Hi Friends and Family!
After spending the majoring of the last two weeks traveling I am blogging to update ya’ll on my travels around Europe. This post will focus on my spring break trip I took. Then the next will be all about my travels to Germany and the Czech Republic!
On Friday, February 26, I left on the train at 7:19 am on to start my journey to Zermatt, Switzerland. The train ride to Switzerland lasted roughly 11 hours, and I took a total of 5 trains to reach my destination. I arrived in Zermatt around 6 o’clock in the evening. The train ride up the mountain from Visp to Zermatt was one of the most gorgeous sights I have seen. So I spent two hours roaming the city and eating McDonalds while waiting for my older brothers, Brice and Tyler, to arrive! So Brice and Tyler decided when they found out I was going to being studying aboard in the Netherlands that they would come visit me. So they had been in London and Paris before meeting me in Switzerland! It was so nice to spend time with my brothers and to see them! Since my brothers had not eaten yet when they arrived we went and found a place to eat. After eating we explored the city of Zermatt.
For the weekend my brothers and I went skiing! One of the things on my bucket list while being in the Netherlands was to go skiing in the Swiss Alps. So over spring break I was able to check that off the list! We most of the day on the mountain! It was a blast to go skiing. I was not very good starting out in the morning. But as the day went on I improved my skiing skills. After spending the day on the mountain we ate out at the restaurant in our hotel.
On Sunday we woke up to the town being covered with roughly a foot of snow! and it was still steadily coming down. It ended up snowing all day long. So I opted out of going skiing in the morning because I knew with the fresh snow on the mountain that I would not have a fun time trying to ski. After breakfast Tyler and Brice headed out to ski and I stayed back and relaxed in the room. Around lunch I headed up the mountain to meet them for lunch. I had all my stuff to try the skiing but once I actually saw how much snow there was and hearing from my brothers how hard it was to ski, I decided to just head down again after lunch with Brice. Tyler stayed out a little while longer. Sunday was our last full day in Zermatt so we decided to go to a traditional Swiss restaurant. We went and had fondue at this little restaurant and it was delicious. Then we spent time walking around Zermatt.
At 5:30 am on Monday morning my brothers and I boarded the train to take us to the Geneva airport. I had such a great weekend with my brothers. It was nice to see familiar faces again and spend time with them. In Geneva, Brice and Tyler were flying to Amsterdam to start their journey back to the States. Whereas I was flying to Athens to eventually make my way to the Greek Island of Santorini! Once we arrived at the airport I had one hour to make it through security and get to my flight, I made it with plenty of time. I arrived in Athens around 3 in the afternoon. I met up with 6 other Spice students who were already in Greece. Then at 6:30 pm we left for Santorini!
Visiting the island of Santorini was surreal. Seeing the beautiful island was a dream come true, I know that if I ever have a chance I would love to return someday. The seven of us spend three nights and two days on the island. Since we arrived later on Monday night all we did was find the Airbnb that we were renting, and supplies to make supper for the night. Waking up on Tuesday morning and seeing the island in the day light was beautiful!
On Tuesday we decided to take a 10 km hike around the island. We started in the city of Fira, the capital city where we were staying, and made our way to the city of Oia! During this hike we went through the typical white and blue houses of the island and the hike eventually lead to the “mountain areas” and eventually to Oia! We stayed in Oia to watch the sunset. But unfortunately it was very foggy in the distance so we did not get to see the sunset very well.
After seeing the sunset we decided to head back to Fira and find someplace to eat supper. We ate at a restaurant called “Salt & Pepper”. The owner of the restaurant was so sweet. She gave us free bread with greek yogurt dip, along with a chocolate dessert that was delicious! One thing about the island is that with the busing system we never really knew when the bus was going to come. We also visited the island during the off season so it was not very busy. This was a nice thing because we did not have to fight the crowds. The downside of going during the off season was that there was a lot of maintenance happening and many of the shops were just opening or not open yet.
On Wednesday we spend the day at the beach. After having a relaxing morning at the Airbnb we ventured out the Kamari beach. The beaches on the island are all black sand beaches. It was around 60-65 degrees while we were at the beach with the sun shining. It was a gorgeous day to spend on the beach. One thing I did not like is how many stray cats were at the beach, I am not a fan of cats so this was the only bad thing I experienced while in Greece. After spending the afternoon at the beach we headed back to Fira and got gyros (pronounced euros) for supper and enjoyed our last night on Santorini.
Thursday morning we had a flight out at 8:25 back to Athens. After quick 50 minute flight we were back in Athens. As a group we spent the day in the Athens airport because our flight back to Amsterdam wasn’t until 8:55 pm. That’s what happens when you want to save the most money possible and book the cheapest flights possible. After spending the day in the airport in Athens, we had to spend the night in the Amsterdam airport waiting for the first train back to Zwolle because our flight got in around midnight and the first train back was at 5:30 am. I was so happy to make in home on Friday morning.
And before I knew it my travels for Spring Break 2016 were over. I had so much fun visiting countries and places I only ever dreamed I would be able to visit. I loved spending time with my brothers. And traveling with some of the students I am studying with!
I have been so blessed to be able to travel around Europe while studying here. In my next post I will tell you all about my trip I took the week after spring break to Berlin and Prague. After two weeks of traveling I am happy to get settled back into daily life in Zwolle and get some homework done.
Love,
Brianna
Young & Traveling 