Vacation...part 1

So again this post is very last, but I think its important to tell you all about Vacation!!! One amazing thing about schools here in Switzerland = 2 week Fall vacation!

Vacation started with a week of English speaking, because my host sisters friend from Alaska came to visit! It was very strange to have another american in the house!! I realized how much German I actually could understand (things that for some reason I just figured everyone knew). It was also cool to see her reactions to things I found completely normal now, as it reminded me of the differences, and what my first reactions were of things here.

Sunday we went on a hike to see the Castle/Fort ruins of Farnsburg, which are about an hours hike behind our house! It was crazy to think that the same road I was walking on was the one the knights used as they rode their horses home! The view was beautiful, and it was amazing to think how old the ruins were! There is nothing that old back in the states.

On Monday we went into Basel to see this really cool Art exibit there, show off the City, and do a little shopping! Its nice having such a beautiful and great city just a 30 minute train ride away! Tuesday morning all ther girls in the family left bright and early for a 2 day tour of eastern Switzerland!!! We started by taking a bunch of different trains, including the typical mountain train through the alps, down  to St. Moriz, a famous skiing resort! It was beautiful, and I got to see snow for the first time here in Switzerland!! Was definitely an expensive place though, with Ralph Lauren and Prauda shops next to Rolex, and a store selling $10,000 shoes!!! We then continued our Journey to this little village high up on a mountain. It was so cute, and is where a famous swiss children's story is from....I saw the little boy from the story's actual house!!! :). They also had this delicious honey walnut cake, which is special to that area...Its only place you can buy it. We then went north to Scuol, where our youth hostel was. It was brand new and right in the heart of the alps!! We went to a water park spa which was really relaxing after the long day of traveling!! :)....


The next day we left for St. Gallen, and rode right past Lichtenstein!!!  Just looked like switzerland haha so the only way i knew was because my host mom said "over there is lichenstein" In St. Gallen, we walked around, drank a hot chocolate at a cafe, and went to this really old library made for the monks, that is famous from there. We walked around the city for a while before finally getting on a train and coming home. t was an amazing, exciting, and really fun trip!! 

Beautiful Church in St. Gallen

Me, Rahel, Carla, and Esther <3

A random Playground

Small Village in the Alps

St. Moritz

Sisters in St. Moritz

Sleeping on the Train

Thursday,I went to this mountain thing with my host sister and her firend......we were going to go on the ropes course there but it was too full, so we rode these scooter things down the mountain!! It was beautiful with the leaves just starting to change color! I am amazed at how much later fall seems to hit switzerland here. The leaves were just starting to change in late October. Back in Vermont they start changing in early september! However I am enjoyign the fresh apples so late in the season here!

Another big thing about being an exchange student, is handling/dealing with your own money! Switzerland (as I am sure you know) is one of the most expensive places to live. (I went to Mcdonalds one day and a "Happy Meal" costs about $7.50!). Unfortunately for me, one USA dollar is now only 0.961 Swissfrancs!! :(......I am losing so much money! Hopefully the dollar will go up soon, but right now it just seems to be staying the same.

End of week one.... =)