed around a chocolate store and also took pictures by this beautiful hotel called Zermatterhof.

The views from the train to Zurich were out of this world and even though I'm a beach girl at heart, I fell in love with this Winter wonderland. 

Hopefully I will be back soon! Next Stop: Zurich

Ski School

In preparation for my Valentine's Day ski weekend in Zermatt, Switzerland,  I decided to take ski lessons at a school on the border of Germany and Czech Republic. What was supposed to be a great weekend learning how to ski turned out to be interesting for sure...haha I will tell you why!

After work on friday, I drove straight to Karlovy Vary, a spa town in Czech Republic and stayed at a beautiful hotel overlooking the town. I paid very little for this hotel, but they greeted me with a glass of champagne and my room was perfect. I ran a bath, relaxed and watched Making of a Murderer. I was excited for ski school the next morning.

I arrived to the ski place about an hour early. I confirmed my booking, picked up my ski boots, skis and waited for my class to begin at 10:00 am. Getting the boots on were a bit uncomfortable, but I managed to learn how to get them on. I wish I would've worn better socks. They were bunching up in the boot and I hadn't even started to ski yet. 

I booked 4 hour group lessons for Saturday and Sunday, so I was excited to be able to learn at least the basics, or at least I thought. 

As 10:00 am, all of the instructors came and I wasn't sure where I was supposed to go so I asked one of the instructors if he spoke english, "Nein" (No) , he said. I went to ask another instructor and he also didn't speak English. I was pointed to a group so I just followed them.  

What did I get myself into??

The instructor started to explain how to put on skis and how to balance and get the feel for them, but I had no idea what he was saying so I just observed and repeated his movements. It wasn't bad, until I had to walk uphill and I kept sliding backwards. It took me 7 minutes to go uphill as everyone else was practicing. I was so frustrated because I was the only one lagging behind and I couldn't communicate with anyone to see what I was doing wrong. After watching the movements of my instructor I was able get the jist of it.

 I continued to watch my instructor and I was doing good, but one of my problems was I went too fast and I had no idea how to slow down. I kept bringing my knees toward each other and pointing my skis in a V shape, but I wasn't sure where I was distributing force on the skis because I continued to fly! I ate ice and snow so many times from falling, it was so funny! Watching all of the 4 yr old children ski better than me made me feel so pathetic! Oh well, I have to start somewhere.

The next day was probably the worst. We went up a steeper bunny slope and practiced different techniques. I was not consistent. Sometimes I would do really well and other times I wondered how the heck I made it without breaking a limb. I'm that person you feel sorry for after seeing them fly through the slope and land backwards or spattered on the snow. It was not pretty...haha The funniest was probably the last run of the day. The instructor told us to go down the slope and through a narrow path toward the entrance. I kept saying to myself, "Go slow, Stephanie. Go slow." I ended up going so fast that I ran into a house and people leaving the grounds. My instructor and peers laughed as they saw me on my butt. It was as if I didn't learn anything during the two days of skiing. 

Lessons Learned:

1. If you ever try something new, make sure it's in a language you understand.

2. Wear ski socks, my feet are covered in blisters.

3. Make sure my ski boots fit, I have a huge bruise on my shin. My shins are super sore.