Swiss tour avec Rosy

Our little Switzerland tour began on Good Friday with a 2 hour train ride from Lausanne to Basel, Switzerland to meet Rosy (and co.)! Basel is mainly known for its location on the Rhine (where nearly all Rhine cruises begin) and being located where the Swiss, German and French borders all meet. However to my (Jenny's) mom, it is simply known as the home of tennis legend Roger Federer! 

Despite being equally close to both France and Germany, Basel is actually in the German speaking part of Switzerland. There is something akin to the distinct cultural line that exists between Ontario and Quebec in play here, and we immediately felt like we had found ourselves in a different country upon exiting the train! The corner store bakeries we were getting quite used to seeing were replaced with pretzel shops, the Swiss alps had disappeared, and we couldn't understand a single word anyone was saying. It felt, well... German (but don't tell the Basel local's that, they will insist that they are "Swiss German" not "German German"). We are still struggling with learning French, but were reminded to be thankful that we have found ourselves in a French speaking area, as neither of us can imagine learning German! Each word seems to be 10+ letters long and speaking involves sounds that I didn't know humans could make. 

Sisters happily reunited in Basel.

Rosy coincidentally had had three separate friends/family move to Germany and Switzerland over the last year, and so she quickly jumped at the opportunity to visit Europe at a discounted price (without lodging costs) and to see us all too, I suppose! Although we didn't all know each other in Canada, we all decided to come to Basel for an impromptu Canadian/ex-pat reunion! This is actually not 100% accurate (it's 7/8 accurate if you want to be pedantic - read: German - about it). Taking the picture below is Stephan, German born and raised, who moved to Toronto for a one year-internship in 2016, and met/wooed Becky (in the yellow sweater). Now they are married, living in southern Germany, and have a baby on the way! We were kind enough to let him join our Canadian party (in keeping with the typical Canadian mosaic sentiment). 

Basel group shot (missing: Darius - he was probably preparing food or doing some other selfless act).

Rosy, Matt and I decided to go cheap and stayed in a hostel (we had an entire dorm with 8 bunks all to ourselves!), and new friends Christe and Darius graciously hosted us all for all our meals while we were there. On Sunday, we took the train to Grindewald and were awarded with tremendous views along the way. April is a bit early for hiking in Switzerland, but we were fortunate to have 15+ degree weather and spent the next few days surrounded by the Bernese Alps. Here's a few pics. 

Panoramic views in Grindewald area. (Panaramaweg!)

At the "Jungfraujoch Top of Europe"! This railway station was built ~ 1900 and goes right through the Eiger mountain on route to the highest train station in Europe.

Do we look Swiss yet? Those are backpack straps, not Lederhosen btw.

Waterfall in Lauterbrunnen (located a short train or long hike over the mountains from Grindewald - your choice!). 

Swiss selfie. 

After a refreshing few days in the Swiss mountains, we trained back to Lausanne together. Rosy stayed with us for another week before returning to Toronto. It was so great to have this time together in our new city. It was long enough that we could get into a routine together. We had lots of time to just chat and catch up on life (wow have we missed family!). Matt and I worked during the days, and we took the evenings and weekends to explore the Lausanne area. A few highlights included: the Olympic Museum, the Lausanne market, taking the boat from Montreux to Lausanne, and walking in the nearby vineyards and "Swiss Riviera". Sadly, all good things come to an end, and I think we were all surprised at the tears that came as we walked to the train station together. Matt and I both felt like we should have been getting on that train en route to Canada too! Of course the time together is well worth any difficulty that comes when we say our goodbye's. Thanks for visiting, Rosy!

Boat ride on Lac Leman.

Warming our hands with the Olympic flame! (Lausanne is the Olympic Capital.)

Vineyards in Lavaux region (just East of Lausanne).

Normally we don't have anyone else to take our picture! Thanks, Rosers :)