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Day 1
The trip begins!! The flight from Sydney to Dubai was full, even on an A380. I was right in the middle of a huge soccer academy who I later found out were on their way to Manchester to play some matches. Pretty uneventful flight. Surprisingly I was able to sleep through most of the 14 hours which was quite odd given that I usually find it realy difficult to sleep on planes (unless I'm absolutely exhausted). I guess it's just me getting old haha.
Fast forward a few hours and I was landing in Dubai. Walking through a very empty airport, I realised that I could have gone for my original plan of having only a 1.5hr layover rather than the 3 that I currently had. One interesting note about Dubai Airport is that there is a massive lack of restroom facilities. Even in the empty state of the airport in the early morning, it was still difficult to find a bathroom without having to queue. Not sure how they got voted one of the best airports in the world with this glaring flaw. Anyways, toilets aside, it was actually a very nice airport and it took quite a while to explore the whole place. Soon enough it came time to board my flight to Zurich. Rather than walking straight onto the plane, we had to take a 15 minute bus ride to the plane and board on the tarmac. Not really an issue, but in my dramatic mind, I was picturing how this scenario could really ruin someone's opportunity to run for the plane screaming "I'm coming, don't close the doors!". Yeah my mind works in mysterious ways. Anyways, I boarded the very empty plane and we were off. This would have worked out so much better for my first flight when I wanted to sleep, as I just sprawled out along the whole row of four seats. Nevertheless, not one to waste an opportunity, I spent the whole of the flight like this, and even ate my meal a la Cleopatra style (sans someone feeding me). Something I did notice was that the flight attendants on this flight were so much more attentive. I guess with fewer passengers to take care of, they had the time to act like they cared.
As the flight drew to a close, and as we started flying over some of the mountains, I switched to a window seat and just gazed out at the beauty underneath. There's just something about snow-capped mountains, bright green fields and crytsal blue lakes that scream serenity. Oxymoron, I know. As we drifted below the mist, it hit me that I was in Europe. Again. I haven't really reflected about how lucky I am to be able to do two three-month stints in Europe. But getting out of the plane this time and leaving the airport, there wasn't the same excitement as last time. Sure, I was excited to be here, but it wasn't new (given I was flying into Zurich again). I'm sure though that once I set out and start exploring new countries, the excitement factor will be back.
The first thing I realised as I left the airport was that it wasn't cold. It was 14 degrees. Last time, I was freezing as I left, but then again it was 8pm and it was a month later. Stuffing my coat into my bag and rolling up my sleeves (it had actually been colder on the plane), I made my way to Luzern to be picked up by my uncle. By the time we reached the house, I was starving so I dumped the bags and headed over to my uncle's restaurant for dinner. If you guys are ever in Switzerland (Emmenbrücke to be exact), drop by China Takeaway - it's the only Chinese restaurant, you can't miss it! After dinner, my uncle and I took to the roads on bike and took a nice scenic ride along the river. I've noticed that the roads are quite bike-friendly here, much as they are in a lot of European cities. Saying that though, I still wasn't that comfortable riding alongside cars and preferred to stay on the footpaths or bike paths. Helmets are also not mandatory here. Would have felt a lot better had I had one. Anyways, bike ride done, it was pretty much straight to bed to try and adjust my sleeping patterns. We'll see how long it takes to get it right.
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Day 2
So I went to bed at 10pm last night. Got up at 2am. That's 10am Sydney time. Luckily was able to force myself back to sleep so I should be all good now. The day started off with a very European breakfast at the restaurant: two croissants and a cup of tea. After breakfast, my uncle informed me that we were going hiking. Great. No notice. Granted I did say I wanted to go hiking while I was here in Switzerland but I wold have liked to have known when I was going. As a result, I was not dressed appropriately. Jeans and Vans. And no backpack. And no water. This was going to be interesting. But before we could hike, we had to ride. Turns out we were cycling to the mountain. As I mentioned previously, I'm not that comfortable riding on the roads, but I don't think my uncle understood that. He was zooming away and it was hard enough trying not to lose him while watching out for cars at every intersection. I eventually made it alive to Mount Pilatus (I later found out it was 22kms from where we started) and we took the cablecar up to the top. It's just shorter than our own Kosciuszko at 2193km, but at least it had cablecar all the way to the top. At the top, they've got hotels and restaurants so it's a really nice mountaintop tourist destination that's quite easily accessible. I climbed a bit further to make it to the highest accessible point for the obligatory panorama and selfies before we stopped for a drink at the restaurant. Gotta admit, it felt pretty amazing to be looking out over the nearby mountains and watching the birds soar on the wind, while down below, hikers were making their way up the mountain like champions.
Rather ambitiously, I said I wanted to hike down. I'm still not sure if I rgeret that decision or not. At that time, I was thinking "hey it's only 2km down". Wrong. As I later realised while I was losing my footing as rocks gave way under me, it's 2km vertical height. The hypotenuse is much more, and the fact that it winds down the mountain meant that the trail ended up being much more like 5km (I think it might be even longer, it certainly felt longer). Lesson: Vans are not appropriate hiking footwear. The soles are good for gripping the rocks but the fact that they are so soft meant that I could feel every rock that I stepped on. There were a few times when a rock slipped out from under me and caused a mini-avalanche (I stress the mini). Had I gone down with the rocks, that would have ended the hike so much faster haha. Also the constant act of going downhill over unstable ground meant that it was hell for my ankles and knees, not to mention my quads. By the end of it once we hit a paved road, I was walking downhill backwards to give my quads a break. Interestingly, the Swiss are just so nice. Ever hiker I saw said hello as they went past. I don't think I've ever done that when I went hiking anywhere in Australia (or even in the US). Guess it's just part of their culture.
Three hours into the hike, exhaustion was setting in as well as hunger. Stupidly I hadn't bought lunch while at the restaurant, but at least I bought water. I have never been so exhausted and at the point where my legs were about to buckle. As I saw the carpark in the distance, a wave of relief rushed over me. I didn't have to walk anymore!! And then I saw my bike. Facepalm. Knowing how long it had taken to ride here in the morning, I knew it was gonna be even longer given that my legs were shaking even just standing still. Surprisingly, the ride wasn't that bad. I guess it's because cycling doesn't involve putting weight on the legs; it was definitely a welcome sensation. 25km down and we were at my aunt's place for a well-deserved dinner of pho. Had two bowls resulting in a massive food baby which made riding home slightly more difficult. But so worth it.
All in all, it was a really good day. I had wanted to go hiking the last time I was here, but it was already snowing so that wasn't really a viable option. The chance to hike down one of the mountains in Switzerland was definitely a great experience and I'll never forget those views. Or the soreness in my legs. On the bright side, I guess my legs are now conditioned for all the working I'll have to do for the rest of my backpacking trip. Can't forget leg day when you're on holiday. But for tomorrow, I forsee very little movement haha.
HBL signing out from Emmenbrücke, Switzerland.
Up next: Money money money...
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