My First Solo Trip: Part One of the Swiss Adventure- The First night in Luzern

Switzerland was a destination I had wanted to visit ever since I had studied Frankenstein in my A Level English Literature class. Mary Shelley apparently wrote the novel over a cheeky weekend trip to Lake Geneva. Tripping on Opium she created a masterpiece... and I thought I would do the same! Haha kidding. So originally I had wanted to visit Geneva and explore this interesting and seemingly mythical area until I actually booked our flight...

Lake Luzern

The day Brexit's Article 50 came into play Ryanair held a sale, of course, and reduced air fares around Europe to as low as £2,99 each way. No, I am not kidding!! I spent ages procrastination over whether I should buy these super cheap fares as I didn't really have the time to be flying somewhere the following week (when the fares were for). Eventually, I came across £7,99 fares to Basel, Switzerland and yes I think it goes without saying, I booked them! Perrrrfect! Little did I know... Switzerland is pretty much on par with London expenses wise, if not worse.

One day I will return and stay at this super expensive hotel!

So here you find me sat, in my university library typing away as yes... I am back from Switzerland! I was right... although I paid £16 for my return flights, I definitely made up for it in spending money. I spent the entity of my trip in central Switzerland; Luzern and used it as a base to travel around the country. Oh and I must say thank goodness I had a Swiss Pass as oh my gosh, travel (and everything else) is 100% more expensive than London. However, this was probably the only set back of the entire journey as Switzerland is truly an amazing country and I do feel honored to have scraped the surface. I do hope to go back one day... not in the next year haha. Possibly the next two or three years so I can save up and really go all out and explore the beauty even further, delve deeper into the mountainous regions and actually ride the glacier express (I was going to but just didn't have enough time!) I kept a fairly detailed diary throughout the journey as well as a vlog (with some great footage!!) and as it was my first solo trip... there was of course some hiccups along the road but... all is well! So here you have it... my 4 day Swiss Adventure.

The cheese spread (I think) has my name haha!

My first day was mainly spent travelling. I landed in the North at the Euroairport in which a humorous sign lay before me. I had the option to proceed to Switzerland, or continue on to Germany or France as the airport sat on the border of all three!
After deciding to head to Switzerland as planned- although Germany and France were rather tempting, I proceeded through to buy my 4 day Swiss Pass. Online there is a lot of debate about whether the pass is in actual fact worth it and I did have a hard time trying to decide whether to buy it or not, so here is a link to a fellow post about WHY my SWISS PASS WAS worth the money I spent on it. If you want to skip the post, all I can say is if, at all anything, it saves you a lot of stress! Once purchased, I headed to the bus stop for the shuttle that would whizz me into the centre of Basel, right in front of the bahnhof (train station!). After snapping up some pictures and enjoying the surprisingly hot weather (29 degrees  Celcius people!!!) I hopped on the train to Luzern, where I would be based.

Basel Train Station

Luzern was just beautiful. My first impressions of the mini city; in love! I couldn't get over how beautiful it was. It really was beautiful. I understood the hype, instantly, about why this was the best place to stay whilst visiting Switzerland. I made my way to the hostel I was staying at; Lion Lodge Lucerne- a clean, friendly place with an extremely convenient location, being a mere 5 minute walk from the famous Lion monument- by bus, directly from the bahnhof and arrived 4 or 5 stops later. Check in was easy and quick and to my surprise I had the room to myself for the first night!

Lion Lodge Lucerne

Notes from my diary
So aside from the drama that is contracted into my life, I had a really lovely evening. After settling in at the hostel I headed out to get a feel of the little city. I have to admit, arriving here I really didn't expect it to be so big. It sounds silly yes, but it's true. I was expecting a little town like place with small quaint features and whilst this place has these things... it is most definitely a small city with oh so much to offer! Already I am in love. One thing I don't get is how on Earth people that move here make the decision of where exactly they will live. It is beyond me as there is so so much to see, so so much to do and just so so much natural beauty everywhere. Don't they just fall in love with it all?! I am also super happy I stayed in the hostel as it  is great. There are lots of friendly faces (travellers and staff), it is very clean and well the location is just perfect. So yes, I haven't really done much apart from wander around looking for food. I saw some of the 'classic sites' such as the famous bridge thingy that was covered in knats, so I didn't dare walk across. I took a lot of pictures and attempted at my vlogging, oh and eat a 14.10CHF Burger King meal! Oh my! 

The most famous bridge in Switzerland haha! 'Kapellbrucke' or 'Chapel Bridge'

My first day and night in Switzerland was not just about experiencing a new country, it was my first ever solo trip. Waking up the next morning was a reminder that I could do anything my heart desired. I just had to be confident in myself and stay positive...





Peace&Love,
Willow

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COPENHAGEN - The City Centre & Christiana

It was my second day in Copenhagen with my love, Shaylee, and it was really time to explore!

Shaylee had a full day planned and as I wasn't actually visiting for very long we had so much to squeeze in!

We began with a hearty breakfast nice and early, something I commend the Danish for. I usually skip breakfast due to laziness- a habit I am trying to break- but during my trip, I never actually missed a meal! 

We set off into Copenhagen by train. Now since I'm such a public transport enthusiast- I'm only kidding I don't drive (yet) so I'm forced to take in the ever so scenic train and bus each day- I couldn't help notice the super spacious trains! Literally, there are separate carriages for buggies and bikes and they can hold approx 10/15 bikes. No one else really uses these carriages unless they have a bike or pushchair because people are respectful of each other's needs, and wouldn't want to take up space. Well, that was the vibe I got anyway.

Within 25 minutes we were in the centre of Copenhagen! Shaylee and I took a stroll through the pretty streets and went into the famous department store Illum. Copenhagen, I couldn't help but notice has a very different atmosphere to the likes of London. The pace seems much slower, more relaxed and far less busy. It is as if people are actually enjoying their day rather than rushing off somewhere. Although the prices are roughly the same...I exchanged my £ to Krona in one of the only exchange places in the city... and it was a rip off! I lost around £30 to commission!!!

Cool House! 

After doing a bit of shopping, and picking up a super cute top in Zara for 69K (basically £6.99), we headed for an all you can eat Turkish Buffet. Yum!

After having a tasty lunch, we caught the metro to Christiana. The metro in Copenhagen only has 2 lines, which I thought was crazy in comparison to the London Underground, so as you can imagine it really didn't take long. Shaylee and I met with Patrick after hopping off the metro and took a stroll along the canal down to the small village of  Christiana.

For those who are unaware, Christiana is Copenhagen's 'free town'. It is an outlandish place where societies rejects are welcomed. 

Also known as a hippie village, Christiana is a great place to visit for music and arts festivals, organic and vegan-friendly foods, and of course cheap beer! It is also popular for its Amsterdam style attitude towards smoking. For 50K I thought, 'When in Rome'... In Denmark however, Weed is illegal, so therefore the market style stalls that sell the illicit product have reinforced the law of the land: No Photography!! Fair enough, no one wants to get caught!


Our day ended with a scrumptious bowl of tagliatelle conjured up by Shaylee's (and now my) friend, Alex who is training to be a chef. I, of course, assisted as the Sous Chef, by setting the table and mixing the pan... and yes, the food was wonderful. Thank you ALEX! 

Peace&Love,
Willow

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COPENHAGEN- Rungsted Kust

Time always flies whilst travelling... I left for Copenhagen on a sunny Wednesday during July, and before I knew it I was back on the plane to London! 

The journey down was pretty interesting as I met an English Doctor who lives in London and flies down to Copenhagen almost every week, to see his Danish girlfriend! We got into conversation after he was eaves dropping on my phone conversation- about the #blacklivesmatter protest I had organised three days previous (over 3000 people turned up and the media were loving it). Turns out he was a Buddhist and also going to Copenhagen to meet with his Guru. I thought I'd mention this man because he was ultra cool and made my journey that bit more interesting. Lately I've noticed that I keep meeting insightful, conscious and gracious people more and more regularly.

A nippy two hours later, and I had landed in Copenhagen. This time I travelled down alone, to visit my gorgeous cousin Shaylee. 

Her and her boyfriend, Patrick picked me up from the airport which was located on the outskirts of the city. Shaylee lives in a suburb, outside of Copenhagen that I can't seem to remember and couldn't pronounce anyway. In fact the majority of names and words in Danish I struggled to say.. though may I add that I love the way the Danish say 'Organic' - 'Økologisk' (pronounced: Oo-kol-oisk).

That evening Shaylee had planned for Patrick, herself, her best friend Alex and I to go to an elegant Sushi restaurant in one of the wealthy suburbs, along the Rungsted Kyst. We had a table booked for 9pm and at around 8:30pm, decided to pass through the sandy beach 5 minutes from the restaurant and just 20 minutes drive from the house. The visit to the beach took me by surprise when I saw an elder man stripping down to his trunks and getting into the water! It was late and the weather wasn't exactly hot. The water itself was so cold, yet he swam for around 10 minutes and exclaimed that 'the water is not cold at all,' after I gave him that typical shocked Brit look. 

Sticks 'n' Sushi. Boy was it incredible. We ordered in pairs and when Alex spoke in Danish to the waiter, asking for 'The Perfect Day' sharing platter, the waiter gave me a smile and then responded to Alex by explaining our date will be The Perfect Day. I of course had no idea what was going on and just smiled politely. Shaylee started giggling, knowing that I have a boyfriend and Alex has his 'side chicks'.

Once the food came, we all tucked in. If I could explain how the raw fish danced and pranced on my tongue, creating a tickling sensation and causing pure joy to run through my veins... I would, but it's not something that people really understand till they experience it themselves.

Oh and may I add this Sushi restaurant had the coolest toilet I've seen...

After the meal we took a stroll along the dock and got some ice cream. 

Yeah, we have wongaaa... Well kinda, the exchange rate is roughly 10K:1£ haha!

It was a lovely start to an exciting four days in Copenhagen, the 'coolest kid on the Nordic block!'

Peace&Love,
Willow

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