I am so excited to be in Switzerland! Our cousin Oran and his epic girlfriend Raya are some of my favorite people <3. We arrived Thursday evening and they greeted us at the airport. Oran had to go to a business dinner afterward so he was even wearing a suit. How cute!! Raya had even painted a sign with our names on it and some of the German words she is learning.
We were all very excited and happy to see one another. We rode the tram/bus/from-now-on-just-‘transport’ until Oran’s stop, where he sadly got off, and took it back to their apartment. There, we were surprised with chocolate and fruit!!! By the way, sorry about all of the exclamation points; I’m just very glad to be here! For dinner, Raya cooked us steaks, made salads, brought out fruits and cheese, and gave us some excellent mustard. I feel bad for Oran because he wasn’t there and therefore really missed out. Oh well, more for us! Raya, for the record, is a really excellent cook as well as a baker. Oran came back after we ate and we all sat at the table and talked for a long time. The next morning we were worried that it might rain in Zurich (where we were, by the way), so we took a train to a city called Bern. We had tons of fun there. We strolled the city for a bit until we came across a food-market courtyard. There, we ate cherries, vegetables, and some delicious empanadas! Speaking of delicious food, we discovered that Raya, who is Russian, hates Moscow and doesn’t like the food there. Preposterous! We walked along the vivid turquoise water and saw the Swiss Alps in the distance; everything very picturesque.
Then, we noticed a couple of bears nearby! They were just ambling around and didn’t seem to care about the people at all. After returning to Zurich, we ate Swiss sausages with more mustard and pretzels! Yum yum yum! On the way back to the apartment, I gave my seat up for an elderly French woman on the transport and you should’ve seen her smile! She was so happy, so she made me smile, too. I called my friend Una and her cat and talked with Aba, Oran, and Raya, until we went out for dinner. I borrowed one of Raya’s jackets and we had fun criticizing Oran’s fashion sense. We all had very good food at an Italian restaurant and talked a lot.
We all went to sleep very content, dreaming about Swiss chocolate (whose existence and effect I had forgotten to take into account until we arrived). We ate fruit in the morning and then, ditching Aba and Troy, we went out for breakfast. We weren’t that hungry after our morning snack, but Asher had a bagel and Raya and I shared an acai bowl and quinoa.
Next, we went biking. Before we did this, Raya was super afraid of biking and thought she wouldn’t be able to do it, but now we know that she can be quite good! After some initial hesitation and practice in the incredibly hot room that we rented the bikes from, Raya actually rode fairly well! We rode through a park, streets, by a lake, and on the road; Oran and Asher (in order) far in front with Raya and me behind. Aside from seeing the prepossessing scenic views on the way, Raya and I also got to talk a lot together and so did Asher and Oran.
On the way, we stopped for a break at a small pier and ate the delectable healthy snacks that Raya gave us; peanut butter balls with nuts, etc in them for me, and chocolate with stuff balls for Asher!
We had planned to take a boat back to the main part of Zurich, but, having missed it, we had to take the transport. The uphill to the station was treacherous, so once we got inside the empty transport we arranged our bikes in the aisles and in the entrance, the only places to put them. Therefore, as soon as people boarded, we got glared at by the people who had to move around the bicycles to get to their seats or simply stand where they were. On another note, two girls sitting in front of me and Asher were talking about dolphins. One said that “dolphins are whales”, the other saying that “they’re fish”. I, being me interjected and replied that dolphins are actually mammals. Humored by the fact that a total stranger knew more about something they had recently seen than themselves, the girls looked at each other and laughed with me. It was fun! We bought some chocolate for all of us and macarons for Asher before meeting Aba and Troy, who had bought a copper plate at a flea market. Then, we went together to eat lunch at a fun outdoor area that reminded us of the Oranjezicht Farmers’ Market in Cape Town. Though there were chicken and sausages, the best food there by far was their potato salad. Yum yum yum!
Before I even finished my food, Asher ate ALL of OUR chocolate and his macarons. All of it! He left me zilch. Then, Aba and Troy left and then Oran, Asher, and I climbed a nearby store’s tower to see the view of the city. It was astounding, as we could see everything including Raya and our next destination; Urban Surf! It’s hard to explain, but there’s basically a pool filled with high-pressure water that makes a giant wave on which you can learn to surf. After watching for a bit, Asher and I laughing at funny falls (/fails), we got into our swimsuits (I also got a wetsuit) and helmets (16-). Though we only got to try it four times each because of the line, I had a lot of fun and the hour went by fast. I would totally come back to try again! I fell pretty quickly the first time after standing by myself and got to the middle the third and fourth times, but my second try was amazing! I made it all the way to the other side and then halfway back before falling. The audience really cheered me on, as did Oran and Raya!
Both of our guides were really nice and when we thanked them later they were both happy. One chatted with us for a long time, while the other one just said how happy he was that we thanked him.
Asher and I, though, were occupied with the friendly bee that had fallen in love with Asher’s shirt! When we left, we got ice cream and Asher and I spun on a roundabout. On the way back to the apartment, some young girls in the next car kept waving, smiling, and laughing at Asher, and he waved and smiled back! Aah, hormones! We saw Aba and Troy on the balcony
and they surprised Oran and Raya with berry-filled wine as they walked in the door before we were served Troy’s mustard-chicken dinner with a side of Aba’s quinoa and salad.
After that, we went into the living room (also our bedroom) and talked. After failing to convince Oran to give her a foot massage and refusing to let me, I gave Raya a back massage which she reciprocated with one of her own. After leaning in that comfortable position for a while and making fun of Oran, we went to bed. Oran and Raya took us to a buffet breakfast the next morning where I got cheese that I walked with as well as strawberries and cranberries. Then, we went to an amusement park! I tried to research to figure out the name of this place, but unfortunately, I couldn’t. Sorry! Anyway, we had a lot of fun there! These rides looked like they were for kids, but they really weren’t. They were violent and fast and scary enough to make Raya scream and scream and were awesome!! The only sort of lame ones were a chain swing ride
and a haunted house.
Other than that, the tagada ride,
the zero gravity ride, the swing ride,
the train coaster ride, the spinning floor-coaster ride, and the breakdance ride were great!
The tagada and zero gravity rides, especially, freaked Raya out. She was screaming and hollering and her face turned all red! It sounds terrible, but Asher and I laughed our heads off! Not to mention, they had a great 80’s soundtrack that Asher and I kept dancing to every time we got off a cool ride. It. Rocked!
After that, we went back to the apartment and Oran made us cheese omelets.
Right before we went out again, Aba and Troy came back. The rest of us, leaving the two “exiles” who had been to a massage spa, went to a nearby lake and picnicked there with fruit. We played UNO on our year-old deck of cards and Oran even taught us a new game called Shakran or Liar. In between games, everyone (except Raya) jumped off of a bridge into the water where we froze until our bodies went numb and it became warm :-).
I cut myself on a rock in the water and it was very sweet that Oran and Raya showed so much concern over it. It was bleeding quite a bit, but it truly wasn’t that large of a cut. Raya wrapped it in some paper and they both asked about it <3. We relaxed on the grass for a long time and then went back to the apartment and showered. The adults drank beer at a floating restaurant when we went out, then we ate dinner at an Italian steak place.
It was actually quite good!
Oran also taught me how to eat a steak off the bone!
We came back a little while ago and now I am blogging, but we fly out tomorrow morning. I just want to note here how much fun I had. I didn’t express it very much earlier in the post because we’ve just been doing so much that I haven’t wanted to commit the energy to extra writing, but I truly enjoyed my time here. Oran and Raya are so much fun and they’re so kind that I feel like I could stay with them forever and be happy; so I hope they feel the same way. They’re so sweet together, play-fighting and constantly kissing (23 times today, by my count!). Anyway, thank you so much, guys! We hope to visit you again soon! 17-6-4-14-14-22.
Ella
