Switzerland

Switzerland is another one of those places where you’ll take a ridiculous number of pictures trying to capture the beauty, only to have none of them even come close. We had the very good fortune of being able to take Stevens daughters with us to visit his sister and her family during their year living in Zurich, which made the trip especially memorable. It was also a huge cost savings, because Switzerland may be gorgeous, but it is definitely not cheap! We visited in the middle of February, and in many of the towns it felt more like early spring than winter. Of course, that changed dramatically with elevation, and there is certainly no shortage of elevation in Switzerland. One thing there is a shortage of, however, is cars—and that’s because their public transportation system is nothing short of incredible. It works with the kind of precision you’d expect from a country famous for making Swiss watches. We bought a weeklong travel pass and hopped seamlessly between buses, trams, and trains, including trains that somehow climb straight up the sides of mountains. For an added bonus, the pass even included admission to science and natural history museums.

There was, unfortunately, one other thing we discovered Switzerland has in short supply: vegetables. We basically survived the entire trip on sausages, cheese, salmon, butter, baguettes, and chocolate. Sounds awful, I know.

Between the snow-capped mountains, impossibly beautiful lakes and villages, efficient public transportation, all the parades and festivals, and enough cheese and chocolate to sustain a small army, it was a pretty easy place to fall in love with.